Pets are great. Getting pet hair all over your clothes, carpet, and possessions, is not so great. This is why it's important to know how to rid your home of pet hair.
Excessive pet hair covering your belongings is unsightly, and worse yet, it can stimulate asthma and allergies. Fortunately, it's easy to get rid of dog and cat hair in your house. All it takes is a little bit of effort and know how.
Read on to learn how to remove pet hair from your furniture, clothing, carpet, flooring, and car. As a bonus, we've also thrown in some tips from keeping that shedding to a minimum to begin with.
How To Remove Dog And Cat Hair From Your Furniture
There is perhaps nowhere more annoying to find dog or cat hair than on your furniture. How are you supposed to relax and enjoy your morning coffee when you know you'll have to remove all the pet hair from your slacks before you head out to work? It's even more annoying if you just cleaned your couch. Luckily, it's easy to remove pet hair from your furniture once you know how.
Rubber Gloves
Most of us think rubber gloves are just for unpleasant tasks like scrubbing your toilet. But you can use them to remove pet hair from your furniture also. Simply put a slightly damp pair on your hands and run them over the surface of your furniture. Be sure to get into the cracks and crannies. The dog or cat hair will stick to your rubber gloves. When finished, rinse them in the sink. Repeat if necessary.
Vacuum Cleaner
If you don't have a pair of rubber gloves handy, you can always use your vacuum cleaner to remove pet hair from your furniture. Do keep in mind that your upright vacuum will likely be too awkward and unwieldy to use on your furniture. And it's almost impossible to use an upright vacuum to get the space in between cushions. Use the hose attachments or a small handheld to vacuum the dog and cat hair instead. Here's a list of the best vacuum cleaners to tackle that pesky pet hair.
Microfiber Cloth
If your wood furniture has been coated with cat hair, try a soft, microfiber cloth misted with anti-static dusting spray. This will discourage the pet hair from settling on your wood furniture as quickly in the future.
How To Remove Pet Hair From Carpet And Floors
Whether you have carpet or hard flooring in your home, chances are you've noticed it gets coated with pet hair when the light hits it just right. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst places for it. When you walk on it, little pieces of hair can float into the air and eventually settle on your trim and furniture. Follow the instructions below to prevent that nastiness from happening.
Upright Vacuum
This is your chance to break out that upright vacuum. In most cases, these are safe to use on flooring as well as carpet. Simply flip the vacuum over first to make sure there are no sharp or jagged pieces to scratch your flooring. You should also avoid using a vacuum with a beater bar on hard surfaces. In most circumstances, vacuuming two times a week will keep pet hair at bay.
Microfiber Mop
If you're unsure about whether or not your vacuum is safe to use on your hard flooring you can use a microfiber mop instead. The hair sticks to them like magic and if you get one with removable heads you can pop it in the washing machine when you're done.
How To Remove Pet Hair From Your Clothes
I've known people who won't wear black because they're worried about getting covered in pet hair. This is a tragedy. Black is slimming and very flattering on most skin tones. It's a shade meant to be celebrated, not avoided. The good news is, you can wear those black clothes with confidence once you learn how to keep the dog and cat hair under control.
Lint Brushes
Lint brushes do a great job removing pet hair from your clothes. As an added bonus, they're inexpensive and small enough to keep one in various areas of your house. In addition to keeping in your bedroom, you should keep one in a tucked away spot in your living room. This will serve as a courtesy brush to offer to guests if they pick up a little pet hair when they sit on your couch.
Rubber Gloves
The rubber glove technique in section one of this article works as well for clothes as it does for furniture if you don't have a lint brush around.
Masking Tape
Masking tape will also remove pet hair from clothes, but we only recommend this method in cases when you're only dealing with a minimal amount of hair. Otherwise, it's too tedious.
Dryer
If your clothes are covered in pet hair, the dryer is your friend. Toss the clothes in with a dryer sheet which has been slightly moistened with a few drops of fabric softener. Run the dryer for 8-10 minutes and the bulk of the hair should be removed. Afterward, use a lint brush or rubber gloves to get rid of any lingering dog or cat hair.
How To Get Rid Of Pet Hair From Your Car
The upholstery of your vehicle can accumulate pet hair even if you don't take your pets for rides in the cars. That's right. You can track it in via your shoes, clothing, and items such as your briefcase or gym bag. But don't fret, it's easy to get rid of dog and cat hair in your car.
Lint Brushes
Lint brushes and rubber gloves work just as easily on the upholstery of your car as they do on your clothes.
Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
Run a car vac or handheld vacuum over the seats and floors of your car to suck up all that pesky pet hair.
How To Remove Hair From Your Pet
Okay. Maybe you don't want to remove all the hair from your pet. But you do want to remove some of it. You use a preemptive plan to deal with shedding hair so it will collect somewhere other than your clothes, floors, and furniture.
Brush Your Pet
The best way to deal with shedding pet hair is also the easiest. Simply brush your pet on a regular basis. This will remove the hair as it sheds and it prevents the hair from accumulating elsewhere.
Bathe And Groom Your Pet
You should also take your pet to the groomer or bathe them in the tub or sink on a regular basis. Regular baths will help reduce the amount of shedding.
Your pets are part of your family. But they don't have to be the messiest part. Now, if you could only train them to do the dishes.