Best Vacuum For Pet Hair: Say Good Riddance For Good!

best vacuum for pet hair

If you, like me, love having pets in your home, you’ll be all too aware of the constant mess that is caused as a result. Training their behaviors can of course reduce most of this, but some is completely unavoidable such as the loose strands of hair. I found that investing in the best vacuum for pet hair took away a lot of my troubles.

No matter the type of pets you have, and whether they have short hair or long scruffy hair, you will experience this problem that can cause a lot of mess, breathing difficulties, and discomfort when you get one stuck in your foot.

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Best Vacuum For Pet Hair Comparison

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While it’s great having pets living in your home with you, the mess they cause can be the source of endless frustration. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to pluck a dog hair from my foot or known friends who have experienced breathing difficulties as a result of their long haired dogs, but since I got a vacuum for pet hair for myself I have instantly noticed a difference. It’s much more comfortable sharing a home with my dog now, and if you have similar issues it could be a worthy purchase for you as well.

Before you go out and buy yourself the first machine you find, there are a few things worth considering that may affect your purchase. The main thing you will need to pick up those hairs is a decent amount of suction power, and a nozzle that can get into whatever surface you are cleaning and dislodge the hairs that have become entangled.

There are, of course, a wide variety of products that offer this functionality in various ways. If, for example, you are also looking for a main vacuum cleaner for around the home, you should consider buying one that comes with all the attachments needed for picking up pet hair rather than having a separate device. The larger machines are far more effective than the handheld versions, but come at a much higher price that puts them on par with the best of home cleaners.

vacuum cleaner

Other included attachments can adapt the vacuum to work efficiently on hard floors instead of carpets, and offer detachable wands to reach the most difficult places in the home. If you have lots of confined spaces that your pets like to run into, it’s worth making sure the vacuum you choose to buy has a crevice tool and, ideally, an LED light to highlight dirt that you have missed.

If you already have a main vacuum and are looking for an ancillary product to pick up the hairs that you haven’t been able to reach, then handheld vacuum for pet hair models will be perfectly adequate for your needs while being much cheaper.

They provide a decent amount of power, and all of the attachments you need to remove the hairs from upholstery. These handheld units are also great for clearing other dirt from around the home, particularly in areas where your main vacuum cannot reach.

The other thing to consider is the volume of hair that is being left by your pets. If you have a few animals with short hairs, the handheld vacuums are probably all you’ll need to deal with it all. Longer or larger volumes of hair can clog the brushes, though, so if you have lots of animals or long haired breeds, you’d be best advised to get a more powerful machine, and one that has brushes or filters that are designed to cope with these demands.

The final thing to consider before your purchase is the price point. More costly devices tend to offer more accessories, better suction, and better build quality, but you don’t necessarily need to spend too much to get a decent product. Focus on the features that appeal to you with your requirements, and you’ll be able to find a vacuum that does exactly what you need without costing the world.

Top 5 Best Vacuum Cleaner For Pet Hair

 

Bissell 33A1 Pet Hair Eraser Vacuum

  • Multi layer filtration system
  • ​16 foot power cord
  • ​Two specially designed nozzles
  • ​Suitable for use on upholstery vehicles and stairs
  • Bagless

Pet hair has a habit of getting absolutely everywhere, and this handheld vacuum from Bissell has been designed to easily fit into whatever space you need to clean. With purchase of this product you get a small handheld vacuum unit as well as two nozzles that focus on particular surfaces.

If you have a problem with erroneous hairs around your home and are looking for a simple, cheap device to help rid you of the problem, then this product could be the handheld vacuum for pet hair for your needs. This one has the lowest price of the ones in this guide and the lowest suction power, but if you have one pet that leaves a few occasional hairs around the place, it’ll be more than enough.

The two easy switch nozzles (rubber and hard) that are provided with this vacuum for pets are designed to make it effective across a wide range of materials, and weed out those hairs that have buried themselves within your sofa. The rubber nozzle can be pushed up against your stairs, chairs, and other upholstery, and dislodge any hair that is present to then be sucked up into the machine. The hard nozzle is more suited for cleaning up dry messes, or reaching the hidden areas inside a car for example.

This is a bagless vacuum cleaner that features a multi-layer filtration system to ensure that suction is maintained without getting clogged up. There’s an easily removable dirt container that stores everything that has been sucked up, and allows you to easily dispose of everything, or search through it if you accidentally pick up something you didn’t mean to.

The 16 foot cord allows you to plug this vacuum in and reach far without having to change socket and, with it weighing under 4 pounds, this device is handheld, compact and easy to carry around and store. Included with the purchase is a one year limited warranty to give you peace of mind in case any problems develop.

