What Is The Best Vacuum For Cleaning Dog Hair?
If you have pets you’re probably going to need a good vacuum. Dogs, especially, can shed copious quantities of hair. Therefore, a means of getting rid of it efficiently is an absolute must. (We’re not affiliated with any particular brand, or company – we just want to know which are the best at keeping the house hair free!).
I have a thing about vacuums – mainly because I need to use one daily. Sometimes, twice daily if I am truthful. Over the years, living with several hairy dogs in the house, meant there was a good chance of becoming a hoover bore.
If I’m not writing for Holidays4Dogs, or walking the dog, I can usually be found cleaning up after the dog. Hoovering comes with the territory in our home as we’re sure it does in many other dog loving households. And, if, like me, you’re a bit of a clean freak I’d be completely lost without my vacuum. (I have even been known to vacuum my patio with a normal hoover. Blush).
So, a vacuum has to be up to the job for a start, but it also has to be other things. More recently, due to a move to a very small bungalow, it had to be small enough to store away in a small space. However, it also had to be powerful enough to pick up dog hair. Lots of dog hair.
Some daily accumulations of dog hair in our abode could, quite easily, facilitate the knitting of a whole new dog.
Prior to the acquisition of my super-dooper new hoover, I had a rather cheap cylinder vacuum. I had thought this inferior machine would be just fine for one small dog. There was a bonus too – it easily fitted into my kitchen cupboard.
Sadly, after only eight months it threw in the towel and point-blank refused to suck up anything. Unless that is, the debris was physically picked up and posted, by hand, into the tube. This very much defeated the object of a suction cleaner.
Before this, (I told you I was a hoover bore!) I had another well-known brand. I owned that vacuum for twelve long years without any repairs being needed. It sucked up dog hair like a trooper to the end of its days. Eventually, it sort of – blew up. Fizzling into hoover heaven with a last hearty splutter. It had a jolly good innings.
So. For a few days, I was hoover-less. I sunk into a mild dour mood while I scraped black and white fur off the pale oatmeal carpet with a slicker brush. This couldn’t go on.
A few days later I vowed we would welcome a new vacuum into our home. I immediately got onto the internet to source a suitable new recruit.
I first perused the choice of cylinder vacuums because I wanted something that would dismantle into several parts for ease of storage. The choice was limited and, besides, I have always favoured upright vacuum cleaners.
Perhaps, because of some wistful memories of my Auntie Kathleen’s ‘Kirby’, (do you remember those?), I had a morbid fascination for the huge-great-metal-monster of a machine with a bag that inflated, as it roared into ferocious action. You can still get these you know. However, even a refurbished one can cost around the same as a small second hand car. Gulp.
Another consideration was price. While I needed something with a certain industrial touch, I wasn’t about to pay telephone numbers for the privilege. I capped my budget to around two hundred pounds. This nugget of information made the other half visibly wince.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of reading reviews and technical jargon, I plumped for a make which was named after a ferocious sea creature. I was impressed by the name alone, if I’m totally honest. I was equally happy about the generous, five-year guarantee and the glowing reports of its dog hair hoovering mastery.
The aptly named vacuum is uniquely designed to attack various cleaning jobs with by both stealth and gusto. It has a unique detachable cylinder – leaving with you the ‘stick’ part that gets right underneath furniture. There’s a myriad of attachment tools, including the – ‘pet power brush’.
Thus, the cylinder can be lifted off the main body and hand-held in order to reach stairs or, for above-head cleaning. Also, useful for car cleaning I would imagine, but I haven’t got this far yet. It also has a retro look. Square and solid looking – suggestive, perhaps, of its no-nonsense approach to sucking up dirt.
On the first go, I was suitably impressed. Not only did it seem to collect every dog hair in the place – bar those still attached to the dog – it was quiet about it too.
This was a surprising additional benefit. All my previous vacuums have made a racket enough to set the whole neighbourhood off barking. My own dog certainly finds the volume of this one, rather less inoffensive.
When it comes to emptying, the vacuum gives up its spoils happily. No grappling with awkward catches and dust spills all over the floor you’ve just vacuumed.
This particular model claims to have HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air). According to EU standards, this means it removes 99.95% of particles that have a size greater, or equal to 0.3 micrometres. That’s the yawn bit. However, it does mean it’s not simply blowing smelly dog hair particles back out, as fast you’re sucking them up. It’s certainly not the only vacuum on the market that has this feature.
Oh, and finally, it has headlights on the front. Great for seeing into dim corners. Or, while singing your own rendition of, “I want to break free” as you glide behind the, “advanced swivel steering”. Bliss.
If you’re wondering how to keep the actual dog clean – you can hop over to our other Holidays4Dogs article here.🙂
