Share:

How to Clean Dog Hair

Staff Writer · May 14, 2010

Knowing how to properly clean dog hair from common surfaces in your apartment will make living and entertaining in your apartment a more attractive prospect. Getting all of the hair—even the hair that blends in with the surface—is more difficult than simply sweeping or vacuuming away.

Cleaning Hair on Hard Surfaces

It’s easiest to clean dog hair on hard surfaces because the hair is less likely to statically cling to the surface, although it may get caught between floor boards if you have any cracks. Don’t just sweep the dog hair, as you’ll be spreading the hair around and it’s difficult to scoop all of the hair into a dust pan. Instead, purchase an electronic sweeper or a sweeper with disposable cloths. The former uses brushes that are safe to use on hard surfaces to scoop all of the hair and the latter uses static cling on a disposable cloth to grip the hair. You can dispose of the hair with the electronic sweeper by emptying the tray.

You can make your own fairly effective manual sweeper by tying a dryer sheet on the end of a broom or mop for floors and just wiping other hard surfaces directly with the dryer sheet. The dryer sheet attracts the hair as you run it over the hard surface and you can simply throw it away when finished.

Getting Hair Off of Carpet and Rugs

Being able to clean dog hair off of carpets and rugs poses more of a challenge than the hard surfaces because the hair is more likely to grip onto the fibers and the hair may also be more difficult to see. The easiest way to remove the hair is to find a vacuum with deep bristle brushes (some vacuums even have pet hair attachments) and adjust the setting on the vacuum to as low as possible. You can make it easier for yourself, though, by first encouraging some of the dog hair to come apart from the carpet or rug fibers.

To loosen the hair before you vacuum, wear a rubber glove and run your hand back and forth along the carpet. You can also try patting the carpet or rug with a lightly dampened cloth or paper towel first or using a spray bottle with a mixture of 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup fabric softener to lightly spray the surfaces. Allow the surfaces to dry and vacuum. The hair should be less likely to cling.

Getting Hair Off of Furniture

You can use techniques similar to those that you use to keep dog hair off of carpets and rugs to clean dog hair off of furniture, particularly if you have a pet hair attachment for your vacuum. Don’t forget, though, that some furniture, like some variations of leather, stains when wet, so if you’re going to try to wet or mist the area before vacuuming, try the damp cloth or water/softener solution on a small, unnoticeable section of the furniture first.

You can also try rolling a lint roller or other pet-hair adhesive roller over the furniture. Sticky rolls designed to grab hair and lint work quite effectively at keeping furniture free of hair every day between more through vacuuming.

Being able to clean dog hair the right away not only makes your apartment look cleaner, but it can also help those who suffer from allergies breathe better. Using the proper tools can make cleaning up the hair much easier and more effective.

You might also like:

Moving into a new apartment or rental property can be both exciting and stressful. From packing up your belongings to coordinating logistics, there’s a lot to manage. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is what to expect on move-in day regarding the condition of your new unit. Surprisingly, according to recent surveys, a significant […]

Jessica Lee

 · Mar 12, 2024

On ApartmentRatings, real renters have the ability to rate and review their apartment communities based on their experience touring and or living in the communities. ApartmentRatings offers renters the ability to see what life is like at a community through a report card grade style format called epIQ. Every month we highlight apartment communities whose […]

Jessica Lee

 · Feb 28, 2024

On ApartmentRatings, real renters have the ability to rate and review their apartment communities based on their experience touring and/or living in them. ApartmentRatings offers renters the ability to see what life is truly like at a community through a report card grade style format called epIQ. Every month we highlight a major city across […]

Jessica Lee

 · Jan 31, 2024