If you are a pet lover like me, I am sure you are aware of the side effects during winter when your wool coat is covered with pet hair. Pets and wool coats are great individually but terrible when they come together. At several occasions, I’ve had strangers ask what the name of my pet is or if I work at a pet shelter because of visible hair on my coat.

At times, it seems like our pets do it on purpose because they are jealous that we might choose our wool coats over them or love our wool coats more than them. No matter how troublesome our pets are, they are family. There’s no question of substituting them so what can we do to deal with the massive amount of hair they shed.

Use A Lint Roller

The rollers come in different shapes, sizes, and brands, allowing you to choose according to your preference. These are adhesive papers that are attached to a handle. The adhesive sides are sticky enough to cling the pet hair to it and keep your wool coat intact without causing frays or patches.

When using a lint roller, always move it in one and same motion. Some lint rollers are adhesive on both sides and allow movement in both directions, so be careful. When a roll of adhesive paper is filled with pet hair, remove it and use a new strap.

Dampen Hands

When in a hurry and don’t have the time to use a piece of equipment, you may use your bare hands to remove the pet hair. Just wet your hands and softly wipe the pet hair from your wool coat. To make it easier, place a bowl of water beside you so you don’t go running to the sink anytime your hands dry up.

Gently use your hands to scrub the pet hair on your wool coat in one direction until there are clumps, then you hand pick and dispose of them in the dustbin.

Soft Bristle Brush

If you have a soft bristles brush at home, you are in luck. It makes pet hair removal easy and you don’t need a manual to do it. It’s as easy as brushing your own hair, no rocket science involved.  All you have to do is place your wool coat on wooden furniture or dry cloth then brush in a particular direction.

Make sure you remove pet hair from the hairbrush at intervals to prevent it from getting stuck to your wool coat again.

Clothes Steamer

The equipment like this on Amazon produces enough moisture to make the pet hair on your wool coat less clingy to the surface. You may then use a soft brush to remove pet hair easily and faster. You could also improvise and save time by hanging your pet hair infested coat in your bathroom while having a steam bath. This method works as good as using an actual cloth steamer.

Adhesive Tapes

The tapes work great for removing pet hair. Just roll around your finger, keeping the sticky part away from your finger, and roll down your wool coat in the same motion. When a tape is full, loosen it from your finger and wrap another around your finger until your wool is pet hair free again.

Anti-Static Spray

Just as the name suggests, this spray weakens the static power of pet hair to your wool coat. Thus, it breaks up their strong relationship and undying connection between hair and wool fur. The spray makes it easier to remove pet hair using your moist hands or brush but more preferably using a fabric softener sheet to make your wool coat feel softer and smell better.

Rubber Gloves

You may find a pair of rubber gloves around the house, in the kitchen or garden. Wear the gloves, moisturize them with a little water and rub them over your pet hair infested wool coat. The friction caused by rubbing creates a stronger sticky bond between your rubber gloves and the pet hair. When the rubber glove is covered in pet hair, take it off and rinse it, then continue the process all over again.

Keep Wool Coat Away From Pets

This is pretty obvious but still an important step. Make sure you hide your wool coats to avoid getting pet hair on them in the first place. Keep them in your closets or dressers and always keep them locked. Keeping them out of reach of your pet is the best way to avoid getting pet hair on them.

Dampen Kitchen Sponge

You may use water to dampen a kitchen sponge and run it carefully in a particular direction on your wool coat. Rubbing them off in the same direction makes the pet hair from a cluster then you use your lightly dampened hands to pick them up and throw them away.

Vinegar

Add a cup of vinegar to your laundry when rinsing your woolen material. Vinegar is cheap and easy to find and also works as a fabric softener, leaving your wool soft and pet hair free.

Using A Balloon

We use the same technique as rubbing a balloon on your hair to straighten up for fun, removing hair from your wool coat can also be made fun and easy by using balloons. First, you inflate your balloons and rub them around your wool coat, then the balloon attracts the pet hair and makes them straighten up and makes it easy for collection.

Having pet hair around the house is very inevitable especially when you have pets that do a lot of shedding like the Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky, American Curl cats and so on. Hair shedding is absolutely normal and increases when your pet is exposed to a lot of light. Furthermore, pet hair doesn’t just ruin our wool coats, but they also ruin our sofas, carpets, blankets.

How To Control Excess Shedding From Your Pet

Although having pet hair around is inevitable, it can be controlled and prevented to a large extent. How do I control or prevent pet hair shedding? Here are a few ways to control or prevent excess pet hair around the house;

Groom Pets Regularly

Grooming may vary from one breed to another according to how much they shed. I would recommend that you groom your pet once in three months at least. Some breeds may require grooming monthly or even weekly.

