7 of the Best Tips for Cleaning Up Dog Hair in Your Home

According to the American Pet Products Association’s survey, 67% of the households in the U.S. own a pet. Of those households, 63.4 million of them own at least one dog.

If you’re one of them, it is likely you sometimes struggle with dog hair. Even if your dog is a light shedding breed rather than a heavy shedding breed. All dogs that have hair still shed throughout the year.

Here’s how to manage the overall hair loss and remove the rest from your home.

1. De-Shedding/Brushing

To help get rid of dog hair before it has a chance to become a cleaning issue, use a de-shedding tool or brush on your dog every day. Or use a grooming/de-shedding glove, if you prefer.

Doing so will pick up a lot of the loose fur before it gets a chance to drop off. And, bonus, it will give you some great one-on-one time with your beloved pet.

2. Bathe Your Dog Regularly

Bathing your dog regularly will help remove excess hairs. Try once a month for light shedders or twice a month for heavy shedders. For maximum hair removal, after bathing (if your dog will let you) you can dry their hair on a hair dryer’s warm setting, followed by thorough brushing.

3. How to Clean Pet Hair Off Your Clothing

Lint rollers work well to remove hair off clothing. Keep one where you get ready to go out and another near the door so you’ll have one handy. If not, wrap some tape around your fingers, sticky side up, then pat your clothing to remove the hairs.

4. How to Clean Pet Hair Off Floors

Very lightly sweep or use a squeegee on your carpet, then vacuum with a HEPA filter to clean pet hair off your carpeting. Switching directions when going forward and backward will help loosen up even more hairs.

On hardwood or vinyl floors, use a microfiber dry mop or a rubber broom first to gather up the loose hairs. Then you can vacuum to pick up fleas or their eggs and any other dirt/debris off the floor. This will keep the vacuum from blowing the loose hair around before you get a chance to pick it up.

5. How to Clean Pet Hair Off Furniture

Use rubber gloves to remove pet hair from upholstered furniture. Just lightly run your gloved hand over the furniture and the hairs will cling to it.

For wooden and other hard surfaces, a lightly dampened cloth will do the trick. You can also use anti-static dusting spray instead of water, but it isn’t necessary.

6. Clean Hair Out From Under Furniture

Pet hairs are light and they get blown into all corners of your rooms. Pet hair ends up under your beds, dressers, and any furniture that has a small gap between it and the floor. Remove it by using a vacuum, microfiber dry mop, or a rubber broom.

7. Keep Dog Hair From Getting Into Your Washing Machine

Before washing clothes or blankets that are covered in pet hair, run them through the dryer for ten minutes with dryer sheets. After, especially for blankets, shake them vigorously or beat them with the end of a broom to remove as much hair as possible before washing them.