Pets make our homes and lives brighter, but with their companionship comes the responsibility of cleaning up after them. When pets groom themselves, their hair and skin flakes (or pet dander) can find its way onto most surfaces in your home, even if you have designated pet furniture. Pet hair can also be difficult to spot, especially if it’s fine or a similar colour to surfaces throughout your home.
The buildup of pet hair in the home can affect the quality of the air you breathe and trigger uncomfortable symptoms for those with pet allergies. If you’re wondering how to get rid of dog hair or cat hair, the experts at Shark have designed a variety of vacuums to eliminate pet hair, dust and debris.
Below, we’ll explore the technology and cleaning methods you can implement in your home to help remove pet hair.
Tools you need to remove pet hair
Freeing your home of pet hair requires a deep clean. For effective removal, we recommend a two-pronged approach to floor care: a vacuum cleaner and a pet hairbrush.
Vacuum cleaner: When mastering how to get rid of cat hair and dog hair, you can choose from three types of vacuum cleaners.
- Corded vacuums: Traditional, powerful vacuum cleaners that need to be plugged into the wall while operating. Modern enhancements in corded vacuums have made these machines more lightweight and portable, so you can easily negotiate soft furnishings, stairs and hard-to-reach areas.
- Cordless vacuums: Effective vacuums with improved manoeuvrability and convenience. Ideal for easy transitions between various areas of your home. The Shark Cordless Apex Pro X2 Pet Stick Vacuum remains ideal for pet hair removal.
- Handheld vacuums: These are smaller vacuums that support your primary corded or cordless vacuum. Handheld vacuums are packed with suction power and are designed to remove pet hair from furnishings and other tight crevices.
Pet hairbrush: A pet grooming brush is used on your pet to remove loose hair, preventing the spread of pet hair around your home. They’re particularly useful if you have a large dog with a double coat of fur. Pet hairbrushes should be used more frequently during autumn and spring since this is when most pets are shedding.
How to get rid of pet hair?
Knowing how to get rid of dog hair can seem difficult, but following the right steps can quickly purify your home of unwanted particles and bacteria. This means you and your loved ones can still enjoy the experience of having a pet while breathing cleaner air. Ahead, the experts at Shark have developed the following tips to finetune your pet hair cleaning.
Vacuuming floors and carpet
Lots of dust, debris and pet hair can rest on our floors and carpets. All types of Shark vacuums are effective carpet pet hair removers. To maximise pet hair removal from your floors, follow the below steps.
- Move furniture or objects out of the way: Move anything that might block you from cleaning the entire surface area – this eliminates neglected spaces that can harbour long-term bacteria.
- Go over an area 2-3 times: When vacuuming over a carpet or rug, push your vacuum over the same area a couple times. The first stroke can lift any stubborn strands of pet hair, while the next 1-2 stokes will remove it.
- Get down low: To reach the floor under heavy furniture, bring the vacuum handle to the floor so that the machine can easily slide underneath a couch or bed. The Shark Cordless Detect Pro with Auto Empty System – IW3611 includes the Multi Flex Wand which can be used for those harder to reach places.
Vacuuming furniture
Our favourite furniture can often become our pet’s favourite spot to sleep. A buildup of pet hair can make it difficult to relax, so here’s how you can remove pet hair from lounge couches and chairs.
- Begin with a brush: As well as removing stubborn dirt, brushing helps lift a lot of pet hair and dust from furniture.
- Vacuum: Swivel your vacuum along the main body of the furniture. Next, remove the cushions to vacuum the crevices. You can do this by switching to a Duster Crevice Tool. Or for even more power, have a handheld vacuum at the ready.
- Use covers: Place covers over your couch, bed and pet bed to support pet hair removal in the future. This way, you can remove the cover and clean it separately next time.
Mopping the floors
Along with other dirt and debris, invisible pet hair and dander can get trapped in the tile crevices of our floors. After storing away your chosen carpet pet hair remover, mopping is the final step of floor cleaning. You can follow these steps to keep your hard floors hair-free.
- Move any furniture or rugs: This will allow you to cover all parts of your floor (note, this should have been done before vacuuming for a truly deep clean).
- Use a steam mop: The heat of steam mops is effective for sanitising your floor and easily removing pet hair. They’re also chemical-free and can reduce the risk of scratches or marks appearing on hard floors. The Shark Steam Mop - S1000ANZ is ideal for a targeted clean and only needs water for simple use throughout the week for pet hair cleaning.
- Leave to dry: Any dampness left from using a steam mop usually evaporates quickly, but ensure your floor is dry before returning furniture to its usual place.
Removing pet hair from clothes
To further remove pet hair, you can boost your cleaning results with a few adjustments to your personal wardrobe. Pet hair can cling to any of our garments, but commonly gets stuck to anything that’s cotton, linen or wool. However, there are a few ways to avoid pet hair getting trapped on your clothes.
- Use a lint roller: Lint rollers can be used on your clothes, blankets and sheets to eliminate lint, micro dust fibres and pet hair. Roll or blot any hair-covered spots with the roller to capture pet hair.
- Tumble your clothes: Before putting your clothes in a regular wash, you can tumble them in your dryer to loosen any trapped pet hair.
We hope you enjoyed learning how to remove dog hair and cat hair from your home. Next, discover our top tips to maintain your Shark vacuum.
