How to Find the Best Vacuum for Pet Hair？

To help any vacuum do a better job at removing pet hair, our cleaning pros recommend giving fur-covered carpets and couches a spritz of an anti-static spray, like Static Guard, before vacuuming to help strands come up easier. Then, there are a few features to look for in a vacuum specifically for pet hair:

1. Rubber trim and raised “fingers” on floor nozzles and attachments that help zap static and break the bonds so fur comes up more easily.

2. Tangle-free brush rolls put an end to clipping long strands of hair (from pets or humans!) that get twisted around the brush.

3. Easy-to-empty dust cups for inevitable and frequent dumping as you vacuum. Keep in mind that filters on newer vacuums trap more odors to eliminate smells in the vacuum and the room.

Best Vacuum for Pet Hair: Key Features

1. Upright Vacuum: All of the best vacuums on this list are upright. These are vacuums which stand up vertically and which are intended to be used on floors to pick up pet hair and what not. You probably had one of these in your closet growing up (it was probably big, loud and clunky). Fortunately, issues with clunkiness have been taken care of modern upright vacuum cleaners. Their handling has improved, as has their shape, making vacuuming a little bit less of a chore than it used to be. Still, it must be said that an upright vacuum requires that you handle the machine's total weight at all times. If wrist strain is a problem, pet owners should look for models that can convert to something more compact, or maybe even a canister vacuum, like the Miele Complete C3.

2. Upright Vacuum with Lift-Away Option : Some upright vacuums have this feature. This essentially means that the vacuum is shape-shifting. You can leave behind the wide base of the upright at the flick of a switch and convert the vacuum cleaner into a hand-held model that is easier to carry around. This also makes it easy to clean and pick up pet hair from hard to vacuum places like stairs. Ever seen Transformers? It’s like that. Kinda.

3. Hair Wrap: One thing pet owners hate is dealing with clumps of tangled pet hair wrapped around the vacuum brush. Look for mentions of “anti hair wrap” and “Zero-M” technology if this is a problem for you. These innovations will prevent you from having to do scissor surgery to your vacuum cleaner every couple weeks.

4. Floors? Sofas? Stairs?: Take a look around you. What is your hairiest surface? Are there a lot of angles to work with, or do you have an area rug set in the middle of a big room? In the first situation, you should look for a hand vacuum or a vacuum which changes shape easily. In the second, a simpler upright vacuum for pet hair would be sufficient. Additionally, does one surface demand a deeper clean than another? Does the couch attract more pet hair than the floor? Watch out for special mentions of vacuums intended for sofas instead of floors if that's what you need.

5. Bag or Bagless: There are pros and cons to each. Some pet owners like the stress-free bagged option in which all of the yucky stuff is collected in an easily disposable container. Others don't want to bother with buying bags all the time. Bagless is the prevailing norm these days. If you prefer this option, look into specific features of the canister such as a no-touch emptying feature. A little goes a long way.

6. Kind of pet hair: Does it lightly coat everything in sight, or has it tangled up the fibers of your carpet, rendering it completely unrecognizable? Do you need basic suction power for a daily once-over or do you need to bring out the big guns? It is important to have an understanding of the scope of your situation. If you have a house full of huskies covering your home with pet hair, you’re going to need more power than your neighbor who’s got one cat that never leaves the windowsill.

7. Size: Much like your four-legged friend, the size of a vacuum cleaner isn’t necessarily an indicator of its feistiness. When considering the size of a vacuum, think about the space you have available. If you live in a small apartment with a huge dog, you can still invest in a powerful stick vacuum to save space. These days, the benefits of big models are related to covering more space faster and not on boosting suction power.

Best Vacuums for Pet Hair

• Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Upright Vacuum

Price & Where to Buy: $279 + up to 4% cashback at Walmart.com

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is an upright vacuum designed for tackling pet hair. It has a clear XL dust bin, strong suction, and offers five different cleaning modes.This upright, pet-friendly vacuum cleaner is surprisingly lightweight and includes multiple tools and an extension wand, making it ideal for two-story homes. 

No batteries required, it comes with a long cord and cleans carpet, hardwood, and upholstery. With turbo cleaning power, a crevice tool, and a dusting brush, it can clean all of your pet’s messes, as well as everyday dust and debris.

