Let’s face it, we love our pets, but we don’t always love their hair. Finding loose pet hair on our floors and furniture is the worst. And leaving the house with pet hair all over our clothes is even more annoying.

If you’re finding more hair on your couch than on your pet, good news! Eliminating pet hair is totally doable. All you need are a handful of hacks and a quality vacuum, and you can be on your way to a cleaner, more hair-free home.

To learn how to zap away annoying pet hair, take a quick look at these five vacuuming hacks, plus keep reading for our top five vacuum picks that can handle pet hair with ease.

Prep your floors.

To ensure your vacuum can pick up as much pet hair as possible, you should try prepping your flooring before vacuuming. To do this, use a rubber squeegee or rubber broom to scrape the hair from your carpet fibers using short strokes. Place the collected hair into a pile as you work before discarding it after you’ve finished scraping the carpet. Prepping your flooring before vacuuming is a great way to loosen pet hairs for a more convenient clean.

Try a handheld attachment.

Having pet hair on your furniture and upholstery is not only unappealing, but it can also make your guests feel uncomfortable. Luckily, you can avoid this by using a handheld attachment to vacuum up tough areas, paying special attention to crevices where hair is easily trapped.

If your vacuum doesn’t include a handheld attachment, there are many handheld options to shop at your local store. Or for a more targeted clean, you could also use a motorized brush tool specially designed to pick up stubborn pet hair from furniture.

Empty your vacuum.

When it comes to household chores, emptying the vacuum isn’t at the top of most people’s priority list. But if you have pets that are prone to shedding, it should actually become a routine practice.

Excessive pet hair can easily clog your vacuum, which decreases its suction power. And if your vacuum doesn’t have proper suction, you won’t be able to pick up as much.

So if you’re working with a lot of pet hair, be sure to empty your vacuum after every use. This way, you can spend less time cleaning and more time doing what you want.

Make use of pantyhose.

If your vacuum isn’t picking up the hairs properly, you might be tempted to use its hose attachment instead. While this can work, cleaning up too much hair can clog the hose, leading to suction loss, motor strain, and overheating.

To prevent this from happening to you, place a pair of old pantyhose over the hose to act as a filter. This way, you can collect and discard any loose pet hairs without damaging your vacuum attachment.

Clean the brush roll.

Many vacuums on the market today come with a brush roll to help loosen up debris for the vacuum to pick up more efficiently. This special feature makes cleaning a whole lot easier, but only if you use it correctly, part of which includes cleaning it regularly.

Experts recommend cleaning your vacuum brush roll every month, with replacements every year or as needed. Doing so helps prevent the hairs from wrapping around the brush roll, which slows it down, decreasing its performance.

If you’re tired of seeing pet hair everywhere, you’ll need a quality vacuum to help. To learn more about the best way to vacuum pet hair, take a look at our favorite vacuums to do the job:

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