Last updated on August 29th, 2022
Stop. Don’t buy that vacuum cleaner just yet! If you are a pet owner then you need to be very careful in the choice you make when it comes to your vacuum cleaner. Make the wrong choice and you have wasted your money. Make the right choice however, and you and your pets will have a nice clean hair-free house to live in.
Pet hair is dangerous to even the best vacuum cleaner. It can clog filters, burn out motors, and severely reduce suction and power. That’s why choosing a reliable pet hair vacuum is important.
While it’s a necessary part of pet ownership, and it’s only natural that you want to keep your house clean and pet hair free, it takes an incredible toll on your vacuum cleaner. Especially if you don’t have a vacuum cleaner that’s made for pets.
For the details buying guide on how to choose a pet hair vacuum as well as the recommended canister and upright models, read this post.
Top Five Facts About Pet Hair Vacuum
Below are five important facts that you need to know about pet hair and your vacuum cleaner. It’s better to know the facts first before getting a new cleaner.
- Normal suction doesn’t work!
The normal suction on a cheap vacuum cleaner isn’t effective with pet hair. While you will get some of the hair up, the rest will stay on your carpet or couch. You really need a vacuum cleaner with cyclone or wind tunnel technology. Else, you also can get a cleaner that is specially designed for pet hair removal.
- Not all pet hair stays in the bag
Pet hair travels so vacuum bags and trash containers must be close firmly so that it doesn’t get into filters and motors. While it is visible it is still a very fine substance. This can cause a lot of problems for your vacuum cleaner in terms of efficiency. Also motors don’t seem to like been clogged with pet hair.
- Normal brushes can’t handle pet hair
If you want to wreck a good quality brush for your vacuum cleaner, then start vacuuming pet hair. Because it’s so fine, it gets tangled around the bristles and stops the brush from rolling effectively over carpets and hard floors. Here are the tips to remove pet hairs from clothes.
- Pet hair clogs hoses
This seems to surprise a lot of pet owners when they vacuum. They start vacuuming Fido’s bed and areas on the couch where he likes to sleep. After about 15 minutes the suction goes and the vacuum cleaner starts overheating. Looking in the hose, they find a massive hairball.
If a vacuum cleaner doesn’t have the right suction for pet hair or hasn’t been designed for pets then this is what happens. The bad part is that this takes about 15 minutes to clean and isn’t the most pleasant job.
- It is difficult to clean pet hair out of filters
While a good filter will stop the majority of pet hair going into a vacuum cleaner motor, it will affect the efficiency of the motor. When it comes to cleaning the filter, unless it is a washable filter, it is quite difficult to get all of the pet hair out. You could spend an hour or so and there would still be some small hairs stuck to the filter. This not only affects the operation of the system but also produces a lovely pet smell when you vacuum.
As you can see, when it comes to vacuum cleaners pet hair can cause problems. The best thing to do is to buy a vacuum cleaner that is specially designed for pets and to maintain the machine regularly. It’s just another fun task that pet ownership brings!
In the following section, we will highlight some of the important criteria that you need to take into consideration when getting a pet vacuum cleaner. Generally most vacuum types are suitable for pet hair removal, but the uprights and canister vacuums are always a preferred choice.
Tips on Choosing A Reliable Pet Vacuum Cleaners!
Pet hair is a very unique substance. It is fine yet strong, and at times like spring can be found in large quantities throughout your home. If a vacuum cleaner isn’t specifically designed to suck up pet hair, it will stick in the head, the brushes, the wand, and the filter. Basically, all the parts of a vacuum cleaner that makes it work.
You need a powerhead vacuum cleaner
Suction also comes into play. Even if you buy a quality brand vacuum cleaner and are lucky enough for the vacuum cleaner not to clog, chances are you won’t be able to effectively clean pet hair off your carpets or furniture.
Many of the popular pet vacuum cleaner models now come with a “powerhead” which provides extra power to suck all of the annoying hair up. The motorized head also helps to suck the hair straight to the bag or the trash compartment without sticking along the way. Read more on powerhead vacuums here.
Use HEPA filter machine
Even if you are not an allergy sufferer, HEPA filter machine provides better protection from cat and dog hair leaving a machine. Also it minimizes the “pet smell” that can be produced by vacuum cleaners over time. A HEPA filter is a high-quality filter that blocks the majority of particles, including hair. They are generally only found on higher-quality vacuum cleaners or vacuums made for pets. If you don’t have one then your vacuum cleaner and vacuuming will suffer.
The bagless advantage?
While there are a few bagged pet vacuum cleaners on the market, the majority incorporate bagless technology. It keeps the vacuum cleaner suction more powerful and will also enable you to quickly get rid of the pet hair. Above all, avoid reusable bags. If you have ever tried to get pet hair out of one of these bags, you will know just how difficult this is. Don’t even consider these as an option!
Conclusion: Getting A High-Quality Pet Hair Vacuum Will Last Longer!
While pet vacuum cleaners are not the cheapest on the market, they are the only type of vacuum cleaners that work for pet hair over the long term. It is much better to spend the extra money up front and go for a model that will keep your house clean, and that you won’t have to replace it after three months.
Interested in learning more? Check out our full list of 15 best canister vacuums that we found and reviewed to see if anyone of them is the right one for you.
