Dear Home-Ec 101,
We have two dogs and two cats, all dark-haired. Our
house is COVERED in pet hair-hardwood floors, carpeted
floors, tiled floors and counters. Even the back of
our television collects HUGE fur-balls.
Help! How do I keep this under control without having
to spend 2 hours a day sweeping, vacuuming, dusting,
and washing? Our animals are taking over.
Before you give me the old, “brush them daily” crap,
it doesn’t work. It helps, but it just adds an hour
to the 2 hour clean up routine.
Thank you!!
Lost in a sea of pet hair
Ivy says:
I wish there was a simple way to keep the cat and dog hair away. I’ve tried miracling it away, I’ve tried waving my magic wand, I’ve even tried to entice the cleaning fairy to come clean it up, but it was all for naught. I’ve even tried teaching the dog to vacuum. Let’s just say that didn’t work out.
No, the only way you are going to get the car and dog hair to go away is to work at it every day.
Brushing your animals daily really does help. I know you have said it doesn’t work, but it does, I promise! You have to keep at it and brush those suckas every single day without fail.
I have found adding brewer’s yeast to their diet helps with the shedding, but you still have to brush them every day. Every day! Brewer’s yeast doesn’t totally stop the shedding, but it really seems to slow it down. During the natural times of the year that they shed more, the brewer’s yeast seems especially work well.
You’ll need to vacuum daily to keep the fur at bay as well. Do an extremely thorough job of vacuuming once a week- move the furniture and get under there, vacuum under cushions, the entire nine yards. This makes the job easier throughout the week.
Hardwood floors especially seem to collect the fur. I find a stick vac to be the best way to deal with pet hair on hardwoods. Make sure you clean the stick vac filter after each use so the vacuum doesn’t lose suction.
I have 2 cats and a dog, myself, so I truly do feel your pain. There just isn’t a fast or easy way to deal with the fur, beyond getting hairless animals, and then they would be no fun to pet.
Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I feed my two felines the Science Diet Hairball kibble. It reduces the shedding a lot.
I also recently found a purple rubber brush at PetSmart that is excellent at removing tons of fur and seems to annoy them less than a regular brush.
Vacuuming, the Swiffer wet and my Flylady feather duster are great for cleaning.
I have two cats, and a dog now. My old vacuum cleaner didn’t stand up to just one of the two cats. I found Arm & Hammer Pet Hair release formula which made vacuuming easier, but it clogged my vacuum filters. Then I discovered the Dyson Animal vacuum. Expensive but well worth the money. What used to take 10 minutes of vacuuming, now takes 2 and a single pass usually does it. With my old vac, it was taking multiple passes. I have not been disappointed with it yet!
I’d love to have a Dyson but can’t afford it right now. We use a shop vac at home and it does a better job on the hardwood floors than the regular vacuum.
We also have a carpet rake that we use on the carpet. It’s one that came from a local janitorial supply company. I’m always amazed at how much fur that thing picks up.
We have 3 dogs & 3 cats. I’ll have to look for that purple rubber brush. Thanks for the recommendation, Patia.
It’s a neverending battle and I’m not giving up on getting a Dyson…it’s just not looking like it’s going to be in the year 2007 lol
Unfortunately that Dyson is pretty pricey. lol However, the Arm & Hammer Pet Hair Release carpet powder is a great cheap alternative. It really does make it easier to vacuum up the hair. The Dyson just makes that step unnecessary. The other nice thing about the Arm & Hammer powder is that it helps get rid of pet odors in your rugs and carpets.
While you have the vacuum out, try running it over the dog with one of the attachments on it. My friend does that when her dog sheds a lot and the dogs love it. It is through the hose, so it doesn’t have tons of power. Yeah, I thought she was crazy, but the dogs love it, and it keeps down on the hair.
Does your purplr rubber brush look like this http://flylady.net/pages/flyshop_rubba_scrubba.asp ?
I was wondering of the Home Ec ladies had seen it anywhere and it it really worked. We have two dogs and two cats and hair all over the place in a week! We, too, love our Dyson.
Very good solution for the pet owners, Keep posting about this topic