10 Simple Tips for Cleaning Up Dog Hair
If you have a dog you know one thing — their hair gets everywhere. And if you have a few Huskies well, I send my deepest sympathies. Trying to keep your house clean and fur free with dogs is something we all struggle with, but luckily there a few tricks that make it a little easier. Here’s 10 simple tips for cleaning up dog hair.
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10 Simple Tips for Cleaning Up Dog Hair
I don’t own a special state of the art vacuum made for pets, nor do I own a wet vac, so when it comes to cleaning up dog hair I stick to the basics. From dryer sheets to window squeegees, there’s plenty of household items that are great at picking up all that pesky fur. Here’s 10 great tips for cleaning up dog hair.
Using Blankets/Covers on Your Furniture
Before we dive into the tips for cleaning up dog hair I want to make one thing clear — I’m a huge fan of using blankets & covers on my furniture. When it comes to keeping pet hair off of your furniture it doesn’t get any easier than tossing a blanket over your couch to keep it fur free.
And the good news is we don’t have to resort to the plastic covers that our grandparents used to use on their furniture — there’s a wide variety of options available.
I have a few blankets that I use on the couch where my dog Laika sleeps. Throwing those in the wash once a week is so much easier than trying to keep a bare sofa clean. There’s a big variety of custom made couch covers to choose from, and if you’re crafty you can head on over to the craft store and make some of your own out of your favorite material.
1. Dryer Sheets Are Great For Picking Up Dog Hair
Does your dogs hair get everywhere? Do you find yourself having to pick off fur from your clothes every time you leave the house? Need help removing pet hair fro your couch? My favorite solution for picking up pet hair is pretty simple — it’s dryer sheets.
To help get rid of pet hair be sure to keep some dryer sheets on hand. I don’t know what I’d do without dyer sheets — they work wonders for picking up dog hair on virtually anything.
I use them on furniture, floor corners, and around all those pesky baseboards. When keeping my furniture clean and hair free I’ve found that using a slightly dampened dryer sheet works wonders.
2. Use a Roll of Tape to Pick Up Loose Pet Hair
How many times have you been headed out the door for work in the morning only to notice you’ve got dog hair all over you? Yeah, it happens to me all the time too. My solution? Keep a roll of packing or duct tape by the door for all those “where the heck did all this hair come from?” moments.
I’ve got a roll of packing tape sitting in my kitchen drawer that’s used exclusively for snagging dog hair from clothes and furniture. Lint rollers also work — but they do run out much faster.
3. Dampen & Lightly Sweep Your Carpet Before You Vacuum
Do you get dog a ton of dog hair embedded in your carpet, or is it just me? If you want to pick up a lot of pet hair off your floor dampen your carpet and use a rubber broom to roll all the hair into a nice little ball. If you want to get rid of some pet odors while you’re at it use a little baking soda on your carpet & let it sit in for 10 minutes before vacuuming.
Just be careful to not get your carpet too wet since carpet doesn’t dry quickly; wet carpet is the perfect environment for mold & mildew to grow. Slightly damp, rather than soaked, will do the job.
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4. Use a Dampened Mop for Hardwood or Vinyl Floors
If you’ve got hardwood floors you can use a dampened mop to pick up pet hair. I don’t own a Swiffer, but my animal owning friends with wood floors swear by them.
A damp mop acts like a magnet when it comes to picking up pet hair. If you have hardwood floors be sure to use a wood cleaning product (many will need to be diluted per the label), and avoid leaving any standing pools of water on your floor.
5. Use a Damp Sponge or Rubber Gloves on Upholstered Furniture
Looking for a simple way to get pet hair off your furniture, especially those stray hairs that your vacuum ignores? Use a damp sponge or rubber gloves (dryer sheets work too). Dog hair clings really well to rubber gloves and damp sponges, and they’ll help get rid of the majority of hair that sticks to your furniture.
6. Alternate Vacuum Directions to Pick Up More Pet Hair
When vacuuming don’t forget to go over the carpet a few times in alternating directions to pick up more pet hair & get some of those embedded ones loose. Make sure to empty your vacuum often and don’t forget to check the filters – a clogged filter keeps your vacuum from running efficiently.