Compatible with:

1. Febreze Sring & Renewal BISSELL Style 8 & 14 Replacement Vacuum Filter, 1 Pack, 99K13

2. Great Value BISSELL Style 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, Replacement Vacuum Belt, 2 Pack, 2350

Pros：

1. Pet-friendly brushroll:The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser uses a large foam brushroll with short spiral bristles integrated into the design of the roll. This design helps to prevent tangles from pet hair as the brushroll rotates.

2. Large dust bin.:The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser also has a large dust bin capacity and can hold up to 1.36 dry quarts, or approx. 6.4 cups of debris. This is one of the largest dust bin capacities that we’ve seen to date.

3. Comes with accessories:If you’re looking for a nice assortment of accessories, you may be interested in the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, which comes with a crevice tool (with LED light), a pet hair tool, an extending wand with flexible hose, and a tool holder to help stay organized.

 Cons：

1. A little heavy:The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser weighs in at a whopping 18 pounds, which is heavier than most models listed here. If you’ll be lifting this vacuum around a multi-level home or simply struggle with heavy vacuums, the weight of this machine could be a real problem.
   

2. A little loud:Likely due to its larger size, the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is also quite loud. At full power, it operates around 81 decibels (at 3’ away). For comparison, that’s louder than city traffic, but not quite as loud as a hair dryer.

3. Average cleaning performance: The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser generally had good cleaning performance, but this was not true across all debris types. On average, across all floor types and against all debris types, the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser scored 85% on cleaning performance.

• Dyson Ball Animal 2 pet vacuum cleaner

Price & Where to Buy: $499 + up to 2% cashback at Dyson

The Dyson Ball Animal 2 is the best vacuum for pet hair on carpet that we've tested. This upright model has a distinctive design, with one big ball-like wheel that helps it maneuver in tight spots. It delivers a fantastic performance on low and high-pile carpets, where it clears pet hair very effectively.

The head automatically adjusts itself to whatever surface it's cleaning, so you can easily move from bare floors to shaggy carpets. The vacuum can be used in a semi-handheld configuration, which is useful if you're cleaning stairs or your car. It comes with a wide variety of tools and brushes, including a turbo brush for dislodging dirt from fabric-covered furniture, a crevice tool for getting into tight corners, and even a pet grooming tool. Also, it incurs virtually no recurring costs, thanks to its bagless design and washable filters.

Compatible with:

1. Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum
   

2. Stair tool, motorized brush, combination accessory tool, extension wand, flexible hose, tangle-free turbine tool

Pros：

1. High suction power: At 306 AW, the Dyson Animal 2 has the most suction power of any other Dyson vacuum currently on the market. If you have a significant amount of high pile carpet, high traffic areas, or just a lot of pet hair, this increased suction power can be a real difference maker for you.

2. Large dust bin capacity: The Animal 2 upright also has one of the largest dust bin capacities of any upright vacuum. From empty to full, this vacuum can hold up to 0.55 gallons, or around 9.7 cups of dry debris.

3. Comes with accessories: The Animal 2 upright vacuum comes with a few nice accessories that can be useful for pets. It includes a combination tool (crevice tool and dusting brush), a stair tool, and a tangle-free turbine tool.

Cons：

1. A heavy vacuum: The Dyson Animal 2 is large, powerful, and has a huge dust bin capacity, but that also comes at a price. This vacuum is anything but compact and may be quite heavy or difficult to maneuver for some users. This vacuum is 42” tall and weighs 17.5 pounds.

2. Difficult to squeeze into tight spaces:Again, this workhorse of a vacuum is not really designed to fit into particularly tight spaces. The roller ball does make it easier to make tight turns, but it’s unlikely that it will help you squeeze under furniture.

BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Plus VS. Dyson Ball Animal 2

Overview：The Dyson Ball Animal 2 is a better overall upright vacuum than the BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Turbo Plus. The Dyson has a longer range, and it requires less maintenance and with almost no recurring costs. It has a better performance on all surface types too, and it also comes with a pet grooming tool, which is nice for pet owners.

