We love our pets. In fact, we love them so much that a recent survey by SunTrust Mortgage found that millennials are buying homes because of their dogs – not their children or marriages. With such a pure love for our pets, it’s no wonder we put up with the burden of pet hair on couches, muddy paws on the carpet, and puppies peeing on everything.
While a bit of dog hair on my couch doesn’t bother me too much personally, it’s certainly not pleasant for guests. I have a 3 year old white german shepherd/australian cattle dog mix who leaves a trail of snowy fur embedded into the couch after every nap, so I make sure to clean it quite often. Over the years I’ve found what works the best and outlined them in this guide below. One thing to note: I concentrated on a guide for removing pet hair from furniture and carpets. That is, the areas where it is hardest to remove pet hair. If you have leather couches and hardwood floors, consider yourself lucky!
Top Picks: Best Pet Hair Remover
| What? | Why? | Where? |
|---|---|---|
 | The powerful motor matched with a brush specific to pet hair makes this an awesome choice. | View on Amazon |
 | Economical and portable solution that actually works, even against stubborn hairs. | View on Amazon |
 | Sure, this isn't a tool for removing hair from furniture, but proactively reducing your pets' shedding should be your first step. | View on Amazon |
Removing Pet Hair
Handheld Vacuum: Oreck Commercial XL Pro 5
Removing cat and dog hair from couches is usually the biggest problem, especially if you have a cloth fabric couch like I do. This incredibly powerful handheld Oreck vacuum is their commercial version and comes with a series of attachments including an awesome brush that is specific for pet hair. Just take a look at this picture below to see how well it works.
I like the Oreck brand because they don’t try to sell you products based on crazy marketing gimmicks. They simply have powerful motors that are strong enough to pick up embedded pet hair from couches and carpet. If couches aren’t your problem and you are looking for a solution to pet hair on carpet, I also have the Oreck Upright Commercial vacuum and fully recommend it.
Evercare Pet Plus Lint Roller
A lint roller is a quick way to get rid of surface pet hair from furniture, however it’s not always economical. You can quickly go through a lot of lint rollers if this is your primary method for removing hair. However, I still use these as a quick backup method if I have guests on their way over and forgot to vacuum the couches. You likely won’t get every hair off the couch with these, but it will at least bring your couch back to acceptable sitting levels.
Lilly Brush
Let me just start by saying this thing is awesome. The “Be Forever Furless” Lilly Brush actually works BETTER than lint rollers and is a much more economical solution as you can use this thing forever. It works by having very tight bristles in a wavy pattern that picks up and traps pet hair as you brush it. When I first grabbed one of these I was a bit skeptical, but I was honestly amazed at how it picked up every single dog hair with one light sweep across the couch.
Once I’m done brushing, I usually just go over the garbage and pull out the hairs from the brush or rub my finger across the bristles. However, the company recommends washing the brush with light soap and water to get all of the hairs out for better performance.
FURminator Grooming Brush
Ok, so this one isn’t exactly a tool for removing pet hair from furniture, but from your pets themselves. The three options above work amazing (without any crazy solutions like spraying water on your couch and wiping it off – yes I read blogs that said that), but you should also be a bit proactive and brush your pets regularly to help solve the shedding problem. Since I started brushing my dog weekly with the FURminator brush, the amount of dog hair on my couches has decreased by at least half.
Recap: Guide to Removing Pet Hair
In summary, I feel the best way to clean your house from pet hair and dander is to use a multi-solution approach. Powerful handheld vacuums with pet hair brush attachments work great for quickly removing embedded pet hair. The Lilly Brush is an amazing portable and economic solution that simply works. I also mentioned the lint rollers since these are products most people own already, so they’re great in a pinch, but I think the Lilly Brush outperforms them.