It is a comfortable device to use and has an easy grip handle to help you keep hold of it without straining your arm. The control buttons are conveniently placed on the tip of the curved handle so you can operate it with only one hand. The 4-amp motor generates a decent amount of suction to pick up most light objects, and is powerful enough to get the finer dust particles that find their way deep into everything.

Of course, this vacuum for pet hair isn’t just for use with pet hair, it’s a decent enough handheld machine for use on any mess around the home that doesn’t quite warrant using an upright model. Whether it be for spills around the kitchen or dried mud that has been brought in, this vacuum will be great to have around.

It should be mentioned that this vacuum blows air out of the sides, something that can stir up fine particles before they have been sucked up, so it wouldn’t be so great for picking up a pile of glitter, for example, but when using on upholstery or carpet this shouldn’t become a problem.

With one pet and a few hairs, this vacuum will be more than enough for your needs. If you have multiple pets, or particularly large ones that drop hairs everywhere, then you might need a more powerful device to make sure you catch everything.

 

Bissell 1650A Pet Hair Eraser Vacuum

  • Brush to handle tangled hair
  • ​Includes particular pet tools
  • ​Inbuilt LED to highlight hidden dirt and hair
  • ​Allergen system
  • Hands-free empty system

The problem of pet hair can become quite severe, especially if you have lots of pets around the home, or a particularly long haired animal that sheds a lot, and if that’s the case you might need to get yourself a powerful, upright machine that provides much more suction. That is exactly what Bissell have gone for with this vacuum, which has been designed for the most stubborn dirt. It also comes packed with features to ease the process.

It has a 30-foot power cord so you can reach virtually any area of your home. It’s an upright device, but has a wand for quick release that disconnects from the main body of the machine in the press of a button, and allows you to tackle dirt that is higher up or just beyond reach of the brushes on the main machine. This makes it great to clear the corners and edges of the room, and comes with a variety of interchangeable tools to adapt it to whatever surface you are cleaning.

My favorite feature of this vacuum is the LED light that is fitted into the end of the wand for quick release. The light reflects off the small bits of hair and dirt that you wouldn’t necessarily see otherwise and is really helpful to ensure you pick up everything. The two in one pet brush within the nozzle of the wand has rubber fingers that dislodge embedded hair from upholstery, and the pet turboeraser tool ensures a much more efficient clean.

Bissell have made this vacuum with their ‘cyclonic pet hair spooling system’ that separates hair from other dirt, and spools it together to allow hands-free emptying of the device. It is bagless, and very easy to empty the dirt as well.

Another great feature of this vacuum is the ‘smartseal allergen system’. One of the biggest problems of pet hair is its ability to trigger allergies in humans, and this system tries to mitigate that effect as much as possible. It captures dust and allergens safely within the vacuum and also has a built in febreze pet odor eliminator filter that eliminates those horrible odors and freshens the areas that your are cleaning.

This pet hair vacuum cleaner is the most expensive that is featured in this guide, and comes with the features and power you would expect for the cost. It will effectively tackle long or short hairs that have become entangled within fabrics around your home, and prove to be just as effective as other vacuum cleaners at dealing with all other mess as well.

You will be able to reach all areas with the long cord and wand for quick release, and empty it with very little hassle. This is a great choice for you if you are looking for an all round vacuum that has specific features to assist with the removal of pet hair, and will cope with the most tangled and difficult hairs. If you only have a few hairs to deal with however, a cordless vacuum for pet hair is usually smaller and handheld, and you may be better off buying yourself this cheaper device that will deal with your problem just as well.

 

Bissell 1782 Cordless Hand Vacuum

  • Cordless vacuum
  • ​Motorized foot to provide powerful suction
  • ​Includes a crevice tool to reach difficult areas
  • ​Dual action filtration system
  • Easy to empty dirt bin

If you are looking for a reasonably priced, simple to use vacuum cleaner to tackle a moderate number of pet hairs, then this cordless version from Bissell could be a perfect choice of cordless vacuum for pet hair. It is designed to be easy, portable, and effective without being a similar price to your main vacuum.

I like this model because it is handheld and cordless. This lets it reach any area that needs a clean without having to be conscious of where the nearest socket is. It has an inbuilt NiMH 14.4 volt battery, which charges up quickly and will last for long enough to tackle the most stubborn of messes.

As with the other vacuums in this guide, this handheld vacuum for pet hair is useful for all types of mess, not just for pet hair, so it is a worthy replacement for your handheld device. Of course, it comes with features specifically designed to help with hair, and this is where it comes into its own for pet owners.

