Pet ownership is both rewarding and infuriating at the same time. No matter how hard you try to keep an animal off your furniture, as soon as you turn your back for a second, they’ll happily sneak back into their favourite spot on the sofa. It’s cheeky, but isn’t that why we love our pets?
That being said, animal hair on your furniture can be a real pain. It can make your furniture look unclean and unappealing. Even worse is the impression it can leave on your house guests. A guest with a sensitive cat allergy may never come back if it’s triggered by cat hair which you just can’t get out of the crevices in your sofa.
Aside from futilely trying to keep your pets from sitting on your sofa, there are things you can do to remove the fur they leave behind and some methods don’t have to cost you a penny.
Removing Pet Hair
Dry wiping hard flat surfaces such as kitchen tops, tables and floors is an effective way of quickly removing pet fur. Running a good hoover over a lino or laminate floor before mopping should get rid of the worst of the fur. If you mop straight away, fur will form into little clumps and become a pain as it will stick to the surface stubbornly.
When it comes to fabric sofas and curtains, fur gets caught up in the fibres and becomes trickier to remove. You can try picking the fur out one hair at a time, but there are some more effective techniques you can use on soft furnishings.
- Wet your hands or use a damp sponge to rub down curtains or a fabric sofa. This will help you to clump the fur together for you to pick off. Using a latex glove instead of a damp hand or cloth is also a good trick for pulling up fur from your upholstery.
- You can also buy rubber brushes which are designed to scrub up pet hair, but you will need to put in a certain amount of effort. Another useful tool is a lint roller which will help to lift hair with a sticky surface. If you can’t get your hand on a lint roller, strips of sticky tape will work in the same way.
- In the long run, investing in a good quality hoover will help a great deal. Some models are specifically designed to help cope with the problems of pet hair and come with specific attachments for your upholstery.
- Some handheld hoovers can help pick up hair, but these are only really effective if you run over the problem areas on a regular basis. If you do buy a battery operated cleaner, be sure to get one of a high enough voltage.
Preventing the Hair
Aside from trying in vain to train your pet to stay off your furniture, there are other preventative measures you can take to reduce the fur they leave behind.
Most pet stores will sell a good quality hair brush which will remove loose fur before it finds a way on to your sofa and chairs. What’s more, pets usually love having a regular brush down, particularly if summer is approaching and they are starting to molt. Invest in a genuine brush as some of the cheap immitations can damage the pet’s skin.
Bathing a dog too often (more than once per month) will encourage more fur loss, as will leaving some illness and allergies untreated for too long. A good diet will also help prevent your pets from shedding too much fur, so try improving your pet’s food and see if that helps.