Your pets also need haircut, detangling, washing, and brushing daily. To prevent too much hair shedding, make sure you give your dog frequent haircuts, a healthy diet, and frequent grooming sessions.

Vacuum Carpets And Furniture

To prevent pet hair from forming clumps and being scattered around the house, make sure you vacuum regularly. Vacuuming could be done once, twice or even thrice daily depending on how much your pet sheds You can have a look at my previous article about the best carpet cleaner for pets.

Always Use Slipcover On Upholstery Furniture

The slipcovers are used to protect and beautify furniture. Using them to protect your upholstery makes removal of pet hair easy. They can be washed properly and put back when clean.

Wash Linens Properly

If your pet sheds a lot, you may need to do some extra washing, rinsing and spinning when taking care of linens covered in pet hair. Washing them properly prevents clumps and piles of pet hair everywhere.

Maintain A Healthy Diet For Your Pets

Give your pet a healthy and well-balanced meal to help them look healthy and reduce shedding. Resist the urge to giving them bits from the table. Instead of giving them human food, make sure they feed only on high-quality pet food.

3 Ways To Remove Pet Hair From Carpet

Besides your wool coat, your carpet is another victim of pet hair. Vacuuming hair is good but not good enough as it can’t help with the pet hair clinging on the carpet and it can get really frustrating. Here are a few methods of getting rid of pet hair that stubbornly to carpets:

Using baking soda: lightly sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet to make pet hair removal super easy. After you sprinkle the powder, leave it to set in for a few minutes then use your vacuum to suck up the loosened pet hair.

Using a squeegee:  this tool has a rubber blade and is used to spread or wipe away liquid from a surface. It works like magic, all you need to do is run your squeegee along the carpet and the hair attaches itself to it. Run your squeegee in a particular direction till there’s a clump to pack up and dispose of.

Rubber sole: picking up your rubber sole boots and rubbing across the carpet can also help in getting rid of pet hair quickly.

How To Remove Pet Hair From The Washing Machine

It’s funny how the washing machine cannot clean up by itself, even though it’s supposed to be a ‘washing machine’ after all. After washing, you can see pet hair clinging to your washer, which can be irritating. Is there a way to get rid of them? Yes, and here are a few ways to remove pet hair completely from the house.

Wash your washer: after you are done with the laundry job, help the washer do a self-clean by setting it on a regular wash cycle. It should be completely empty, so use the max heat and rinse several times.

Use a moist cloth: this can help you gather pet hair from the washing machine and pack them out of the house. Make sure you also clean the drum, doors, and seals with a moist cloth.

Vacuum the washing machine: you may use a vacuum cleaner inside the washing machine to such out little strands of pet hair from the washer.

Clean drain pump: remove the drain pump filter and clean it thoroughly to prevent any clogs or blockages.

Rinse the washer again: you may rinse by adding vinegar to hot water to make the cleaning process more efficient and get rid of pet hair finally!

Related Questions

How often does my dog shed?

This depends on the breed, although there are countless reasons why a dog will shed. This could be because of allergies, fleas or it is trying to bring out a new set of fur. Dogs shed to adjust to the temperature and don a lighter fur during summer and a heavier one during winter. If your dog experiences excessive shedding, bathe your dog and check for fleas as having an infection may also cause excess shedding.

When do I consider taking my dog to the Vet?

If you notice a shedding pattern or prolonged and frequent scratching, take to the Vet immediately. It could be a parasite, under-production or over-production of hormones. All these can be medically treated and there’s absolutely no need to panic.

Can adding olive oil to pet food help with shedding

I recommend adding one tablespoon of olive oil to pet food daily. Olive oil contains omega-3 fatty acids that can make the skin and coat shiny and healthy. A healthy coat means less shedding.

Is hair shedding more common at certain times of the year?

In the wild, dogs shed in spring and fall. However, when domesticated, dogs stay indoors most of the time and shed moderately throughout the year. Shedding may increase due to stress, allergies or poor diet?

Can putting a t-shirt on my dog help?

During winter when you can’t leave your wool coat, not can you stop yourself from cuddling your pet, a good idea is to make your dog wear a t-shirt or sweater too. There are cute tees available for dogs and wearing them can keep the shedding hair away from your coat and other things.

How often should I bathe more dog?

This may depend upon your dog’s hair length, skin condition, and activity level. In general, I would advise you to bathe your dog at least once in every 3 months or as frequent as every other week using a mild shampoo.