Hold on, you’ve been on a quest for the ultimate pet hair-busting vacuum, but there’s a game-changing trick you might have missed!
Enter the carpet rake – the secret weapon of experts. Picture it as a brush that’s your ticket to effective pet hair removal. First, comb your carpet with the rake to lift the fibers and break the hair free. This makes vacuuming a breeze.
Here’s the kicker: no matter how “good” your vacuum is at handling pet hair, without the pre-rake step, you’ll still miss some. The carpet rake also pulls double duty as a budget-friendly pet hair remover.
But wait, there’s more! You can also opt for a rubber broom with bristles that work wonders on pet hair.
So, before you vacuum, grab that carpet rake or rubber broom, and watch the magic happen as pet hair surrenders to your cleaning prowess!
What Vacuum To Use?
A quick search on the internet and you’ll see that everyone likes to recommend a Dyson Animal Vacuum Cleaner. I’m not going to lie; it’s a great vacuum cleaner.
But is it really the best for when it comes to pet hair?
Everyone likes to give general info on it and say it’s great but I don’t think it’s the very best. With the use of a carpet rake, I think a Shop Vacuum is far better. You can get a Shop Vacuum like this one here Vacmaster 4 Gallon (Amazon Link Ad) that has the floor attachment that will work great to pick up all the hair that you loosen up from the carpet.
If you want something even better take a look at the Henry Vacuum Cleaner. The Henry Vacuum is like a shop vacuum but has found love in many people to be used as their regular vacuum cleaner.
Do you want to know why I choose a Shop Vacuum for most of my vacuuming needs? It can do more than Pet Hair. If you have a dog or cat then it’s a good chance they will pee, poop, or even vomit on the floor – when this happens, a shop vacuum helps greatly.
A shop vacuum can do more than many of the vacuum cleaners that other sites recommend. It becomes a must-have if you have any pets and the messes they will make.
Reasons Why A Shop Vacuum Is A Must For Pet Hair…
- Tanks are bigger than most Vacuum Cleaners
- Don’t Clog as easy due to simpler design
- Most Shop Vacuums don’t have rollers so need to worry about them getting clogged with long pet hair
- Can Clean Wet and Dry Messes (You Know The Ones)
- Durable, they can take a beating
- Can accidentally suck up the wrong things like coins or socks and not have to worry too much about destroying one.
- Affordable
- Works the best on hardwood floors as it is pure suction and can get into tight spaces along the floor
Common Questions About Shop Vacuums
Are shop vacuums good for carpet? – Yes and no. As long as you get a shop vacuum with more than 3.5HP Peak you will have plenty of power for sucking up just about anything. Unlike regular vacuum cleaners, you don’t have to worry about a penny destroying it as it can handle the abuse most of the time. But most Shop Vacuums lack a beater brush for use on carpets – but this can be a good thing for when it comes to pet hair. That spinning roller (that most shop vacuums lack) can get hair wrapped around it and cause it to stop working. If you do go with a Shop Vacuum make sure it has a multi-floor attachment or pick one up here (Amazon Link Ad). Make sure to get the attachment that fits your shop vacuum hose size.
Wet Messes? – Another reason why a shop vacuum is a must-have for any home is the wet messes you’ll come across. It could be vomit or a clogged sink, a shop vacuum can help you out with this. When my dog goes on the carpet I grab some Enzyme Cleaner (Amazon Link Ad) and fully saturate the area and go behind with my shop vacuum to suck it all up. This is a great way to clean those nasty stains.
Suction? – Most shop vacuums have great suction, but I find that you must have all parts correctly inserted for the best suction, just like with any vacuum cleaner. Sometimes people will not clip the top deck on correctly or use the correct filters or lack of filters when they vacuum. Make sure to read the direction as every shop vacuum is different. You should have great suction when it comes to a shop vacuum with more than 3.5 peak horsepower.
Are they bulky? – Some shop vacuums can get big, but you don’t need anything big for around the home. I recommend staying around the 5-gallon range. But the bigger the shop vacuum the more power it has so it’s all about what you want to do with it.
