While tackling shedding is a reality of pet ownership, there are tools you can use to make cleaning up after them less burdensome: think combs, rollers, or vacuums. Before you purchase a pet hair remover, the most important thing is to consider what items you’ll be using it on. You may need more than one remover to cover every nook and cranny. To find the best pet hair removers, we researched an assortment of options that tackle different areas with different methods. Our top pick is the FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool because the best type of protection against pet hair is preemptive—that is, deshedding your pet. “This helps eliminate the mass shedding in your home and keeps your house clean and pet hair-free,” says cleaning expert Jessica Samson from The Maids. Here are the best pet hair removers. Who it isn’t for: People who want to tackle their existing pet hair mess. Prevention is key when it comes to protecting your house from pet hair. Instead of having to remove pet hair from your home, go straight to the source—removing loose fur. “FURminator makes some great deshedding tools for all types of dogs and cats,” says Samson. The brushes remove loose fur from your pet’s undercoat painlessly, all while maintaining their topcoat. The tool features an ergonomic handle and a built-in “fur ejector” button that removes fur from the bristles. FURminator offers a range of brushes tailored to your pet type, size, and fur length—select one suited to your unique pet. This tool is best for pets that are comfortable with being brushed, though it is possible for you to train your pet to adapt to the FURminator tool. The manufacturer suggests brushing your pet once or twice a week for 10 to 20 minutes per session, though this frequency and duration can vary depending on your pet’s coat. Always consult your veterinarian or groomer if you have questions about using this product. Product Details:
Type: BrushUse: Directly on pets
Price at time of publish: From $31 Who it isn’t for: People who want to remove shedding from their furniture or floors. If you toss clothing covered in pet hair into the washer and dryer, chances are a standard spin cycle or tumble dry won’t remove those hairs. Rather than attempting to remove every last hair with a lint roller, opt for the FurZapper. This sticky silicone tool can be thrown into your laundry machine, where it will pull pet hair from your clothing as your clothes tumble around. For optimal use, toss this tool in the dryer—you’ll find that it’s excellent at removing pet hair from your clothes and trapping it in your lint filter. You can also use it in the washing machine—we suggest doing both for maximum pet hair removal. Make sure you don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets when you use this tool, as they reduce or even prohibit the effectiveness of the sticky surface. The manufacturer recommends using one FurZapper per pet and washing the device with dish soap every few uses, particularly if it doesn’t feel sticky anymore. With proper maintenance, you can use the FurZappers time and time again. Product Details:
Type: Sticky siliconeUse: In laundry machine
Price at time of publish: $24 for 2-pack Who it isn’t for: People with leather furniture. This is one of the best pet hair removers on the market for surfaces like upholstery, carpet, and even clothing. The triangular device has rubber grooves along the edges that you can use as a rake on most fabrics. The only two surfaces the manufacturer suggests you avoid are silk and leather. Start by using the side of the tool with the largest grooves to do a quick sweep of a surface—hold it at an angle for maximum efficiency. Then move to the medium-size grooves and finally the smallest grooves. This method removes pet hair from your furniture or carpet in one fell swoop. You can also use the corners of the tool to clean crevices of your furniture, like in between sofa cushions. Product Details:
Type: CombUse: Any interior surface
Price at time of publish: $20 Who it isn’t for: People who need to clean pet hair from tight, hard-to-reach spots. Sticky lint rollers are a practical tool for removing pet hair from different surfaces in your home—but they do produce a lot of waste. If you’d prefer an eco-conscious alternative to removing pet hair from your home, opt for the ChomChom Pet Hair Remover roller. The roller picks up pet hair and stores it in a compartment, so you don’t have to remove a sticky sheet or clean the roller every time you tackle shedding. That said, sometimes pet fur sticks to the rollers, which makes this pick slightly less efficient. Still, the overall ease of this device makes it worth using. This product is also best for wide, flat surfaces—because of its shape, it’s not ideal for removing pet hair from tight spaces. Product Details:
Type: RollerUse: Any interior surface
Price at time of publish: From $29 Who it isn’t for: People who want a pet hair remover for blankets or clothing. If you travel with pets, you know fur can coat your car and linger long after you’ve reached your destination. This set of tools is a fully-equipped car-cleaning arsenal that includes a large, flat tool with a rubber edge for the flat surfaces of your car and a narrow, spatula-like device to tackle all the crevices of your car. It has rubber edges around three sides that grip hair in every nook and cranny. Since the rubber edges of these tools aren’t serrated, they’re not quite as effective at picking up pet hair, so you might need to do a few passes. These devices aren’t suited for loose fabrics like blankets or clothing, as you pull with sufficient pressure to pick up any fur. If you opt to use this tool on loose fabric, anchor the material down to avoid any tugging, crumpling, or folding. Product Details:
