9 Easy Ways to Get Pet Hair Out of Your Carpet

Pet owners should always be ready to enjoy the inconveniences that come alongside their pets as much as they enjoy the sweet little nudges, hugs, and affectionate kisses from their pets. But if only it weren’t fur on carpets! Pets shed hair, and it’s going to get into the carpets undoubtedly.

While you may pride in cleaning your home regularly, you must admit that cleaning a carpet entrenched in fur and dirt is nerve-racking. Thankfully, there are plenty of DIY tricks to employ on virtually any mess during the carpet cleaning spree to make life easier.

The 9 Ways to Remove Pet Hair From Your Carpet

The best part about cleaning a carpet full of pet hair is that you don’t always require special detergents and solvents to get the work done. With just a few ingredients and this list of tried-and-true pet hair removal tools, you can have an easier time getting fur, whether short or long, out of your carpet.

1. Lint Rollers

Lint rollers are the must-have tools for picking up cat and dog hair from the carpets. Whether it’s a routine cleaning day or the dreadful shedding season, lint rollers will get the job done.

One of the best lint rollers you can use is the ChomChom Roller Pet Hair Remover. This inexpensive tool has sheets that peel off in layers, exposing a new sticky sheet for each use.

When the lint roller is no longer sticky, unwrap the sheet, toss it and use a new one. Roll and remove the sheet when full until the dirt is out.

2. Rubber Gloves

Do you want a chemical-free way to clean your carpet? Rubber gloves offer a way out of the expensive carpet cleaners on the market. Also, a latex glove, just like the typical rubber gloves found in the cleaning aisle, can work on your carpet—no additional cleaning supplies are needed.

Rubber glove creates static power that helps the fur on the carpet stick on the glove on the hand.

Here is how to use rubber gloves for carpet pet hair removal:

Put on the rubber glove, and be prepared to get frisky with your carpet as you rub your hands all over the rug. The friction between the hand and the carpet will create static energy that will lift the fur and lint pieces and stick to the glove.
Before rubbing the carpet, submerge your hands in water and then proceed to give your carpet a good rub down. The damp glove will lift the hair from the carpet and cause it to stick on it. However, ensure that you rub in one direction to help collect a lump of hair at a common spot.
Collect the gathered hair and dispose of it elsewhere and rinse off the gloves by plunging the hand in a basin with hot water. The hair will unstick from the gloves and float away. Repeat the process until the rest of the hair is out of the carpet.

3. Fabric Softener

Yes, it doesn’t always have to be the expensive cleaning detergents. All you need is a regular fabric softener you use for your laundry, water, a spray bottle, vacuum, or brush. Here is the procedure you can follow.

Create a solution of liquid fabric softener and water. Dilute the fabric softener and the water in a spray bottle.
Spray the carpet lightly with the solution. Be careful not to spray too much; a bit of the solution on the fabric will do.
Wait for a couple of minutes for the solution to dry. It shouldn’t take long if you’ve sprayed a light mist.
The fabric softener allows stubborn pet hair to loosen up such that you can easily vacuum or brush the fur out of the fabric.

hand with pink gloves holding up a fabric softener — Image Credit: Anna Shvets, Pexels

4. Carpet Rakes

This broom-like tool works like a charm on the carpet by combing through it, unearthing the most hidden pet fur. It also has a long handle, removing the need for going down on your knees when cleaning.

The tiny metal or plastic pins at the rake’s head dig deep in the carpet’s fibers, pulling and trapping the hair from the rug with each stroke. Here is how to use a carpet rake:

Ensure the head is clean and adjusted to the handle.
Secure the handle to a comfortable height of operation.
Press the head onto the rug and rug and apply light pressure as you pull it down the fabric using short strokes. You can use longer strokes as you pull upwards if the carpet has long fibers.
Clean a small area and move onto the next spot once you feel the fur is out.
Remove the build-up from the rake and dispose of it once the head is full of hair.

5. Hair Brushes

A hairbrush is a handy tool when retrieving the hard-to-get strands of pet hair from a carpet. Ensure that you use a brush with stiff metal bristles when brushing.