If the Pet Dander is a concern then always look for a vacuum cleaner that has a true HEPA filter on it. The HEPA filter is the best solution if you want to combat allergies like dander.
The Other Option
The truth is that if you use a carpet rake first before vacuuming, then you don’t need a super fancy vacuum cleaner. You just need one with good suction for sucking up the fur on the carpet, sofa, and curtains and also one that does not clog easily.
I picked the shop vacuum to be the best overall vacuum cleaner for pet hair, but if you’re not jumping up and down about having a shop vacuum, then I would recommend the Shark Rotator Powered Lift-Away TruePet (Amazon Link Ad).
When looking for a vacuum cleaner that can handle pet hair you also want it to be able to handle many more things you throw at it. That is why I recommend the Shark Lift-Away.
Here are some reasons to consider the Shark Lift-Away…
- Can easily remove the canister so you can get under the sofa or bed where most pet hairs and dust bunnies live.
- Easily clean the stairs with the attachments it comes with.
- Easier to carry around compared to other vacuum cleaners.
- Long hose for getting into high places that cat hair and light fur likes to hide.
- HEPA filter. A Good HEPA Filter is key for attacking the Pet Dander and Allergies.
- Mini-Motorized Brush attachment for cleaning sofas and such.
The Lift-Away is the best of a canister vacuum, stick vacuum, and upright vacuum all in one. You can tell the engineers thought this vacuum cleaner through with all lift away action along with the placements of the LEDs. The ability to quickly go from carpets to under the bed is a huge advantage along with the LED’s showing where you’re going while under the bed.
It’s the little details that many people miss out on when shopping for a vacuum. You can’t go wrong with this vacuum cleaner.
Common Questions On Shark Rotator Powered Lift-Away TruePet
How does it do with hardwood floors, does hair stick to the brush? – This vacuum Cleaner does very well at sucking up pet hair on hardwood floors. You don’t see much hair sticking to the brush, so no need to worry. You do have a brush setting with this vacuum cleaner, just make sure to set it to the hard floor setting.
Does it have bags? – Nope, just a container you empty out when it’s full.
Pet Cleaning Attachments? – Yes, the NV752 will have the pet cleaning attachments.
Shag Carpet? – Works very well on shag carpet. Make sure to adjust to the correct settings before vacuuming.
Do the wheels scratch floors? – No, it’s plastic-rubber-like wheels.
Cat Litter? – Works well for cat litter. I would recommend reading my post about cat litter here if you want to keep this from happening.
How often to replace the filter? – I have a post here that goes into detail about changing the filters on vacuum cleaners.
What You Should Really Do
The best option is to have all three units. I know you’re looking for the one solution to your problems when it comes to pet hair, but having all three options above will make life easier.
When you think about it, the carpet rake is for lifting the pet hair up out of the fibers of the carpet. The Shark Lift-Away is for cleaning up those loose hairs and getting too odd and tight spaces. The Shop Vacuum can also be used for sucking up the loose hairs but comes in handy for all the random messes our pets make like urine, poop, and vomit.
If having all 3 is not an option then either go with the carpet rake and pick whichever two vacuums fit your needs. If you have a home with many pets living with you, then the shop vacuum might be the better option. If you only have a couple of dogs while living in an apartment, then the Shark Vacuum will be just fine.
Pet Hair In Car’s Carpet
If you have a pet hair issue in your home, then it’s only fair to say that you have pet hair in your car or truck. When picking a vacuum cleaner to pick up pet hair from your car’s carpet, I always recommend a Shop Vacuum.
But you still need to lift up the pet hair from the carpet of the car, and a carpet rake is too big for that. What you can use instead is what is called Fur-Zoff Pet Hair Remover (Amazon Link Ad). Use this to lift or loosen up the pet hair from the back of your vehicle and then use the shop vacuum to suck it all up.
If you’re worried about sensitive plastic and other areas scratching then use a Plastic Brush like this one here (Amazon Link Ad) instead to lift up the pet hair.
Here is a great video about getting rid of pet hair from your car…