Best Bobble Removers & Fabric Shavers: The Top 5
Fabric shaver (or lint, pile, bobble or fuzz removers as they are sometimes referred to) are great at restoring the look of fabrics including clothes, curtains and even sofas.
Expect to pay around £5 to £15 for a fabric shaver but as with most things, you get what you pay for in terms of quality, features and bobble removing power.
In this review, we take a look at the current top-selling fabric shavers in the UK to help you choose which is the best one for you.
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | |
|---|---|---|
Best seller  | Philips GC026/00
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 | Beautural (719UK-0001)
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 | Vivreal Home (HRC0A0B934)
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 | Minky Bobble Remover (TT70300101)
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Highly rated  | Youlanda USB Fabric Shaver
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1. Philips GC026/00 Review
The Philips GC026 is currently one of the best selling fabric shavers on the market. It gets consistently good reviews and is from a well-known brand. The retail price is around £20 but you’ll often find it available for much less than that.
The GC026 is a fairly standard fabric shaver with no gimmicks. It features a large blade surface area (with three blades under the protective guard), which is handy if you have larger garment areas to cover. The shaver comes supplied with 2x AA batteries which are placed in the back of the unit. At the front of the unit, there is a small transparent pill box which is easily removed for emptying by sliding out.
This model also features a plastic blade adjustment cover that allows the GC026 to be used on more delicate fabrics where you may not want to get too close with the blades. The blade cover also has three different diameter holes that allow varying sizes of pills or bobbles to be collected. A small brush is also included for cleaning the head and blades.
The Philips GC026 does only have one speed (its operated by a simple on/off switch on the side of the unit) whereas some units have multiple speeds. Even though this is a best seller from a trusted brand, there are reports that the quality of the unit is questionable with problems with the unit breaking after a few uses. These complaints are in the minority though as most consumer reviews are very positive. Plus, there is always the 2 year guarantee if things go wrong.
2. Beautural (719UK-0001) Review
The Beautural fabric shaver is a more advanced version compared to the Philips shaver. It has a very similar design to the Philips model but has a number of additional and useful features. The head itself is similar to the Philips in that it covers a large area and has three different sized holes in the blade cover.
What is different is that it has two blade speeds (operated from the switch on the back of the unit). The plastic height spacer on the blade cover is also adjustable (on the Philips version the height spacer is fixed) which allows you to use this shaver with many different fabric types.
The pill container on the Beautural is very similar to the Philips and slides off for easy emptying. It also uses 2x AA batteries and comes with a small blade/head cleaning brush and protective plastic cover for the blade head. The Beautural is usually available slightly cheaper than the Philips but comes with a 1 year guarantee compared to 2 years with the Philips.
3. Vivreal Home (HRC0A0B934) Review
What stands out about the Vivreal fabric shaver is that it has a slightly different design than most fabric shavers as it features a handle grip to make it more comfortable when using. The blade and cover are similar to other shavers available with 3 blades and a cover that has different sized holes.
The blade height is adjustable and has 3 fixed height positions that can be changed by using a switch on the front of the unit. This model only has one speed setting though. Another unique feature on the Vivreal is the inclusion of 2 rechargeable batteries. There is a charging connection point on the base of the unit and a light to let you know when charging is completed. Bear in mind though that a full charge will take 8 hours.
Although this is a good selling fabric shaver it appears to receive more negative review than other models. It does come with a 1 year guarantee and is one of the more cheaper models available.
4. Minky Bobble Remover (TT70300101) Review
The Minky fabric shaver is one of the cheapest models reviewed here, however, you do get what you pay for and this model has more than its fair share of negative reviews (mainly associated with its power and durability).
If you don’t expect too much from this fabric shaver then it makes a good budget buy. A nice feature on the Minky is the handle grip which should make it slightly easier to use for longer periods.
The shaver head on this model is again similar to others reviewed with a multi-hole cover and three blades underneath. It also features an adjustable head cover so it can be used on various fabrics.
5. Youlanda USB Fabric Shaver Review
The Youlanda fabric shaver is one of the more expensive fabric shavers we reviewed. Its a similar design to the Philips model and features the usual multi hole shaver cover and 3 shaving blades. This model has a simple one-speed blade setting and no height adjustment.
The design of the Youlanda shaver is in our opinion more attractive than the other models reviewed here. We like the fact that this model includes a rechargeable battery that is charged via a USB cable. Expect to wait around 8 hours for the battery to be fully charged, which should then give you a run time of around 50 minutes.
Although this is a higher priced fabric shaver, customer reviews are very positive due to its higher power blade motor and generally better quality.
What You Need to Look for When Buying a Fabric Shaver
Fabric shavers are fairly simple devices but there are a few features that you should look for:
- Shaving head – look for a shaving head cover that has multiple holes for various pile sizes. Most will have a least three different hole diameters.
- Adjustable shaving head – this helps avoid any damage when using on different fabrics. Some shavers adjust the height with a plastic cover while others have adjustable settings.
- Speed settings – most shavers have just one speed. The Beautural has two speed settings. This is useful if you are looking for extra fabric protection or have some stubborn bobbles that are hard to shift.
- Batteries – it’s fairly common to see fabric shavers that use 2x AA batteries, however, 2 models reviewed here (the Vivreal and Youlanda) use rechargeable batteries.
