Device and method for removing fur and hair from fabrics

Abstract

A disk, ball or sheet/strip shaped device is made of a silicone or thermoplastic elastomer substance having a tacky surface and a Shore Durometer hardness preferably in the range of 10 to 40. The device is adapted to be placed into a laundry washer or dryer, such that the tumbling motion causes the tacky surfaces of the device to rub against the clothing, thereby removing pet fur. Further tumbling causes the fur collected on the device to eventually disengage and be caught in the lint filter, vent or drain of the washer/dryer. In an alternate embodiment, the tacky silicone or thermoplastic elastomer can form a liner on agitators, fins or paddles within the washer/dryer so as to collect animal fur from fabrics.

Claims

1. A method for removing fur and hair from a fabric while the fabric is being washed in a washer and/or dried or tumbled in a dryer, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an object comprising an object surface and a solid object interior, wherein the object surface consists of a heat-resistant, tacky surface material consisting of an elastomeric substance which is either a silicone elastomer substance or a thermoplastic elastomer substance, and wherein the object has an object shape which is configured to facilitate multiple contacts between the object surface and the fabric while the fabric is being washed in the washer and/or dried or tumbled in the dryer, and wherein the elastomeric substance has an elastomer hardness such that the surface material has a tackiness, in an operating temperature range of the washer and the dryer, which attracts and retains the fur and the hair from the fabric, but which allows the fur and the hair to become dislodged from the surface material during the movements of the object in the washer and/or the dryer, so that dislodged fur and hair is collected in the washer and/or the dryer; (b) inserting or installing the object into the washer and/or into the dryer; (c) inserting the fabric into the washer and/or into the dryer along with the object; (d) washing and/or drying or tumbling the fabric; (e) attracting the fur and hair from the fabric onto the tacky surface material of the object; (f) dislodging the fur and hair from the object as the object moves within the washer and/or within the dryer; and (g) collecting dislodged fur and hair in the washer and/or in the dryer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the object interior comprises the elastomeric substance.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the object shape is a disk or a ball.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the object shape is a sheet.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the object interior comprises a bonding layer by which the object surface is secured to one or more attachment surfaces within the washer or the dryer.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a hardness of the elastomeric substance, as measured by a Shore Durometer, is less than 60.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the hardness of the elastomeric substance, as measured by a Shore Durometer, is in the range of 10 to 40.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a profile view of the first embodiment of the present invention; and

(3) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(4) FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the first embodiment of the present invention 10, which has the form of a disk 11. A textured pattern 12 is contoured on one side of the disk 11, in order to increase its surface area for optimal contact with the clothing, as well as to add weight to the device, so as to stabilize its spinning/tumbling motion inside the washer/dryer and prevent its adherence to the interior surfaces of the washer/dryer.

(5) FIG. 3 illustrates the second embodiment of the present invention 20, in which a silicone or thermoplastic elastomer layer 24 26 is adhered or bonded to interior drum walls 22 and/or dryer paddles 23 within a dryer drum 21. The silicone or TPE layer 24 lining the drum walls 22 has beneath it a bonding layer 25, which can comprise adhesive, magnetic, mechanical and/or hook-and-loop fasteners, and which secures the silicone or TPE layer 24 to the drum wall 22. Similarly, the silicone or TPE layers 26 over the dryer paddles 23 are secured to the paddles 23 by a bonding layer 27, which can comprise an adhesive, which secures the silicone or TPE layers 26 to the paddles 23. Although the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3 is depicted with reference to a dryer, it should be understood that equivalent silicone or thermoplastic elastomer layers can be advantageously applied to corresponding structures within a washer, such as drums, tubs, agitators, and paddles.

(6) Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims.