It’s a problem virtually every pet parent knows all too well: We love our furry friends, but we do not especially love their actual fur when it is covering everything we own.
The challenge of keeping pet hair from getting all over every surface of your home, on your clothes, in your car — everywhere! — can seem insurmountable. But there are tools and techniques that can help to control the fluff. To help you find the very best, and to understand what grooming and hair removal products are the right ones for the job, we asked the people who know pet hair best — grooming experts — for their tips on hair management. Ahead, we rounded up 18 Amazon finds to get pet hair off of everything. Yep, even off your pet!
When it comes to keeping pet hair under control, Jess Rona, a celebrity dog groomer and judge on HBO Max’s “Haute Dog,” stresses the importance of getting to the root of the problem — literally. “Taking your pet to a professional groomer for a monthly bath will help tremendously with shedding,” Rona says.
Grooming at home is also crucial to decrease shedding, leaving less loose pet hair to get all over your things. Love gloves are a good way to groom your cat while also showing them the kind of attention they adore.
Jorge Bendersky, a celebrity dog groomer and author of “DIY Dog Grooming: From Puppy Cuts to Best in Show,” agrees. “The best way to reduce pet hair around the house is to go straight to the source — the pet — to reduce the amount of shedding.” Bendersky says that regularly brushing your pet is the best way to reduce shedding, because it removes dead coat and straightens the hair follicles, which helps them hold on to the hair longer.
Rona explains that professional groomers use tools that most pet parents don’t have at home. “We have a fancy force dryer that has a nozzle on it that can blow off dead coat and minimize shedding.” But there are many reasons you might opt to groom your pet at home — my dog nephew, Tony, for example, is a perfect animal who is not welcome at the groomer because his perfection makes the other clients feel bad about themselves, so Tony gets his hair done at home. Tony’s human uses the Neabot groomer, which makes cleanup very easy and allows for a choice of styles, including long bangs.
In addition to professional grooming, Rona posts educational grooming videos on TikTok and Instagram, which are a great resource for pet parents who want to try their hand at at-home grooming.
If you’re a pet parent, you’ve probably spent a small fortune on sticky rollers to pick pet hair up off of the furniture, the bed, the car, your clothes — everything! The ChomChom roller works similarly to sticky rollers, just without the sticky. The infinitely reusable fabric roller picks up hair and deposits it in an easy-to-empty lint trap chamber.
Putting pet hair removal tools right where they’re needed is a smart idea, and this unobtrusive Oxo furniture brush is the perfect thing for stashing next to the couch or on a bedside table for quick and easy pet hair pickup. The base removes fur from the brush, and because it’s reusable, it doesn’t require refills.
$6.99 at Amazon
Of course, sticky rollers have their place in any pet hair management strategy! You’re probably familiar with the standard sticky roller, but you may not know that specialty sticky rollers exist. Oversized or jumbo rollers are great for homes with pets because they can cover more area with each pass, making them perfect for use on large items like furniture.
Oversized sticky rollers with extendable handles also exist in this world, and they’re just the thing for removing hair from hard-to-reach places like curtains.
Pet hair removers come in a number of different forms, and a combination of products may be the right solution — it’s rare to find a one-size-fits-all answer to pet hair removal, and it’s fine to use one tool for furniture and another for curtains. The Gonzo pet hair lifter is a sponge-style hair remover that can be used on everything from window screens to carpets.
When it comes to removing pet hair from laundry, Bendersky recommends addressing pet hair before it goes in the wash. “It is easier to remove the hair with a lint roller before you put the clothes in the washing machine,” he says, “but if that is not an option, things like the FurZapper work pretty well.”
Another way to address pet hair in the laundry is to use a laundry booster, such as white vinegar, that loosens fur. “Adding some white vinegar to the rinse cycle of the washer machine softens the water and helps to loosen fur from fabrics,” Bendersky says.
Floor care is another place where, when it comes to managing your pet’s furry output, more than one solution may be needed. We tend to think first of vacuums when it comes to cleaning up loose pet hair, but brooms play an important role too. The trick when selecting a broom for sweeping hair is to go for one with rubber bristles rather than a traditional brush broom.
When it comes to vacuums, Bendersky’s go-to is the suite of Dyson products for pet owners. The vacuum’s high-torque cleaner head features anti-tangle technology, and the V15 Detect includes Dyson’s new hair screw tool, which is designed for use in homes with pets.
A full-size vacuum is a must for pet parents, but a handheld vac also plays an important role in managing hair. Because of its size and nimbleness, a handheld is a better vacuum for use in the car, getting into tight corners where drifts of hair collect and even just a quick once-over when you don’t feel like reaching for the full-size vacuum. Rona calls this Black+Decker cordless vacuum “super convenient — it’s small, chic and powerful.”
A hybrid vacuum-mop tool is another great choice for pet owners because of its versatility. They’re more cumbersome than traditional upright and handheld vacuums, but they also offer more cleaning power. “I love the Bissell Crosswave because it’s a vacuum and a mop in one,” Rona says.
When it comes to keeping your car fur-free, Bendersky suggests giving your pet a quick brush from head to tail before leaving the house. “The same way we brush our hair before we leave the house, it’s a good routine to do the same for our dogs — it will have an impact on the amount of hair left behind in the car.”
Another way to control pet hair in the car, Bendersky says, is to designate a spot in the car for Mr. Pupper. “Keeping dogs loose while riding a car is not only unsafe for the dog, but it will get pet hair all over,” he says. He recommends getting your dog used to sitting in the same spot by using a pet-safe leash that can be attached to the car’s safety belt. He also suggests putting a blanket on Mr. Pupper’s seat. “Dogs love to have their ‘spot,’ so bringing a small blanket or a dog bed in the car will help your dog to keep calm and, since they love to nest, most of the loose hair will stay on the blanket.”
Just as in the home, controlling pet hair in the car will help to reduce the amount of cleaning you will inevitably have to do. Rona recommends using a car seat cover hammock to keep the hair more or less in one place.
Stashing a suite of small hair removal tools right in the car means you’ll have what you need when you need it. This small rubber bristled brush can remove fur from car seats as well as from your clothes so you don’t step out of the car looking like you just wrestled a cat. (We don’t recommend wrestling cats in general!)
This is an oddball, but it really works: Rubber is the natural enemy of fur, and running a be-gloved hand over furry surfaces will cause hair to ball up into a wad that can be picked up and dumped in the trash. The rubber glove trick is easy, versatile and, best of all, a very inexpensive answer to the problem of pet hair on every surface.