• Shark Rocket Pet Pro Cordless Stick Vacuu

Price & Where to Buy: $299.99 + up to 0.50% cashback at Best Buy 

The Shark  Cordless Pet Plus Stick Vacuum was designed for homes with pets. It combines powerful suction and a self-cleaning brushroll with PowerFins to clean floors and carpets with no hair wrap. Its lightweight design and removable handheld vacuum deliver cordless cleaning from floor to ceiling. 

While it also cleans small and large debris from bare floors outstandingly well, it struggles more with smaller debris on carpet but it still does a great job on these surfaces overall. This vacuum also has excellent maneuverability, making it easy to clean under tables or to clean car seats. As it's fairly easy to maintain, and as long as each of its parts is cleaned according to their respective maintenance needs, recurring costs are low. 

Compatible with:

1. In-hand vacuum (with dust bin)

2. Wand (standard or MultiFlex, depending on the model)

3. Cleaning head

Pros：

1. Can easily pick up pet hair from all surface types.

2. Fairly easy to maintain and low recurring costs.

3. Long run time of up to 40 minutes

4. 2-in-1 design

5. Improved brushroll design for fewer tangles

Cons:

1. Struggles with small debris on carpet.

2. Small dust bin capacity

3. Does not come with a wall storage tool (or the ability to stand upright on its own).

Dyson Animal 2  VS. Shark Rotator True Pet

1. If you’re looking for max suction, the Dyson Animal 2 and Shark Rotator True Pet are both strong contenders.The Animal 2 maxes our at 306 AW (air watts) while the Rotator offers 270 AW.

2. Suction at this level is more than capable of cleaning pet hair from deep within carpet fibers, upholstery, or any other surface where debris and dander may like to hide.

• Hoover MAXLife Pet Max Complete Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Price & Where to Buy: $217.40 + up to 4% cashback at Walmart

If you're worried about giving due care to different floor types, the Hoover Hoover MaxLife Pro Pet allows you to switch modes. The Advanced Action Brush Roll was made to get at the deeply embedded pet hair and dirt in carpets. This is not such a good idea for hardwood floors, though, where debris tends to scatter with this feature turned on. Luckily, Hoover's got you covered. At the press of a button, you can change to the setting that suits your floor.

Many vacuums tend to lose suction power after an especially rigorous cleaning session. The Multi-Cyclonic technology of this Hoover will keep the vacuum sucking at its strongest no matter what gets inside. Hoover's WindTunnel technology also helps to contain every little piece of dirt and strand of pet hair that gets inside, so that when you glide this vacuum over your floor, all that will be left is your beautiful, spotless carpet. This Hoover is a very capable vacuum cleaner.

Compatible with:

Three tools are included:

1. Crevice tool

2. Dusting brush

3. Pet turbo tool

Pros:

1. Strong suction

2. Great at picking up pet hair

3. Reasonably priced

4. Pre-motor filter is rinsable in water

5. Easy to empty dust canister

6. Not too much hair wrap on brushroll

7. Pet turbo tool works well

Cons:

1. A bit loud

2.  Can be difficult to push on carpet

3. Heavy/bulky

4. Doesn’t maneuver that well

5. Hose is short and stiff

6. Wand is short

What to Consider When Buying a Vacuum for Pet Hair

1. If you're in the market for a new vacuum cleaner, the one that's right for you likely depends on your budget and your home's floor plan. The price of a pet vacuum can range from under $50 for compact handheld options to over $500 for robot vacuums. For instance, if you're willing to invest in an expensive vacuum cleaner, you might consider a robotic option that can do the hard work for you, like the popular iRobot Roomba. Or if you're looking for something affordable and easy-to-use, try Bissell's handheld pet vacuum.

2. Once you know how much you'd like to spend, consider how much area your new vacuum will have to cover. Would a cord get in the way of your furniture? Do you have stairs or other hard-to-reach places? Do you have carpet or hard floors? If you have a crowded home, you might want a cordless stick vacuum that can easily navigate around furniture. Or perhaps you're looking for a device that can swiftly remove fur, hair, dust, and allergens from hardwood floors, in which case you'd want to consider something like this Bissell vacuum that doubles as a steam mop. 

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