I own two cocker spaniels. Although they aren’t really shedders, I do find their hair around my home, especially on my living room carpet. I’ve never been impressed with robot vacuums, and haven’t had much success picking up this hair with a regular upright vacuum. I have found another solution, however.
To my surprise, I’ve found that simply using a dampened rubber glove is more than enough to pick up dog hair in carpet. It’s a game-changing trick that I’m surprised gets the job done.
The simple trick
Rubber and water work well together
The key to cleaning pet hair out of carpet is using something with rubber. While I prefer to use a wet rubber glove, you can also use other household items, such as a window squeegee or a specialized pet hair remover tool with a rubber edge. In a pinch, you can also use a latex glove.
To get started, it’s important to lightly moisten the glove or other tool. From there, begin to rub the surface where the hair is, in a clockwise or forward direction. By rubbing the surface in a single direction, friction develops, which causes static cling to occur. In doing so, the embedded hair begins to clump onto the dampened glove.
This process doesn’t just work on carpet. It will also perform well on any surface with fabric, such as a couch, loveseat, or even a piece of clothing. Remember it’s important to move in a single direction.
Meanwhile, if your non-fabric kitchen floor won’t stay clean, you’re probably doing it wrong. Thanks to a simple tweak, my floors have never looked so clean.
Why does this work better than a vacuum?
Sucking air can’t pick up everything in a dirty carpet
At first instinct, you’d think an everyday vacuum cleaner would pick up pet hair. This is true, at least for surface hair. However, the vacuum’s upward suction cannot pick up everything, especially hair embedded deep into the carpet.
If you’d like to see this in action, clean out your vacuum’s dirt collection so there’s nothing in it. From there, vacuum like you always do. You will quickly notice, assuming there is hair on the carpet, that it does pick up hair. When finished, grab a damped rubber glove and go over the same surface as I suggested above. You should see that even after vacuuming, other hair can be collected.
The biggest disadvantage of removing pet hair with a little bit of water and a rubber glove is that it’s labor-intensive. Additionally, depending on the size of your carpet, this can be a time-consuming exercise. That’s why I advise starting in high-trafficked areas first before moving to other places on your floor. There is another solution: more prep.
Prep your home before cleaning
If you perform these steps first, cleaning up the hair won’t be as difficult
There are several steps you can take regularly to make cleaning your carpets less of a process. This starts with pre-vacuuming prep.
No matter the type of vacuum, these are naturally dirty machines and must be cleaned regularly. This means making sure the dust bin is always clean before each job. Depending on the type of vacuum, a full bin sometimes has an effect of slowing down the sucking mechanism. A dirty filter can cause similar problems. If you don’t remember the last time you cleaned the filter, it’s time to do so right now (or replace it, depending on its age). Your home maintenance calendar should include this kind of routine replacement.
It’s also important to look at the wheels and underside of your vacuum and clean them. The wheels are where long strands of hair like to wrap themselves and live, and the only way to remove these is by pulling them off with your hands. If there’s a lot of dust and dirt on the bottom of the vacuum, use a little bit of water and vinegar to clean it.
It’s also a good job to handle pet hair at the source by regularly brushing your animal. No matter the breed or type of pet, brushing will dislodge hair that would otherwise end up on your carpet or other type of floor. There are brushes specifically designed for pets, and I recommend storing a few of these in your home.
If you’re trying to remove pet hair from a smaller piece of carpet or your clothes, I also suggest washing these with some vinegar in your wash load. Vinegar is excellent at reducing static, making it more difficult for hair to cling. I’d recommend using a half-cup of vinegar with every wash.
There are a few other tools that can cut down on the amount of dirt that makes its way onto floors. Use a reusable lint brush on your clothes, which can easily pick up hair. In a pinch, you can also use pieces of tape to remove the hair. These are the kinds of non-power tools that make many parts of home maintenance easier.
It’s time to clean your carpet
A damp rubber glove proves to be an unexpected yet successful tool for removing pet hair from carpets when vacuuming fails. The static electricity generated from rubbing the glove or rubber-edged tool in one direction will extract deep-seated carpet hair, which then sticks together in clumps.
The technique proves useful for removing hair from various fabric materials, including couches and clothing. The process requires more effort than vacuuming, but delivers superior results for removing difficult-to-remove hair.
