You may love your furry friend, but you sure don’t love their mess! Pet hair can cause respiratory problems and make cleaning an absolute pain. In the United States, three out of ten people have cat or dog allergies. If you want better respiratory health and clean home, keep on reading.
The most effective methods of hair removal are an air purifier, a vacuum robot, or changing out your HVAC filter. A smaller investment would be a pet hair roller or a dry sweeper. The cheapest way is to use a balloon, tape, or a damp cloth.
Effective Ways To Remove Pet Hair From The Air
1. Invest in a Robot Vacuum
Has a robot vacuum been on your wish list? Now you have the perfect excuse to get it. Not only is it highly effective at cleaning up annoying fur, but it will save you lots of time cleaning. It can clean wood, carpet, and basically any kind of flooring you have.
You can even schedule certain robots to clean the house at a certain time. The dirt sensors will focus on the spots that need it most, so if certain parts of your carpet hold a lot of hair, you can trust that the robot will focus on those areas. You have an easy-to-use but highly effective robot housekeeper.
2. Invest in an Air Purifier
If your pet is allowed outdoors, you won’t just have hair floating around the air, but dirt, germs, and pollen. You’ll breathe all that junk in, and it will also settle on every surface in your home. If you’re looking for a low effort, but highly effective solution, an air purifier is what you want.
It’ll remove the hair, but it also offers many other benefits, such as relieving asthma symptoms and improving sleep.
Any air purifier will help, but the best kind is a HEPA air purifier due to their dense filters that catch every bit of dander and hair. So, at the end of the day, it’s a small investment for fresh air, better health, and a hair-free home.
3. Buy a Pet Hair Roller
Remember our tape tip? Here’s an even easier way to clean your home’s fabric. All kinds of pet rollers are on the market.
You won’t break the bank buying one that works for you. Some rollers come with disposable adhesive sheets, while others are washable and reusable. Many come with short, sharp bristles that snag to the hair. Try it on furniture, clothing and even carpet.
For best results, use a gentle pressure to roll it over the hairy surface. Next, flip it over and use the other side. Make sure to clean it with a damp cloth afterwards. Who knew cleaning your home could be this easy?
4. Try Out a Damp Cloth or Rubber Gloves
Not only does hair fill the air, but it also settles on every piece of furniture you own. Cat hair especially clings to fabric like its life depends on it.
The only thing that hair sticks to more than fabric is water, so if you’re struggling with a stubborn patch of hair, a damp cloth is the way to go.
Wet your rag, wring it out, then, rub out the hairy spots on our furniture. The hair will clump up right into your hands, easy to pluck off and throw away. Rubber gloves work just as effectively. Put them on, run them under some water, then rub the surface with pet hair. It’ll come off easily.
5. Use Tape
Scotch tape won’t do the trick; it’s too narrow to be effective. Try a wide packing tape. Wrap it around your hands sticky side out, roll it onto the hairy surface, at it will lift off and stick to the tape.
If tapes too much trouble, consider a lint roller. It speeds up the process and works just as effectively. Your curtains, furniture, and clothing will thank you for your efforts.
6. Blow Up a Balloon
If you have kids, this can be an especially fun way to both clean the house and keep them entertained. Grab your balloon, blow it up, and tie it off.
Then, rub it against your head. This will create static electricity that hair will cling to. Gently touch the balloon to the area you want to clean, and it will quickly lift onto the balloon.
Get your kids involved with the process, and they’ll clean your house and make their own fun with it. For a little extra fun, try having them wave it around the air to collect the maximum amount of hair floating around.
7. Check Out Dry Sweeping
Sweeping with a broom takes a lot of time, and sometimes you can still miss some small hairs. Sometimes sweeping can stir up even more hair and dust into the air!
Dry sweeping is much more effective. A regular broom pushes the mess around, but dry sweeping will pick up every bit filth.
The textured ridges trap every bit of dirt, dander, and hair from hardwood and tile flooring. Furthermore, you can purchase electrostatic cloths for your dry sweeper that hair will cling to. If you have guests on their way over and no time to mop, dry sweeping is your solution.
8. Removing Pet Hair Before It Gets into the Air
The best solution is good prevention, so be sure to be grooming your pet regularly.
Don’t get the cheapest brush you can find in PetSmart, invest in a good brush designed specifically for your pet’s coat.
Does your pet have short or long hair? Does it have an undercoat? These are some things you need to consider when picking a brush.
For short-haired dogs without an undercoat, use a bristle brush. Bristle brushes don’t penetrate as deeply, so they don’t irritate the skin of dogs without undercoats.
For longer-haired dogs, try a pinhead brush to smooth the hair, remove dirt, and work through the tangles on wire-coated dogs. If you have multiple heavy-shedding dogs, slicker brushes work well for all short or long-haired dogs with undercoats. You should brush your dog every couple of days.
For your felines, you can use a slicker brush on both your short and long-haired cats. On short-haired breeds, make sure your brush has fine wire bristles that don’t irritate their skin.
Not only will regular brushing keep hair out of the air, it’s also vital to your pet’s health and well-being. However, unlike a dog, a cat only needs to be brushed once or twice a week.
The following tips will help remove pet hair from the air. This will help keep your house clean and let you breathe more easily. Some methods focus on furniture, others on the floor, and some on cleaning the air itself.
Should I Replace My HVAC and Air Filter?
When’s the last time you replaced your HVAC? As a pet owner, you should be aware that pet hair and dander hurts your HVAC system.
The pet hair clogs the filter while the dander weasels its way through. Then, the central heating and cooling system spreads dander all over your house.
If you have allergies, the solutions listed above won’t help unless you fix this. Furthermore, not replacing your filter can add a lot of wear and tear to the system. It will have to work harder to keep your house at your preferred temperature and cause lots of strain on your system.
The system will not work properly if you let it get clogged and dirty. The filter will clog up even faster if you have multiple pets. However, if you replace your HVAC, it can be your greatest ally in cleaning the air.
Make sure to follow manufacturer directions for your filter. A good rule of thumb is if you have a one-inch air filter, you should be changing it every 90 days.
For a four- or five-inch filter, change it every 12 months for best results. If you replace it regularly, you prevent dander, dust, and other debris from filling the air.
The Bottom Line
Getting rid of pet hair doesn’t have to be hard. The methods above are effective, low effort, and will keep your house clean.
You can spend more time playing with your pet rather than fuming over the mess they make. Remember to prevent hair shedding with grooming, replace your filter when needed, and have your favorite cleaning method on hand when needed.
If you have allergies they will lessen, and the whole home can enjoy clean air. Whether you have fun tossing balloons or invest in a robot vacuum, you now have the knowledge to take control over your health and home.
Ruben has a diverse background in the home services industry, with experience running a construction company, a kitchen and bath showroom, and a moving and relocation company. This breadth of experience has provided him with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in various areas of home improvement in general and specifically in the heating and plumbing niche.