All mammals shed their hair in different seasons of the year; dogs and cats included. Unfortunately, it almost always ends up on important fabrics such as clothes, carpets and furniture. Getting rid of this fur can be a consistent problem for pet owners.
As someone who dearly loves your furry friend, you need to develop an arsenal of skills to remove pet hair from different fabrics. There are many methods that can be used, depending on the type of material you are looking to clean.
Best ways to remove pet hair from clothes?
It is hard to avoid getting pet hair on your clothes. It is not just carrying them that attracts fur to your clothing. If like me you have a cat with long fur you can see it shed as they walk and it will be attracted to you. This is because hair has an electrostatic attraction to the fabric. Do not despair, removing pet hair is a relatively straight forward process, even if it is one that needs to be carried out often.
1. Tumble clothes before washing
Just putting hair covered clothes into the washing machine won’t work, it can even make it worse by driving the hair deeper into the fabric. An effective method is to place your clothes into your tumble dryer before you wash them. Set it to its air dry cycle and run it for 5 or 10 minutes. Adding a dryer ball or a dryer sheet can make this even more effective. Once you’ve finished the dryer cycle wash the clothes as usual but with extra fabric conditioner. Don’t forget to clean your dryer filter to remove any trapped pet hair.
2. Using a lint roller
Perhaps the easiest and most convenient way to remove pet hair is to use a lint roller. All you need to do is repeatedly run it over your clothes. Lint rolling is more effective on garments you are wearing, so have a roller handy in case you notice hair on your clothes.
Sticky lint rollers are good but very wasteful. They have a sticky side that comes in contact with your clothing, picking up any trace of hair as you roll. You can then peel the top layer off to uncover a new sticky surface.
I persoanlly use Lint rollers are best placed next to the door for a quick brush before you leave the house.
3. Using duct tape
This is effective on woollen and cotton cloth fabric. First, run the tape, sticky side down, over the surface of the material. Secondly, press the tape firmly on the fabric, then peel it off. The pet hair gets attached on to the sticky surface and is pulled off together with the tape.
Best ways to remove pet hair from furniture?
Pets love furniture, especially a soft, comfy chair. A minute on them, and it is full of hair. There are the best ways of removing pet hair from your furniture;
1. Vacuuming
Vacuuming is the best way to remove hair from upholstery fabric, such as cushions. Run a handheld vacuum cleaner over the fabric surface repeatedly. Move in a regular pattern to prevent you from missing a spot.
2. Using a damp rubber glove
You don’t need a special glove for this purpose any household cleaning glove will do. After putting it on, soak it in water and shake off the excess. Finally, rub the glove over the targeted surfaces. This method can pick hair from cushions but is best-suited to wooden surfaces.
3. Using a dryer sheet
Dryer sheets are ideal for cleaning pet hair from smooth surfaces like wooden or plastic furniture and laminated surfaces. A quick wipe with a dryer sheet will remove all the pet hair. Additionally, dryer sheets have fabric softeners on them, which creates static to attract even more hair.
4. Using furniture polish
For wooden furniture, take a clean microfiber cloth and spray it with furniture polish. Run it over your wood surfaces to pick up the hairs.
Best ways to remove pet hair from carpet?
As well as furniture and clothes, carpets also attract pet hair. Fortunately, there is more than one way of effectively removing pet fur from your carpets.
1. Vacuum cleaning after spraying with fabric softener
Spray your carpet with a 3 to 1 mixture of water and fabric softener. Spray until the carpet is dampened and then leave it to dry for 30 minutes. Afterwards, vacuum clean it repeatedly to pick up the hair
2. Using pumice stone
Sometimes the pet hair is inseparable from the carpet’s fabric. In such a case, soft pumice rock from your bathroom is the best way to remove them. Rub the stone over the carpet in different directions until all the hair is gathered in one place. Finally, collect the hair by hand or using a vacuum cleaner.
3. Using a lint roller
The magic pet fur remover you have for your clothes can also be used on carpets too. Use a similar technique to the pumice stone. Brush the fur into one area and then remove with your hands.
How can I prevent pet hair from getting onto fabric?
Prevention is better than cure. If you are thinking of getting a pet, start by selecting breeds that are known for not shedding their hair. Additionally, you can employ regular grooming methods to reduce the amount of loose hair in your pet’s coat.
If you are very concerned about pet fur, you could train your pets to avoid lying on the furniture in the house. This is most likely to work with dogs but not all cats.
Lastly, why not try non-furry pets such as parrots, fish and reptiles? They can be just as engaging, good company and don’t have fur to shed.
Finally
The key to effectively cleaning up pet hair is persistence. Find a method that works for you and keep refining it until you are an expert. Unfortunately, in most cases, the hair will keep building up so you will get lots of practice.
Despite the effort needed to remove that stubborn fluff, our pets can brighten our lives in so many ways. Removing pet hair is often a small price to pay for the companionship they offer.
