Tips on Corraling Pet Hair

Welcome to Simple Productivity Blog! You may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. This will allow you to receive updates in your RSS reader every time new content is posted here. If you want to receive updates in your email, click on the envelope in the upper right corner, or use the "Subscribe" link below the blog title.

Please take some time to check out the content on the site. You may comment on any article by scrolling down and using the form at the bottom of all articles. Thanks for visiting!

Fridays are tip days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I love my fur-babies. They add warmth and richness to my life, and can be cute, amusing and cuddly at turns. OK, except for the feline with the “cattitude”. One of the problems of pet ownership, though, is keeping up with the hair.

All mammals shed. It’s a given. Yes, even us. But we seem to notice the hair of other mammals first. So what is a human mammal to do about all the distracting fur floating around? Here are some tips:

Brush that Puppy

And kitty, too. Brushing is one way to do a pre-emptive strike on the fur. Get it before it falls off. It really does work, and the animals seem to enjoy it. I have tried many tools over the years, but the two I love the best are:

The Furminator

Yes, the name is hokey. But it came with a money-back guarantee. I tried it and never looked back. The FURminator deShedding Tool works as well as the video shows. I have a part Maine Coon cat with a thick undercoat, and I pulled so much hair off of him, the pile was as big as he was. The dog seemed to like the Furminator too, but the cranky kitty did not.

Zoom Groom

I suspect that Cranky Cat has sensitive skin, and the Cat Zoom Groom is gentle enough for her. It works best when I lightly mist it with water, and it pulls off lots of loose hair as well.

After the Fur Flies

Of course, some fur will always come off. There are two products I love to get the fur tumbleweeds off the floor:

Swiffer Dry Cloths

Yes, I know they’re not “green”. But they work like a charm. These Swiffer Sweeper Dry Sweeping Cloths pick up so much fur off the hard floor surfaces that I wonder I didn’t see it. I’m not as impressed with the mop itself, but as long as you don’t lean on it, it works well.

Roombas

One thing people ask me when they find out I have a Roomba is how it works on pet hair. It works like a champ on both the hard surfaces and low- and medium-pile carpeting. The iRobot Roomba is excellent for picking up pet hair. But be warned. These machines are not for the faint of heart.

Wearable Fur

Of course, our fur-beasts leave hair on non-floor surfaces as well. And as those of you who have cats know, the cats will go wherever they want as soon as you’re not there. Our beagle is also picking this up. I found a warm beagle-sized dent on my side of the bed when I returned home today. There are two ways I keep the fuzzies away:

Lint Rollers

I have 3M/Scotch Household Lint Rollers in many places around the house, plus in my car. I prefer the Scotch brand, but in a pinch, packing tape will work as well.

Coverings

Both my husband and I prefer to have a fur-free environment to sleep in. But since keeping the cats (and now the dog) off the bed is next to impossible, I throw an old blanket over the bed when we leave. This keeps the fur on the blanket, and can be washed frequently, as well as removed at night.

There are many effective ways to deal with pet hair. You can deal with it on the pet, or afterwards, both effectively and efficiently.

Photo by trekkyandy