One of the biggest gripes pet owners have is the amount of hair that their animals shed. Pet hair gets on their clothes, furniture, trapped in their carpets, and collects in corners.
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Tips for Vacuuming Pet Hair
There are several ways to go about getting the most pet hair off your furniture, floors, and yourself. Check out these vacuum tips for pet owners for a cleaner hair-free life.
Vacuum in Multiple Directions
Don’t just vacuum your carpet going in the same direction and expect to get all the pet hair out of each fiber it’s stuck in. In order to maximize your vacuuming efforts, you need to vacuum in multiple directions. Going forward to back, side to side, and on a diagonal should be in your vacuuming repertoire.
Vacuum at the Appropriate Height Level
Vacuums have an adjustable height setting for a reason; not all floors in your house are typically alike. If you have carpeting in one room and vinyl in another, the height of your floor is different. In order to vacuum effectively, you need to have the vacuum at the proper height. If it’s too high, it won’t get the right suction power, if it’s too low, the spinning rollers could seize up.
Make Friends with Your Vacuum Attachments
The attachments on a vacuum aren’t just there for looks. They each serve a purpose.
● Crevice Tool: Gets into the nooks and crannies of your furniture and behind your furniture. This tool can also be good at getting pet hair out of your baseboard radiators and any cracks in your floors.
● Sweeper Attachments: Sweeper attachment have wheels that pull out pet hair so they can be sucked up by the vacuum. This should be used on your carpet runners, couch, and other upholstered furniture.
Use Rubber Gloves to Remove Pet Hair
Sometimes vacuuming doesn’t get all the hair that’s caught in furniture, on carpets, or on floors. For these challenges use rubber gloves, mops, and squeegees to combat pet hair. They are relatively cheap products and easy to find.
Rubber gloves, such as dish gloves, can be used to collect the hair that has accumulated on your furniture. Rub your furniture in one direction several times before switching directions. Repeat the process in this direction several times. You should be able to pull nearly all of the pet hair out of your couches and chairs.
Rubber brooms are great for sweeping hardwood, laminate and vinyl floor, when vacuuming may not catch it all. Push a rubber broom around, changing directions as you go. You should be able to pick up any leftover pet hair that the vacuum did not catch.
A squeegee works well at pulling trapped hair out of your carpets. Take a window squeegee and pull the hairs out of the carpet with multiple sweeps in one direction. Then change direction to get any additional hairs that are caught in the fibers. Just like when vacuuming, by changing directions, you are able to capture more hair because pet hair doesn’t necessarily get caught in the fibers all the same way.
Clean Your Vacuum
If your vacuum and its filters are not clean, your vacuum will not have the proper suction and will be inefficient. Be sure to regularly take apart your vacuum and clean it. If you have a vacuum bag, replace the bag often. If you have a canister, make sure that it is empty before you start vacuuming. Rinse out the filters and any removable part after use, so that your vacuum is ready to go the next time you want to use it.
Don’t forget to check the hose to make sure there aren’t any clogs. A hairball can create a suction issue and make your vacuuming efforts worthless.
Lastly, make sure that your vacuum is up to the task. There are some vacuums that specialize in pet hair, while others do a better job on carpets than they do on hardwood. Choosing the right vacuum for your home is half the battle.
Cover Your Furniture
If you have pets that really shed, and you don’t want your furniture covered in hair, you can use a slipcover, or put a blanket down where your pets lay the most. By establishing an area for them to sit, you can keep the hair in one place. When you have guests, simply remove the blanket and they can sit down without getting covered in hair.
Brush Your Pets Often
Don’t forget to brush your pets often. When you brush, you can capture any loose hairs before the fall out on the floor or on your furniture. If you have a dog with a heavy coat, you may want to brush them daily.
Pets can be wonderful, but when they shed, getting their hair off your furniture and floors can be challenging. No matter how much you clean, you will never get it all up, but with these tips, you can remove the most hair possible and breath easier.