No matter how much joy your loved furry ones bring to your household, they also usually tend to bring something else into your home — fur —and lots of it.
If you're a pet household that allows your dog or cat lounge on your bed and furniture or if you've had enough of wrestling with their own bedding, this article is for you.
Although you might have thought you tried every option, exhausted all your resources—from specialized detergents to various products—perhaps actually everything you might have needed could be simply found through tips and tricks from other experienced pet owners.
Whether you're trying to clean blankets, remove pet hair from bedding or even trying to learn how to keep dog or cat hair off your bed, these tips can help.
The best news is there's no perfectly correct way — since there are so many different and effective ways that have been proven to work when trying to figure out how to get dog hair off blankets.
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7 Effective Ways to Remove Pet Hair
from Blankets and Bedding
Next, we're going to talk about techniques using lint rollers, handheld vacuums, pet hair resistant bedding, pet blanket and covers, and how to best use your washer and dryer.
From there, you can pick out your favorite method:
[1.] Lint Roller
Taking a look at one of the most common solutions in regards to removing pet hair from blankets and bedding, the lint roller is an especially quick fix to help remove hair—especially when you're in a pinch.
Although you might jump at the chance to use your newly bought roller, you might want to take a look at these next few tips and steps that can help get the most out of your lint roller:
1. First and foremost, you should try and shake out your blanket or bedding to get the most hair off of it as possible.
2. Once that's done, lay it down flat—in particular onto something that doesn't catch fur, like solid wood or concrete floor or even a wooden table.
3. Using the adhesive strip on the roller, go through across the surface area of the cloth. You should keep it rolling until it's completely full. Once that adhesive strip doesn't work anymore, peel it off and toss it out. If there's still fur that needs to be removed, you can go over it again with a new adhesive.
[2.] Rubber Gloves
If you don't feel like dishing out all that extra cash on disposable lint rollers or its replacements, rubber gloves, slightly dipped in water can wipe away stubborn hair or fur on blankets.
By using an accompanying rag or wet towel to wipe the dog hair off of the gloves while swiping it through the blanket, this can help keep the glove clean and keep the process running smoothly.
To help you get the best effectivity out of the rubber glove method, aim for gloves designed with nubs or bumps that create a texture that attracts pet hair.
[3.] Washing
Of course, one of the most effective and yet easiest-to-do methods of getting rid of pet hair would be to wash your blankets and bedding through a normal wash cycle.
If you have a dryer, this is also relatively helpful, since multiple drying and fluff cycles can use hot air and tumbling to loosen the fur.
The key here is that you'll want to run the affected clothes, bedding, and blankets through the dryer before you wash them. Especially since just getting a fur-riddled blanket wet would simply create a mess, this method to the madness can help loosen up the hair and fur before you throw it in the wash.
You'll also want to throw one or two dryer sheets into the dryer—they have powerful, anti-static properties that help repel the hair and loosen it from the fabric. You don't even have to set it on very high heat for this method to work. The tumble cycle can be equally as effective.
Using a lint roller or removing the hair by hand can also make things quite effective, but can take some time and a bit of extra effort.
If you do choose to use your washer and dryer to rid your blankets and bedding of pet hair, make sure to run a wash cycle through afterward, so the pet hair doesn't get into the next cycle's load of laundry.
Cleaning the lint filter of the dryer can also help. Otherwise, the fur and the pet hair will just stay in there and create the possibility that it goes back into the machine.
[4.] Rubber Soles or Broom
Interestingly enough, the rubber soles of shoes (of course, when clean), can help pick up pet hair off of cloth. This is more likely an option for when you're trying to remove pet hair from pet bedding and blankets since you might not feel entirely comfortable with running shoes over your own bedding.
You can easily use this to rub up and down until the static charge will move the hair into one corner or even directly onto the sole or broom.
[5.] Inflated Balloon
Ever rub a balloon up against your hair and watch it stick straight up?
Well, this fun childhood prank can actually be quite useful when it comes to removing fur or pet hair from blankets. When the balloon is rubbed onto the surface, the hair is instantly lifted.
The fun part about this is the fact that it is a very cost-effective way to clean— most balloons come in packs, and one balloon can be used multiple times! Another great reason why this is a fun method?
Well, it also is quite fun to give to your pet (or children) to play with afterward!
[6.] Regular Cleaning Sponge
Whether it's dry or damp, a kitchen sponge can be rubbed up and down on your blanket.
This is an effective method that is also cost-effective since, chances are, you already have some sponges or a pack of them in your bathroom or kitchen cabinet.
[7.] Vacuum
Using a handheld vacuum is the most effective way of removing pet hair from blankets and bedding. If you have a furry pet, you should definitely invest in a handheld vacuum, because it is the best and easiest solution in the long run.
Although you will need to spend some money on a functional pet hair vacuum, it will be worth the money if you want a clean and pet hair-free home. Since there is a never ending supply of pet hair, you will likely be using your handheld vacuum even daily. A compact, functional, and easy-to-use appliance will guarantee an easy clean-up.
You can obviously use the furniture extension of your household vacuum to remove pet hair off of blankets or bedding — but a handheld vacuum can be more practical. Since it is lightweight and always at hand, you are much more likely to grab it. You will find the best handheld vacuums for pets here.
If you feel you want something a bit more versatile than a compact handheld vacuum, but you don't want to lug around your full-sized upright vacuum, a stick vacuum could be ideal for you. These handy appliances are versatile and powerful, with many useful attachments that enable them to adapt to all kinds of surfaces.