7. Use a Window Squeegee on Carpet to Pick Up Pet Hair
If you have a dog and windows in your home you probably already own a squeegee (this is the one I use, it’s also awesome at removing all those doggie nose prints on windows). These things work so well at loosening up pet hair from carpet. Just rub it along the carpet and after a few swipes you’ll have a nice big pile of dog hair.
8. Use a Rubber Broom to Pick Up Hair in the Bathroom/Kitchen
When dealing with tile, wood or linoleum floors there’s one tool I love – a nice rubber broom. If you get a lot of dog hair on your kitchen & bathroom floors you can switch to a rubber broom to make up picking up those loose hairs.
9. Keep Your Vacuum in Good Shape With Some Regular Maintenance
When it comes to picking up dog hair your vacuum will most likely be doing most of the work, so it’s important to keep it in good shape. You can help keep it functioning well by remembering to do some regular maintenance such as cleaning the filter, brush roller & checking the belt.
10. A Humidifier Can Help Keep Hair From Sticking to Surfaces
Having a humidifier is really nice in the winter for those of us in cold climates, but there’s an additional benefit — they can also help with pet hair. They not only help keep your skin hydrated, they can also keep loose fur from clinging to surfaces.
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A Few Preventative Measures Can Help Reduce Shedding
If you have a dog hair is going to get everywhere, but there are a few measures you can take to reduce their shedding.
One easy way to reduce shedding is to brush your dog everyday. It doesn’t have to be a super long grooming session, but a few minutes will help get rid of a lot of loose fur. The FURminator de-shedding tool works amazingly for this; it’s by far the best piece of grooming equipment I own. A groomer should be able to suggest the proper kind of brush for your dog’s fur type.
Regular baths also help to keep the shedding down a bit. I haven’t found any magical shampoo that seems to work any better than others – it’s just the physical act of lathering and rinsing that removes a lot of hair. Feeding a high quality diet can also decrease excessive shedding.
What Are Your Favorite Methods For Cleaning Up Dog Hair?
Do you have any additional tips for cleaning up dog hair? How do you keep pet hair under control? Do you use lint rollers, tape, or a vacuum that’s made for dealing with pet hair? I’d love to know any other tricks I can add to my list. Being able to clean more efficiently is something I’m sure any of us would welcome.
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I love the packing tape tip – I use tape quite a bit around here (because I have quite a bit of it around coming off of boxes, and it’s kind of like “recycling”… clean up some fur with the still-sticky before I throw it away.)
I seriously love tape for picking up all sorts of junk, and it’s just amazing how well it works on dog hair. I think I discovered it after running out of lint rollers and seeing how horrible my black coat looked, I needed to improvise. It’s really great to reuse it as well as you do – it certainly sounds like recycling to me.
Me Too! I have a German Shepherd and see shit every day all yr. The dryer sheets work too on Light dust & dog hair on the bathroom floor. I moved twice in the last year and a half and I’ve had plenty of packing tape around. I just wrapped it around three fingers Backwards a few times, or on the empty Lent roller.
These are great tips!!!
I did not know that about dryer sheets!! Thank you! With 3 huskies I am always looking for ways to clean up dog hair!!! I do use the tape thing. Any time I have to go out, I get some tape and begin working on my clothes BOL!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
The thing I use the most is a double-sided lint brush. It picks up a lot of dog hair and can be reused over and over again. We’re getting ready to replace most of our carpet with hardwood floors, so the tips for floors are great!
I have to check that out – I’d love a tool that can be reused and it’s probably something I can easily pick up next time I’m out. Thank you for the suggestion 🙂
Great advice here! Thank you.
I have used rubber gloves on furniture before. It works! Thanks for the great tips.
We’ve got like 10 dogs in our house so wow. Thank you so much!
Good tips! I use a lot of lint rollers. Also I have a motorized carpet sweeper to use between vacuuming.
Please don’t use lint rollers. Try using a double sidded reusable lint brush or a simple sponge (like the rough side from a normal kitchen sponge)
Those are all great tips! Our pups have black coats and are medium shedders ~ nothing like your huskies, but still visible 😉 We have both carpet & hardwood floors, so regular vacuuming and daily sweeping is a total must! I wash their doggie bedding/blankets once a week, but actually stopped using dryer sheets in an attempt to cut out as many chemicals in their lives as possible (our girl Missy is a cancer survivor & therefore I am doing everything in my power to prevent the cancerous cells from forming again).
