Remove Pet Hair
Hair from a beloved animal can be very frustrating when it finds its way into your clothes, carpeting, furniture and upholstery. It doesn't mean you have to start avoiding your cuddly pets, though. Simply remove the unwanted pet hair instead! There are several ways you can remove pet hair, but some of the easiest options involve the use of moisture, gripping surfaces, and static attraction. Preventing pet hair from building up will also tackle the problem long-term.
Contents
Steps
Moisture
- Soak the palm of your hand in a bowl of water. Wipe the pet hair off in a downward motion. The hair will ball up , and stick to your damp hand. This works because the hair becomes wet, therefore heavier. This results in it being unable to stick to your pants (or whatever surface you're dealing with) in response to static electricity.
- Barely dampen a clean, regular kitchen sponge. Use a sponge mop if you're removing pet hair from a low-pile carpet, in which case the floor should be thoroughly vacuumed first. Rub the fabric, upholstery, or carpet with the sponge. The fur should roll up into clumps that you can pick off by hand.
Gripping surfaces
- Rub Velcro curlers on the surface to catch the hair. If the curler has a metal inner form, it can be bent to reach corners.
- Use sellotape to peel off some fur. Just wrap some around your hand with the sticky, adhesive part sticking out and tap it on the fur-covered areas.
Magnetic attraction
- Put on a latex glove. Rub the surface with it on. The pet hair should stick to your glove. This also works with rubber gloves or cloth gardening gloves with a rubber coating on the palm. A rubber bristle push broom can work in the same way on floors. Dampen the glove or rubber section of the glove for increased effectiveness.
- Inflate a balloon. Rub it across the surface that has pet hair on it. The static on the balloon's surface will attract the hair (and works on yours, too!), which you can collect and then re-use the balloon to get more hair.
- Use a rubber broom. This is effectively for especially stubborn pet hair that sticks to a surface. The bristles work with static electricity and the hair jumps onto the brush.
- Use rubber soles. Use a pair of shoes with a rubber sole, for example, Cowboy boots (Without dung or dirt on them!) , trainers, etc. Wearing the shoe(s) (the easiest option), drag your foot along the rug or carpet and watch all the hair bunch up! Simply lift up the hair and bin it.
- Apply fabric softener. A fabric softener sheet that normally goes in the dryer can be used to pick up pet hair. You can also mist the surface with a mixture of fabric softener and water to "prep" the area before removing the pet hair using any of the other methods.
Preventing hair build-up
- Consider preventive measures. Place your clothing in an area isolated from your pets or groom them regularly to reduce the amount of loose hair on them. You should also vacuum carpets and furniture regularly, and wash the rugs and linens that the pets have contact with.
Tips
- Rolling, sticky lint removers work, as does a piece of duct tape wrapped around your hand with the sticky side out. However, you must move onto the next piece after one swipe, which is more wasteful than the above methods.
- Use masking tape. It's relatively cheap and you can tear off a piece, tape the ends together, and then rotate the tape while removing pet hair from clothing or other surfaces.
- Try using the sole of a trainer shoe. Just brush the area with the trainer and watch the fur come away!
- Those red and black lint brushes work great on most types of dog and cat hair.
- In the office, the sticky sided clear label holders shipping companies provide make an excellent hair removal glove.
- Clothing can be put in a washing machine and into the dryer with a static sheet. Once it's cleaned, hang it up. Be careful because dark solid colors tend to spot (almost looks like grease spots) when they're the only clothes in the dryer with a dryer sheet. {Sometimes this may not work due to the sheet not getting to every spot on every part of the cloth, so try the other methods and there is absolutely something that will work}
- Use a squeegee which is a scraping implement with a rubber-edged blade set on a handle, typically used for cleaning windows on furniture and carpets..
- Daily brushing and feeding a skin and coat supplement can do wonders for shedding.
- A good diet and proper grooming will significantly reduce your pet's shedding and help prevent flaking skin and hair loss related to improper nutrition. Never bathe a dog more than once a month (less often for some breeds) or it will become dry and shed/dander more.
- Dogs with untreated allergies often leave more hair and dander on furniture.
Warnings
- Some people are allergic to pet dander, which flakes off along with their hair. If you are one of these people, use caution and limit contact with both pets and items covered in pet hair.
Things You'll Need
- Sponge
- Rubber glove
- Fabric softener
Related Articles
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