When brushing, you can use both short and long strokes in various directions to ensure you are getting deep into the carpet’s fabric. However, ensure that all the strokes lead towards you and to a common collection point where you can hand-pick the pet hair lumps that form.

The fur will periodically stick and clog the bristles on your brush. Therefore, you may need to regularly stop and pull out the hair strands before you continue brushing. Brush repeatedly until no more hair sticks on the brush.

cat dandruff and hair on brush after grooming — Image Credit: photong, Shutterstock

6. Rubber Squeegees

Yes, you are right. You can squeegee a carpet the same way you do a window. Squeegeeing a rug is a charm for extracting tons of stubborn pet hair from it because the rubber part is a hair magnet.

The friction between rubber and the rug’s fabric creates a magnetic effect that pulls and sticks hair onto the tool. Ensure that you use a long-handle brush squeegee when cleaning a carpet to avoid bending your back or kneeling. Now, you only have to bring the window technique down to your floor.

Here is how to use a squeegee:

Pull the squeegee along the carpet towards your direction with a little pressure. Ensure that you do it in sections. Although it might require effort, it is worth the trouble. The rubber will pull out tumbleweed-like balls of fur, freeing the fabric from pet hair.
The rubber will loosen the embedded hair, allowing you to pick up and dispose of the hair clumps that accumulate after few strokes. Repeat the process until you get rid of all the pet hair.
You can use a vacuum cleaner to suck up the hair rolls or stubborn fur out of the carpet.

7. Baking Soda

Unlike other far-fetched pet hair removal tools, you can easily find baking soda in your kitchen. All you need is a packet of baking soda and a vacuum cleaner.

Start by spread a light coating of baking soda all over your carpet and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Now get the hair strands out by vacuuming the rug thoroughly. Baking soda not only helps loosen pet hair from the rug’s fabric it also deodorizes the carpet.

Or try using baking soda followed by a great enzyme cleaner.

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8. Pet Hair Vacuum Cleaners

Unbeknown to most pet owners, regular vacuum cleaners can’t handle pet hair. Unfortunately, vacuuming pet hair using a regular vacuum cleaner is the best way to damaging a good vacuum brush. The reason is, the fine furs can get tangled around the vacuum brush bristles, preventing the brush from rolling as it should over the rug.

The good thing is there are specific pet hair vacuum cleaners meant for this task. They have the correct suction and filters befitting pet hair removal without clogging the system.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Corded Handheld Vacuum is one of the best pet hair vacuum cleaners. For perfect results, here is the vacuuming procedure you should follow:

The best way to get the cleanest carpet is to be slow and sure. Start from your carpet’s far edge as you push the vacuum forward in a straight line. Then pull the machine back towards you along the straight line. The up and down motion will lift the rug’s fibers revealing the hair strands underneath.
After the up and down motion, you can give your carpet a thorough workover by turning 90 degrees and machine side by side. The extra effort will suction any remaining fur you might have missed the first time.
The fine hair strands can clog the canister. Therefore, cleaning the brushes will allow them to scoop every last hair strand on your carpet. Plus, it’ll save you from going over the same spots over and over.

9. Professional Carpet Cleaners

If you feel like your DIY methods have failed, you can turn to professional carpet cleaners for help. They have the correct equipment and eco-friendly chemicals that thoroughly remove every potential health concern.

woman cleaning carpet — Image Credit: Pixel-Shot, Shutterstock

Summary

Pets interact so much with the carpets that you cannot ignore cleaning them when removing fur from other parts of the house. However, the carpet size and material can make anyone feel like being on the ropes when removing pet hair out of them.

But the game-changer can be as easy as the baking powder in your pantry, fabric softener, a squeegee, or even rubber hand gloves. And if none of the tools does a good job, you can pass the task over to professional carpet cleaners.

The bottom line is, you can keep your carpet and home fur-free using simple DIY techniques and inexpensive tools.

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Featured Image Credit: craigc1264, Unsplash