Animal lovers are a dedicated lot. That dedication more often than not leads to the joys of pet ownership. Those joys also come with unique responsibilities, such as feeding, loving, exercising, and keeping in good health pets of all types and sizes.

It also means cleaning up hair; lots and lots of pet hair.

Leather sofas can be a pet owner’s best friend but not everybody has one. For those of us with fabric sofas, chairs, and thick carpets, the task of staying ahead of the hair-curve is never-ending.

We all have friends with allergies and as much as we love our pets, none of us want their hair in our food or on our work clothes.

Speaking of clothes: static electricity is an absolute magnet for pet hair which is partially why your laundry comes out of the dryer with dog or cat hair still on it. And, the drier the climate, the worse is the fallout from shedding.

Controlling static electricity and humidity can drastically improve your chances of fully cleaning up the pet hair around the house. In fact, as you will read just below, you can actually turn static electricity into a hair-cleaning phenomenon that not only works in your favor but helps restore both your sanity and pet-owning joy!

Fending For Your Furniture

Right off the bat, we’re going to talk about static electricity. Take a comfortable pair of rubber gloves (try Unigloves for free) and make them slightly damp. Then gently run your hands off the surface of your upholstered furniture and anything else covered in fabric. The hair will stick to the gloves and eventually cover them (Ewww). The good news is, they’re rubber and washable so simply rinse outside or in a utility sink when the gloves are fully coated. You can repeat the process as much as needed to get all the hair off of your favorite furniture.

You can also use a slightly damp sponge if gloves aren’t handy (sic).

There are more tricks, too. Mix fabric softener with water in a spray bottle. Spry the mixture lightly onto your furniture and wipe it off gently.

Just like that, we’re back to static electricity being an enemy. Wooden furniture requires special care but that doesn’t make it immune to the challenges of pet hair buildup. It just means you have to approach cleaning it (and removing pet hair) differently. Furniture polish on a soft, microfiber cloth works great to prevent static cling that will just draw pet hair right back to the wood. There are also numerous anti-static dusting sprays available on the market. Just be aware of what your wooden furniture can and can not handle, chemical-wise, before applying any.

Fighting For Your Floors

Pumice stones are such great, cleaning-guru secrets. They’re really not just limited to faces and dry skin.

Use a pumice stone to clean up pet hair by running it gently along the surface of your carpet. The hair will be drawn to the stone by static electricity and you can clean the stone like you do the rubber gloves.

Of course, you won’t be re-using that stone for your face, but you can re-use it after each rinse to re-clean your carpets.

There is a product available called the FURminator that actually scrapes up the pet hair without doing damage to your carpets. Still, you want to use it lightly

A big overlooked trick to cleaning carpets is vacuuming in multiple directions each time you clean, as well as alternating starting points for each cleaning session. Running diagonal and in cross-sections moves the rug fibers, debris, and pet hair around and to the surface, allowing your vacuum cleaner to do a more complete job. Find more information here about vacuum cleaners.

Hardwood floors and other bare surfaces require you use a microfiber dry mop or another electrostatic device to get the job done. Vacuum cleaners just don’t’ get the per hair off your bare floors – they tend to blow it around more than they suck it up.

De-Clinging Your Clothes

Who’s your best friend? Who’s your best friend?

Other than your pet, I can tell you that, as a pet owner, it’s the portable lint roller. My suggestion is to keep one by your door and in your car so you can always be hair-free before going out or to work.

Use a high-quality dryer sheet to remove larger amounts of pet hair from your laundry. Try using 2-3 at a time, even, and throw them in with your load.

Things such as dryer balls bounce around and help loosen pet hair while tumbling. The hair is more likely to end up in the lint trap when you use a ball as opposed to a sheet, and, dryer balls have chemical-free options.

The other trick for your laundry is to add a water softener to your washing machine when doing a load. This helps break the hair away from the fabric.

Making Your Pets More Pet-Able

Brush those beauties! It’s the classic method and works wonders. A bi-weekly brushing is a huge, preventative help in eliminating pet hair around your house.

There’s also a rumor going around that putting a sock on it – your vacuum hose, that is – helps pull up loose pet hair. But, it suggests you vacuum your actual pet that way. I don’t know about you but I’ve never met a cat or dog that would enjoy such an experience. But hey – it’s worth mentioning! You’re pet just might be the one how likes it. And if so, you’ll be enjoying easier, hair-free days alongside your shedding-less pet!

Published: 2018-12-23 21:07:20