Effective Solutions for Removing Fine Pet Hair from a Carpet

Pets are not only animals we tamed over the length of our time on Earth, but also companions, family members and friends. Service animals for the physically impaired, service dogs and working animals are some of the many examples of the actual usefulness of hand-picked and trained animals.

Their value to humankind is beyond just the practical, there’s a soul bond which is cherished regardless of where in the world we can find them. However, adored they might be, furred pets like cats and dogs do leave a trace of themselves everywhere they go, especially our carpets and furniture upholstery.

If your four-legged companion is shedding their winter coat, you are in for a quite a cleaning season. This is the reason the EasyCleaningLondon.co.uk team create this catalogue of five effective solutions for removing fine and thick pet hair from carpets and fabrics around your house.

Why is Dog Hair so Difficult to Get out of a Carpet

There are several types of dog hairs that can be observed – the first type is short dog hair. Short dog hair is pointy, quite hard and generally the size of a needle – these come from short-haired dog breeds like Doberman and Pitbull.

They are heavier but are not as curly, meaning they are easier to collect if the proper collection technique is observed. Then there are the undercoat hairs which are a true nightmare to deal with. Why? Here’s why:

• Undercoat hairs are hydroscopic – bind to moisture;
• They are light and fluffy;
• They attach to fibres more easily;
• Once imbedded are difficult to see and identify;
• Intertwine with carpet and upholstery fabrics.

While the undercoat of a cat or a dog will save them from freezing during the winter, it’s of no use to them during the summer and spring – hence the that’s the start of the shedding season.

Since these hairs are closer to the skin than the overcoat, they often pick up dandruff or dead skin cells, which attach to fibres more easily and generally also carry an odour with them.

1. Rubber Carpet Squeegee – Specialised Tools

If you’ve ever tried to vacuum your dog hair infested carpets with a regular hoover, you will know how hard and fruitless it is. Generally speaking, one way to collect most, if not all, fine hairs from a fabric is to use either moisture or the friction of a rubberized tool.

There are specialised instruments like specific brands of rubber carpet squeegees for pet hair which provide fantastic results even after a single pass. Why does rubber work great for removing hair?

Rubber or silicone products, have a stickier texture which does not allow for the hairs to stick to it, but rather gathers them in a bunch, making it easier to collect.

The real physics behind the effectiveness of rubberized tools, such as a rug squeegee, is that they create static electricity which makes the hairs stand up from their place in the carpet.

The stickiness of the rubber also makes it easier to collect the hairs, but the real reason these instruments is due to the static electrical charge. To dissipate the accumulate static from your body you just need to touch a door handle or walk around your home and it will dissipate over time.

2. Conditioning Dog Hair Remover from Carpet

There are carpet conditioners and shampoos specifically made for getting dog hair out of carpet that’s been deeply imbedded. They work by creating high amounts of foam which is removed with a wet vac.

The amount of moisture used in the production of these shampoos is miniscule, meaning that a wet vac can remove more than 98% of it.

Thanks to the foaming agent all hairs which have been imbedded deep into the fibres of your carpet or furniture upholstery, are released. Rising to the top of the foam, it allows for the immediate collection.

These dog hair removal shampoos and conditioners are made for professional and domestic use and can be found in pretty much any big store or corner shop.

3. Mechanical Dog Hair Carpet Rake

One other way to remove dog hair from a carpet is to use what is called a pet hair carpet rake which basically combes the fibres of your carpet with rubberized teeth. They can be quite fine in size which allows for more of them to pass through the fibres.

The finer the brush and its teeth, the better of a job it will do, however, it takes more effort to clean a larger surface area. They are more suited for cleaning upholstery or rugs, but can successfully be used for cleaning a carpet from pet hair.

The fine bristles of the rakes will also aid in the removal of those fine hairs which are characteristic of the undercoat of most Antarctic climate-oriented breeds.

Husky and Samoyed owners will know the pain of keeping the house hair-free – it’s just a futile attempt that will end in failure, unless you use a smart, easy to control tool like a telescopic dog hair carpet rake.

4. Wet Vacuum Cleaner

Any wet method of scraping the carpet, such as a vet vac cleaning services, will have quite a high success because moisture helps the hairs bond together. Their ability to attach to the fibres of the carpet is reduced, meaning they are easier to collect.

Even using a floor cleaning mop to pass over the fibres, will collect quite a lot of hairs. This is because dog and cat undercoats are hydroscopic, meaning they soak up water – unlike their overcoats which are made to repel water.

Undercoats are fluffy and are much finer in structure, made to retain the animal’s body heat and insulate it from adverse weather.

A wet vacuum cleaner will allow you to basically stick most of the hairs together and remove any accompanying odours which come from pet dandruff.

5. Different Specialised Gadgets

There are all sorts of products on the market, from special sprays to pomace stones which have been turned into cat hair scrapers.

You can get silicone or rubberised scrapers which don’t penetrate the fibres of the carpet, which is ideal for lower quality carpeting or worn-out carpets that you’d prefer not to tear a hole into.

It’s also possible to get pretty nice results with a rubber glove, however, if you are trying to get dog hair out of car carpet, you can end up cutting your hand on gravel or sticks you’ve tracked into the vehicle with your shoes.

Other Odd Pet Hair Removal Techniques and Methods (that actually work)

There’s the balloon method, which relies on friction and static electricity to gather all the fine hairs from underneath the carpet fibres. The glove method also relies on the same principles, however, requires more manual labour to achieve something significant.

The Flip-flop method is quite odd in that you just take a summer flip-flop and drag it across the carpet, hoping that it brings out the hairs that’ve stuck to the carpet fibres. It’s an oddly satisfying technique that you can try right now.

If you are fed up dealing with all sorts of hairs and you just want your carpets cleaned professionally, you can always book an appointment with the EasyCleaningLondon.co.uk specialised carpet pet hair removal service.