Best Pet Hair Remover: 5 Simple Tips

There are so many wonderful things about having a pet. I’ve had my cat Molly for 12 years, and she’s introduced me to so many new things. And one of those things is the world of pet hair. And can I just say, I didn’t realize how much cat hair one cat could shed! 

Now I’m a seasoned pro at removing pet hair, but when I first got my cat I didn’t know what to do! So if you have enough pet hair in your couch to knit a sweater, I can help with that. These tips should get your furniture and home clean even if you have a high-shedding dog or cat. And if you’re reading this article, you should probably check out Pet Cleaning Tips: Pet Items You Should Be Cleaning too. 

1. The Rubber Glove Trick 

My cat loves hanging out on all the soft surfaces of my house. The couch, the armchair, the footstool. Basically, all the furniture that cat hair clings to, that’s where she is. I vacuum these areas when I do a vacuum of the house, but when I don’t feel like breaking out the vacuum, another tool I use is rubber gloves. 

First, put on your rubber gloves. Then apply pressure to the surface of the material and wipe your gloved hand over it. You’ll see that pet hair immediately starts to come up and onto the rubber glove. This is because the friction from the rubber drags the pet hair right off the surface of the couch. This tip feels like magic because you basically just run your hand over a piece of upholstery, and it’s suddenly cleaner. This is a great way to get pet hair off furniture quickly, but it’s not a replacement for regular vacuuming. 

2. Microfiber Cloths to the Rescue

My cat basically refuses to sit in a pet bed. Any time I buy one for her, she completely ignores it and makes herself comfortable on the furniture. She really loves to sit on our velvet-padded kitchen chairs, and she’s a long-haired cat, so they are basically constantly covered in pet hair. 

A great trick for a quick, effective clean is to use a damp microfiber cloth. All you have to do is dampen your clean microfiber cloth lightly and then wipe your furniture with it in quick strokes. And just like that, you’ll see the hair comes right off. Like with rubber gloves, it’s that friction that attracts the pet hair and transfers it off your upholstery and onto your cleaning tool. 

If you’ve been following Clean My Space for a while, you know how much I love microfiber cloths. For more uses for this amazing cleaning tool read, 27 Ways to Use Microfiber Cloths. 

3. Squeegees are for Upholstery Too

Like a rubber glove, a rubber-tipped squeegee can help remove pet hair from an upholstered or carpeted surface. This doesn’t replace vacuuming, but it’s something you can do quickly to clean one or two items at a time. 

What you’re going to do is literally squeegee your carpet, couch, or whatever upholstered item you want to clean. Use quick, short strokes to get the best results. When you flip your squeegee over, you’re going to see pet hair building upon it. You can just pull that off and toss it in the garbage. Do this as you clean, so it doesn’t build up too much, and start getting back onto your upholstery or onto the floor. I like to have a trash can beside me as I work for easy clean-up. 

If this sounds familiar, you might have seen it on TikTok. Carpet squeegeeing has been a viral cleaning trend on #cleantok for a while. Read about it in my article, Carpet Squeegee: TikTok Cleaning Hacks.

4. Lint Rollers for Quick Fixes

If you have a pet, you probably have a lint roller. So it’s a great tool to use on pet hair when you’re in a hurry. You can just grab it and tackle that pet hair in a minute or two. Some people just roll the lint roller across their upholstery to get pet hair off. You could do this, but it’s really not as effective as other methods, and it’s kind of wasteful. 

I like to use my lint roller when I’m dealing with a corner or a textured surface that is really tough to get into with other tools. I simply tear off a sticky sheet and work that into the tufts, corners, or whatever area I’m dealing with. Just like a lint roller, it picks up crumbs, pet hair, and everything else lurking in your furniture. 

5. Vacuum Attachments Are a Must Sometimes

While there are a lot of tricks to get out of vacuuming, sometimes vacuums are the best option. For example, I have a velvet footstool in my living room that has little tufts all over the surface. I find this kind of surface challenging to clean because it’s uneven. So, I usually break out the vacuum when I want to clean it. 

What’s important about vacuuming for pet hair is having the right tools. A lot of people use a handheld vacuum when they vacuum furniture for pet hair, which is great as long as you have the right kind of attachment. My handheld vacuum has a motorized head, so it’s really going to dick into the fabric and suck the hair out. And it has a strip that actually looks like a lint brush. This is also really helpful when I’m dragging the attachment across an upholstered surface to lift up pet hair. 

If there’s still a lot of pet hair around after you vacuum, it means you don’t have the right vacuum attachment, or your vacuum isn’t right for the job. If that’s the case in your home, I recommend upgrading to a vacuum that will do the job right. If you’re in the market for a new vacuum, read, Which Dyson Vacuum Should You Buy?

Best Pet Hair Remover

So, the million-dollar question is, what is the best pet hair remover? The answer is, it depends on the type of furniture you have and the problem pet hair areas in your home. If you’re dealing with a couch or carpet, maybe a squeegee is the best tool for you. Or, if you have textured furniture like me, the lint roller trick might be where it’s at. 

Try out these tips and let me know in the comments below what works best for you. And remember, there is no replacement for regular vacuuming! A great upholstery attachment is your best friend. Other than your pet, of course.