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How to Remove Dog Hair

Derek Hales

Written By: Derek Hales

Updated on:

You love their wags, their licks, and those big puppy eyes that stare up at you.

No doubt about it, dogs are a part of the family, but their loose hair leaving a trail around your house is less than appealing.

How to remove dog hair

Finding the best way to remove dog hair from floors and furniture is a task that many pet owners struggle with. 

This guide is going to break down the best way to clean dog hair from a variety of home surfaces, so you can get back to enjoying your furry friend.

Why Do Dogs Shed Hair?

Shedding is a normal thing for many dog breeds, and it’s a part of the natural life cycle of the hair. 

As pet hair becomes old or damaged, it falls out, making room for new hair to grow in. Depending on the season, you many notice your pet shedding more or less than usual.

In many cases, this is normal, as dogs tend to shed more in the summer and grow in thicker coats during the winter. Of course, if you notice excessive shedding from your pet, that is unusual, be sure to take them to the vet to have it checked out. 

Causes for excessive shedding may be due to:

  • Infection
  • Allergy
  • Parasites
  • Certain diseases
Dogs that don't shed

You can also do some things to minimize excessive shedding from your pet. Talk to your vet first, but many times more frequent baths, adjustments to diet or exercise, or lowering stress levels may all be effective ways to limit shedding from your dog.

What seems like excessive shedding can be normal for some pets, but it can also be the result of poor nutrition or stress.

If you think your four-legged friend is leaving more hair around the place then normal, Catmania.net have some useful advice on the best food to eliminate shedding, plus how you can ensure your pet feels stress-free.

If shedding is just not for you, there are some pet breeds that shed significantly less than others (although almost all dogs shed hair). If you’re looking for a dog that sheds so infrequently, that it’s barely noticeable, you may want to consider one of the following breeds.

These are just a few popular breeds that would be considering hypoallergenic dog breeds and have minimal shedding:

  • Bichon Frise
  • Maltese Terrier
  • Border Terrier
  • Cairn Terrier
  • Irish Terrier
  • Kelly Blue Terrier
  • West Highland White Terrier
  • Yorkshire Terrier
  • Australian Silky Terrier
  • Schnauzer (toy, miniature, or standard size)
  • Poodle (toy, miniature, or standard size)
  • Shih Tzu
  • Irish Water Spaniel
  • Labradoodle (cross between a lab and a poodle)
  • Chinese Crested
  • Havanese

Of course, if you’re reading this article, chances are that you already own a dog that sheds. There are many effective ways to remove dog hair from your home, without removing the dog itself, so follow along and we’ll dive right in.

How to Remove Dog Hair from Floors?

Pet hair on the floor is one of the most inevitable places for pet hair to land. Even if they are not allowed on furniture or in your bed, simply living and walking around the house, your dog will likely shed onto the floor.

How to Clean Hardwoods or Tile

To clean dog hair from a hardwood or tile floor, try wetting a sponge mop prior to cleaning the floor. 

Pet hair tends to stick to moist surfaces better than dry ones (like a dry bristle broom). You can use a generic mop or check out the Swiffer Wet Jet.

This low-profile mop uses a stream of cleaning solution that squirts in front of the mop and allows you to clean small areas at a time.

How to remove pet hair friendship

If you like the concept, but don’t want the moisture, you can also try the standard Swiffer sweeper. This one uses dry microfiber dusting pads or wet cleaning pads.

Although a wet clean is better for these surfaces, microfiber does have the ability to pick up quite a bit of pet hair.

How to Clean Carpet

For cleaning dog hair from carpet, the vacuum cleaner is the best way to go. While there are many vacuums for pet hair on the market, here are my top picks, based on reviewing over 30 different vacuum cleaner models and types.

For a hand-free approach that could run every day (with no extra effort on your part), robot vacuums are a great choice. When considering pet hair specifically, you may want to check out the bObsweep Pet Hair or the Roomba 890.

Bobsweep PetHair

bObsweep PetHair robot vacuum review

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Roomba 890

Roomba 890

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For a more traditional approach, upright vacuum cleaners are also extremely effective at removing pet hair. Uprights allow you to focus more time on specific areas and ignore other areas altogether. Regarding uprights, the Dyson Animal compact upright or the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser upright are both great options.