Great point; I hadn’t though of the extra chemicals in those dryer sheets.
Anyone who wants to try out these ideas is welcome to come to my house and demonstrate!
Sticky Buddy is an example of a reusable rubber lint roller which also gets dog hair. Comes in several sizes. There are several other makes, one of which is Sir (something) Lot, which I found at a craft fair years ago. Rub the roller under hot running water and off comes the lint and dog hair.
Thanks for the tip, I haven’t used one of those but I’ll pick one up to check it out.
Thank you for sharing your tips with us! I know this is not a tool, but a proper diet goes a long way with pets when it comes to shedding. Many times, you can tell when a dog is malnourished because you see a lot of hair in your rooms or he has patchy areas in his body which is too much shedding. Now with tools, DakPets Dog Brush seems to work very well with people since they still seem to pick up hair from their carpets after vacuuming. Grooming is also a must, it’s normal for pets too shed you have to be on top of it. By brushing their hair on a consistent basis, you get rid of loose hair that would otherwise end up in your furniture and carpet. Lastly, you want a vacuum with strong suction as well as a solid brush to catch the hair that really deep in the fibers. Thanks again!
If you have a double coated breed I swear by the Paws Pamper Undercoat Rake. I use it twice a week for about 15 minutes and it makes a huge difference! My dog doesn’t run when she see’s it and it doesn’t pull out her coat. She usually just lays there while I get out the loose dead hair before it ends up all over the house, lol. Finish with a slicker or greyound comb and done! Highly recommend. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U204CD4
We have eleven cats (because we used to foster kittens) and one Corgi, a
year round shedder. Hair makes me crazy! I’m going to try these
examples right away. Thank you
visit website
We adopted an American Eskimo Dog 10 years ago. This is what I’ve learned: my favorite tool is a rubber brush – I use it on furniture, clothing, & my dog, spray it with water for best results. Of course vacuuming (I taught my dog to allow me to vacuum him) & frequent brushing are obvious, especially when they blow their coats. As you mentioned a good quality diet is very important!
PS I keep a rubber brush in my car – it’s invaluable
LOVE MY ESKIE!
Lore Bradshaw
I love your preventative measures by taking care of the source of the problem! Also I agree that the rubber brush is invaluable when it comes to removing pet hair.
I have found that wet rubber gloves work wonderfully for getting husky hair off car upholstery! I first heard this suggestion from Clinton Kelly on “the Chew”. I couldn’t believe how great it worked on my black car seats! I have another Husky now. Rubber gloves still work!
A moist rubber glove does the magic for me
We have two Australian shepherds inside the house. They shed all year round. Our vac plugged constantly until I started using a stainless tang slicker brush. I get on hands and knees and pull toward me and can remove pretty much all of the dog hair. When the slicker gets full, it is easy to remove. Our upright cheapie vac will remove any remaining hair and does not clog. Just get the large size slicker brush. You will be amazed at how easy it is, plus the arm exercise is an extra benefit.
Great tips here, I have a collie and Jack Russell terrier shedding hair all over the house, fortunately, I have hardwood floors on the ground level so vacuuming and cleaning the pet hair is easier in these areas, not so luck upstair with the carpets. thanks again
Industrial dust mops on hard floors! Works amazing!
We have hardwood floors, a 8 yr old Golden and a daughter with Long Hair. Wow the Hair!
I have tried almost everything and Google has been my best friend for alot of things and now so is this website…. Thank You!
At first I brushed him every day, vacuumed 2X weekly and had him groomed every 6 months. At 4 years old had to have him groomed every 2-3 months because of allergies!! That got to be a bit much and expensive…
I still brush him daily, but vacuuming is down to 1X week or even 1X every 2 weeks. In between vacuums I either sweep or use a dry floor duster.
Like Ashley said above, I also use a wire brush on our rugs weekly even if I don’t vacuum.
I use the furminator as well, it is a great tool!
I started to bathe & groom Cooper every 2 weeks & trimming his coat every 4 to 6 weeks to cut down on the allergies and hair….
