If you have a dog you know one thing — their hair gets everywhere. 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 tips for cleaning up dog hair.
10 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. 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.
1. Dryer Sheets can work wonders 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 from 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 dryer 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 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 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 about 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.
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 rubber gloves or a Damp Sponge 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.
7. Use a Window Squeegee on Carpet to Pick Up Pet Hair
Yes you heard that right! If you have a dog and windows in your home you probably already own a squeegee. 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 and Kitchen
We mentioned a rubber broom earlier. 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.
