No matter whether you’re on Team Cat or Team Dog, one thing we can all agree on is that owning a pet comes with a significant amount of hair (especially if you own one of the top dog breeds which shed). Namely, hair all over our clothes, couch, bed, car, and floors. Tackling pet shedding can be a monumental effort. But the good news is that there are lots of dedicated vacuums for pet hair on the market that can make the task a little easier.
You may be wondering why you need a dedicated pet hair vacuum in the first place. Well, many of these vacuums come with special features and heads that work especially well when it comes to sucking up pesky hairs. Plus, they’re often very powerful and good at getting hairs out of tight spots. Any expert Pet Sitter who welcomes animals to their home would probably agree. Special pet hair vacuums are an absolute must!
Ready to find out some of our top picks? Here goes!
What to look for in vacuums for pet hair
The features you go for often come down to personal preference. You might favour a cordless stick vacuum that you can easily carry around your home. Alternatively, you may prefer one that you can strap to your back for added comfort. Or, you might completely detest vacuuming and want a robot vacuum that does the hard work for you.
But there are a few things to consider, including:
- Design. With so many vacuums to choose from, the design is the easiest way to short-list your options. Cordless vacuums are great if you also want something that’ll clean your car, but corded vacuums don’t run out of battery – so they’re often better for big homes. Compact handheld models are perfect for quick cleans but full-size ones are ideal for doing your whole home
- Extra heads or features. Many specialised pet hair vacuums come with attachments that make sucking up pet hair an absolute breeze. These include crevice tools for doing your car, pet brushes for cleaning up any hair that’s deeply lodged in the carpet, or even mopping attachments that finish off the job
- The ability to work across multiple surfaces. If you’ve got cats at home, you’ll want to look for a vacuum that works well on tiles. This is because kitty litter can easily end up outside the litter box, and having a vacuum that efficiently picks it up is really handy
The top 5 vacuums for pet hair
We’ve sussed out several pet hair vacuums and narrowed our list to five of the best. Because we’re sure you’d rather spend more time with your pooches and felines than endlessly researching on the net!
1. The best stick vacuum: Dyson V11 Animal
Dyson is widely regarded as the creme de la creme of vacuum cleaners, and the brand’s pet hair offerings are definitely some of its best. The great thing is that they’re cordless, bagless, and very light.
The Dyson V11 Animal in particular is super powerful. It also has nifty tech features that make it an absolute suction beast on both hard surfaces and carpet. And, it folds down to a handheld vacuum and comes with a handy mini motorised brush. This makes it ideal for getting pet hair out of pet beds, the car, couch, or other smaller spots.
The only downsides are that it’s pretty expensive, takes several hours to charge, and gives you just 60 minutes of cleaning time – which may not be enough if your house is on the bigger side.
RRP: $1,099
2. The top choice if you’re on a budget: Hoover Eco Pets Turbo Bagless Vacuum Cleaner
If you don’t want to break the bank on a new vacuum cleaner, there are some excellent budget-friendly options available. Hoover – possibly the most famous name in the world of vacuum cleaners – makes a great option: the Eco Pets Turbo Bagless Vacuum Cleaner.
Some of the best features on this almighty cleaner include a turbo brush floor head that provides deep-cleaning power on both carpets and upholstery, an epic 1.75-litre bagless canister that means you can clean for ages, an energy-efficient motor, and a washable HEPA filter (which is great if you’ve got allergies). It’s also very lightweight, so it’s perfect if you need to lug it up and down stairs.
A couple of things to note, though: the cord is very short and it can be a little fiddly to pull apart and clean.
RRP: $299
3. Our pick if you want to go all out: Vorwerk Kobold VK200 Upright Vacuum Cleaner
This might just be the smartest vacuum cleaner on our list. The Vorwerk Kobold VK200 Upright Vacuum Cleaner has a very intelligent tool that can detect changes in floor surface, then adjust the power level to match. So if you’re constantly switching between tiles and carpet, you can save yourself the hassle of messing around with controls.
It also comes with a bunch of attachments to make it really versatile. It can work across floors, upholstery, mattresses, and more. So, no matter where your pet’s hair ends up, you’ll be able to suck it right up.
The downsides? It’s obviously pricey and it uses bags – which can be annoying to replace. Plus, it’s not the most ergonomic option. It comes with shoulder straps that can make handling the vacuum a bit awkward.
RRP: $1,999
4. The number-one handheld option: Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro Hand-held Vacuum Cleaner
Just need a vacuum to keep your pet’s bed tidy, or to catch loose hairs in your car? You may not need to go for an entirely new full-size model. Instead, you can opt for a handheld one, which you can conveniently whip out for a quick clean.
The Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro Hand-held Vacuum Cleaner is truly great, with fantastic suction power on lots of different surfaces. It also comes with a crevice tool (perfect for cleaning your car and pet beds) plus a motorised pet power brush that picks up a tonne of hair. Oh, and it’s an absolute steal at less than $150.
The only things we don’t love are that it’s a bit bulky for a handheld vacuum and takes a while to charge.
RRP: $149
5. The leading robot vacuum cleaner for pet hair: iRobot Roomba i3 Robot Vacuum
Prefer to leave the vacuuming to someone (or something) else? A robot vacuum cleaner will do the trick. There are plenty of brands and models to choose from, across multiple price points.
Our pick for pet hair? The iRobot Roomba i3 Robot Vacuum, a compact yet utterly powerful option. It works across multiple flooring types and has strong suction to not only pick up pet hairs, but pet allergens, too. In fact, iRobot states that it can capture 99 percent of cat and dog allergens.
It can also do scheduled cleanings via the app, be connected to Google Home or Alexa, and smartly suggest a deeper clean during cat and dog shedding season. Wowzah!
Note, though, that this model can get quite loud. It’s also not as fast at cleaning as some other robot vacuums and doesn’t come with a charging dock – so you’ll have to take care of that yourself.
RRP: $999