Type: Rubber bladeUse: Furniture and upholstery
Price at time of publish: $33 Who it isn’t for: People who have a large pet hair mess to clean. This lint brush functions like a standard roller but is totally reusable, so you can avoid throwing out fur-covered sheets of sticky paper. Plus, you’ll never run out of sheets while cleaning your blouse. To use this tool, run the brush over your clothing, and the brush will pick up lint and pet hair. You can also use this tool to remove pet hair on any textile. The downside to this device is that if you’re really covered in pet hair, you may have to clean off the device while using it—it doesn’t trap much pet hair at once, and once it’s covered, it becomes ineffective. That said, the brush is double-sided to provide additional surface area and hopefully reduce the number of times you need to stop to clean it. Product Details:
Type: BrushUse: Clothing, upholstery
Price at time of publish: $7 Who it’s not for: People who want an upright vacuum. For a full-house clean, it’s easiest to bring out a heavy-duty tool like this powerful Kenmore canister vacuum. This device comes with four attachments, including the Pet PowerMate, which removes pet hair from fabric. It comprises a roller and a motor for extra-intense brushing that you can use on furniture and carpets. You can also employ the bare floor tool, crevice tool, and upholstery brush to remove pet hair from just about any surface. Or you can use it as a standard vacuum—it’s not only for pet hair removal, after all. In our testing, we were very impressed by this vacuum’s effectiveness and ease of use. According to our tester, “All four ounces of hair was recovered. There wasn’t any pet hair stuck in any of the brushes or around the wheels.” Plus, “This vacuum is very lightweight. The canister can be easily carried with one hand, but an additional hand is needed to manage the vacuum wand/head attachment.” Just note that it takes a moment to install the correct attachment, which makes this option mildly inconvenient if you want to do a quick pet hair sweep in one area. That’s why this vacuum is best for cleaning on a larger scale. Product Details:
Type: VacuumUse: Floors, upholstery
Price at time of publish: $400
How to Shop for a Pet Hair Remover
Type
Pet hair removers come in all shapes and sizes, from brushes to rollers to vacuums. Consider whether you want something handheld or a powerful motorized tool. Most households can benefit from having more than one type of pet hair remover in the house, as they each have pros and cons and work on different surfaces.
Function
Each pet hair remover has a unique methodology—from rubber bristles that gently comb pet hairs out of upholstery to vacuums that suck every hair away. The functionality of your pet hair remover is a matter of personal preference, as its efficiency depends on your home, the type of pet, and the amount of shedding they produce.
Ease of Use
Some pet hair removers are a little more hands-on—especially brushes that remove loose pet hair directly. Others are more straightforward, like combs that rake up shedding and dander. It’s not a bad idea to have multiple pet hair removers, from heavy-duty tools for extensive messes to handheld tools for quick touch-ups.
Questions You Might Ask
What are some ways to minimize pet hair in the house?
“The best way to minimize pet hair is to perform deshedding on your pet consistently,” says Samson. You can do so by brushing and grooming your pet regularly, and by using a deshedding tool like a FURminator brush, which removes loose fur from your pet’s undercoat without pain. Otherwise, you may have to clean pet fur from your furniture, carpet, and clothing regularly.
How do you remove pet hair from laundry?
Start by using a lint roller or pet hair remover brush on your clothing before tossing it in your washer and dryer. This can help prevent the hair from building up in your machines. “Vinegar is a great way to help remove pet hair from your laundry,” says Samson. “Simply add one cup of distilled white vinegar to your washing machine before running. This acts as a fabric softener and helps separate the pet hair from the clothes. If the smell of vinegar is too strong for you, try adding some essential oils to the cycle as well to give your laundry a fresh scent.” Another option is to use a FurZapper, a sticky puck you can toss in with your laundry that collects pet hair from your clothing, or a dryer ball.
Can you use pet hair removers directly on pets?
Yes, there are specific pet hair removers that you can use directly on pets. We recommend the FURminator, a brush that painlessly collects loose fur from your pet. Make sure whichever tool you use on your pet is safe for animals, and double-check with your veterinarian or groomer before trying it out.
Take Our Word for It
This article was written by Stefanie Waldek. Stefanie is a contributing writer for Real Simple with seven years of experience writing about home and three years of experience reviewing products. To come up with these recommendations, Stefanie spent hours researching pet hair removers and ultimately narrowed down the list based on type, function, and ease of use. She also tapped cleaning expert Jessica Samson from The Maids for her top tips and recommendations.