To this website and all that have posted reat tips I Thank You!
Next on my agenda is finding a Rubber Broom.
I have found for your hardwood floors that the robot vacuum does a great job on the pet hairs because they are shedding on a daily basis it hard to keep up with vacuuming all the time. Having the option to do both works a lot better, and keeps the pets down to a minimum.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
When I adopted my pup from the shelter, I saw terrier mix & thought “non shedding”. Lol, I honestly didn’t even see “HUSKY-Terrier Mix” until I had him home for 3 weeks and was wading through ankle deep hair drifts! I brush him daily, use a specialty rubber brush/squeegee hair remover tool & vacuum daily. The ‘husky hair’ comes off surfaces easily, but the wirehair/combo hair embeds itself in any porous surface.
Any suggestions for picking up the wirehairs? I do have lint rollers, but I can’t just squeegee/lint roller/vacuum these hair up. I actually have to tweeze them out of the sofa, ottoman and blankets. ?
I love our ChomChom Roller! It seriously works so well to get our chocolate lab’s hair off of our couch and throw pillows! It’s like a lint roller but traps the hair in a little compartment on the back so you can use it over and over again. It’s not the best for clothes because it’s a little bulky but really works great for furniture.
Does anyone have trouble with doggie doors causing more shedding? It is a night mare at my house! These tips are wonderful! I just want to know what you do about the doggie door causing even more of a fur and dirt/dander mess?
When you have a dog, then furs will be everywhere. If you don’t have any idea for the first time dealing with fur, it surely sucks. I only used to vacuum clean fur on the couch and it works well, just has to repeat it over again to make sure that I get everything. Nice article by the way.
Great tips indeed! Using damped mop for vinyl and laminating floor is so useful to deal with pet hair. It really works for me. However, what kind of wood cleaning product would you prefer?
Great tips! I have used many of them. Although I am at my wits end trying to get it off porcelain, mainly around the bottom of the toilet. I have tried with dry clothe, wet clothe, lysol wipes, you name it, it just moves from one stop to another. I would appreciate any suggestions…..
Using vacuum cleaner for pet hair can be the best idea to clean dog hair. I saw many friends doing this and they are very happy about the results without much efforts.
I use my leaf blower to blow out my truck. Need a quick clean up open doors and use blower sure gets alot out fast. Makes vacuuming easier.
We have a German Shepard/Siberian Husky and live in an efficiency apartment. It’s HORRIBLY HAIRY. We love our big baby, but the new grand baby is coming to visit this week and I am really concerned.
I cannot seem to get the hair out of my van. It’s covering all my laundry. Any help washing hairy clothes? Do I need to dehair them first? Will it come off in the wash?
Thanks for the great content. It will really help…
I was looking for some serious help on this issue and finally found your blog and I’m going to share it on my social media platform. Thank you for your effort.
I have 5 Longcoat German Shepherd Dogs so I understand cleaning dog hair.
If you are willing to part with around $100, it will be the Best money spent. Invest in a high-velocity blower. They typically are used by groomers and the show crowd. They blow water off of your dog, drying the coat very quickly but when used on a dry dog that is shedding, it blows hard enough that it loosens the dead undercoat and either blows it out and away or makes it easier to brush out. The bonus is it will blow the dust and dander out of the coat.
They have models that have a noise dampening filter, they are easy to store and I also use mine to blow hair off blankets “Before” I throw them in my expensive washer.
To me, this is a Must Have in hair control.
My husband was always saying, “Why is there dog hair on our clothes even after we do laundry?” The FurZapper was the solution! https://furzapper.com/index.php/products/
Some really good advice there. I have been checking out few of your stories and i can state pretty good stuff. I will definitely bookmark your blog.
It is a fact that these devices play a very helpful role in cleaning your house. Also, if you have pets in your home, then these gadgets are more useful for cleaning your home. In fact, gadgets have made our lives easier by doing clean work in a simple way.
Great information and tips about how to clean the puppy hair. The information is really useful.
Great about the puppy hair. The information is really useful.
The good tips. It’s so good. I can follow this tip to make my pet’s clean. And my mom can’t complain about it. Instead of, she will treat me. 😎
Thank you very much, I’ve been looking for it.