Dyson Multi Floor 2

upright vacuum reviews - Shark vs, Dyson

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Bissell Pet Hair Eraser

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Vacuum

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When vacuuming up dog hair be sure to go slow and run the vacuum in multiple directions. This helps to loosen the hair from the carpet fiber and collect the most hair. 

Emptying the dust bin and cleaning the filter regularly also helps to keep your vacuum running at full performance and suction power.

You can also sprinkle a little bit of baking soda onto your carpet before vacuuming to help eliminate stale or animal odors.

How to Remove Dog Hair from Furniture?

When addressing dog hair on furniture, the approach is similar, but at a smaller scale. With a damp washcloth and a handheld vacuum, you will likely have everything you need to clean most seating types in your house.

Cleaning Leather or Vinyl Seating

Use a soft, damp cloth to help remove dog hair from leather chairs or vinyl seating. If you’re most concerned about pet hair, these seating styles are great because the hair cannot bury itself into the fibers.

how to clean pet hair from leather couch

Cleaning Fabric Upholstered Seating

For upholstered seating with a softer fabric, you will likely have to use a handheld vacuum for the best results.

Many handheld vacuums use roller brushes or agitators, like the Shark Pet Perfect 2, on the end of the vacuum to help loosen hair and pet dander.

Shark Pet Perfect 2 handheld vacuum review
Shark pet Perfect 2 (cordless, handheld)

For the absolute best value for the performance, the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser handheld vacuum is simply incredible.

For an incredibly low price, this little handheld proves that size isn’t everything. It comes with a hard and rubber nozzle for different seating types and is lightweight enough to carry around the house with ease.

bissell pet hair eraser handheld vacuum review
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser handheld vacuum

For a cordless handheld vacuum cleaner, you may also want to check out the out the Dyson V6 Trigger or the Shark Pet Perfect II.

Dyson V6 Trigger

Dyson V6 Trigger handheld vacuum

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Shark Pet Perfect 2

Shark Pet Perfect 2 handheld vacuum reviews

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How to Remove Dog Hair from Bedding?

While cleaning pet hair from your own bed, might not apply to you, this technique can be used for human bedding or pet beds. For best results, you can use a standard washer and dryer.

How to Remove Pet Hair from a Comforter

  1. Put bedding in the dryer and dry on “Air Dry” for 20-30 minutes.
  2. Check lint filter when done and remove pet hair from filter.
  3. Wash and dry as usual for cleaning or put back on your bed if you’re just “de-hairing”
how to remove dog hair from bedding

How to Remove Pet Hair from a Pet Bed

  1. Put pet bed in the dryer with a tennis ball and dry on “Air Dry” for 20-30 minutes.
  2. Check lint filter when done and remove pet hair from filter.
  3. Wash and dry as usual for cleaning or put back on your bed if you’re just “de-hairing”

4 Dog Hair Cleaning Hacks

Throw out the lint roller in favor of one of these four dog hair cleaning hacks, that use every day items around your home to clean up dog hair.

  1. Duct Tape — Roll approximately 6-8″ of duct tape into a circle, so that it sticks together. Then use your hand to roll over trouble spots that retain a lot of dog hair. Unlike a cheap lint roller, the duct tape won’t fall off the handle and it is much stickier.
  2. Rubber Gloves — Try using the standard yellow rubber gloves from under your kitchen sink to remove dog hair from upholstery. Starting at the back of the seat, use the gloves to slowly pull hair forward by just sliding your hand, palm side down, towards you.
  3. Window Squeegie —  Using a similar method to as the rubber gloves, the window squeegie can be used in the same way. Just pull the hair forward and then you have a sizable clumb, just pick it up with your hand and throw it away. Repeat as needed.
  4. Dryer Sheet — A dryer sheet can be used for dual purposes. Get a quick rub down to remove the hair and freshen the area as you go.

Despite what we know about their hair and shedding problem, dogs still make a popular companion for many people. Keep the love, but lose the hair.

Following these tips and tricks, you should be able to drastically reduce the amount of loose pet hair in your home.

About Derek Hales

Derek HalesDerek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ModernCastle.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University. Hales has been testing and reviewing products for the home since 2014.