It is lightweight, at only three pounds, so it can reach any area around the home. Included in the purchase are three easily changeable attachments that each optimizes the vacuum for differing tasks. The motorized brush provides a powerful suction to provide a deep clean, the crevice tool can be used to get into the most awkward of areas where dirt collects, and the upholstery tool is lined with felt to dislodge hairs that have nestled deep within fabric.

Once this vacuum has picked up hair and dirt, the dual-action filtration system extends the lifespan of the filter and makes cleaning of the machine a lot easier. This is a bagless model and, when you want to empty it, it simply involves a few clicks of a switch to open it up and dispose of the contents.

Pet hair can be such a pain to clear up, and Bissell have created a neat product here to make it as easy a job as possible. This one is particularly handy by being cordless. This, combined with the lightweight design and interchangeable nozzles, means that you will be able to reach any area of the home with relative ease, and apply a decent amount of suction onto that area to pick up any mess.

If you have one or two pets that drop a few hairs here and there, this will be the vacuum for pet hair to clear up after them. It won’t break your bank balance and it will function as a great supplementary vacuum to your main one. It won’t be so effective against extreme messes, though, so if you have lots of long haired dogs whose hairs get absolutely everywhere, you may need to get a more substantial machine that provides much more suction.

 

Eureka AS2130A Bagless Upright Vacuum

  • 29 foot cord
  • ​‘PET power cord’ designed to deep clean pet hair
  • ​Detachable wand
  • ​Washable, reusable filter
  • Lightweight design

If you want a low priced upright vacuum, as opposed to a handheld model, then this product from Eureka could well be the one you are looking for. It comes with a 29 foot cord, an advanced filtration system, interchangeable nozzles, a detachable wand and a washable dust cap filter to provide an efficient clean in areas all over your home.

This vacuum cleaner for pet hair is designed to easily reach any area, and provide good suction and disruption to surfaces in order to dislodge dirt and hair. It is an all round vacuum cleaner and will do a good job wherever you need to use it, but includes features and accessories that make it particularly effective when tackling mess that has been left behind by your pets. The main unit has a 13-inch cleaning path, so it will make light work of your carpets and stairways.

It uses AirSpeed technology to keep constant airflow so more dirt is removed. This works because the vacuum has been designed with an efficient air path with reduced bends and turns. More air can, therefore, pass through the machine and the distance that dirt travels is reduced. This makes it more effective and ensures that suction remains powerful enough to clean deeply.

This vacuum will reach everywhere within your home. It weighs less than 10 pounds so can easily be lifted around obstacles, and its brushes are mounted at the front of the frame so it effectively picks up dirt right up to the edges. If this doesn’t provide enough maneuverability to reach everything, there is also a detachable wand that enables you to reach higher up areas, and effectively get into all the cracks and grooves that you find on sofas, stairways, and fixtures.

Also included with this vacuum for pet hair are two nozzles to aid with picking up dirt. The crevice tool allows you to reach the awkward shaped, tough to reach areas, and the pet dusting brush is designed to quickly dislodge embedded hairs and dirt. The brushes on the main unit are surrounded by a scuff resistant furniture guard that protects your furniture and baseboards from any accidental damage.

Vacuums can be annoying to empty after whirring all the dirt and grime together, but this model has a system to help avoid this. Called the multi cyclonic system, it separates finer particles of dust from the larger debris, and makes the dust collector far easier to empty, and reduces the pressures on the filter so it lasts longer. The dust cup filter is also washable, which further prolongs its lifespan while maintaining full suction through the vacuum at all times.

This vacuum is a great option for you if you want something cheap and simple that will tackle pet hair as well as doing a good job with other dirt and grime around your home. It’s available for a reasonable price so it doesn’t come with a huge range of features, and won’t be suited to extreme situations, but for the majority of tasks it will be just fine. If you have a major pet hair problem, then this may not be the right choice for you as the vacuum for pets and the hair they leave behind, but with a couple of short dog hair it will be perfectly adequate.

 

SharkNinja Shark Rocket HV322

  • Ultra lightweight
  • ​Inbuilt LED lights to highlight dirt and hair
  • ​Quick release pedal
  • ​2 speed settings
  • Designed for hard floors and carpets

This vacuum from Shark Ninja has been designed with all the power and features you could need to deal with unruly pet hair around them home, as well as all other mess that you would use a normal cleaner for. It comes with a 30 foot cord, a dusting brush, a crevice tool, an accessory bag, a wall mount hook, a hard floor attachment with microfiber pad, a home and car detail kit, and an under appliance wand.

This vacuum has been designed to reach anywhere within your home that dirt can gather, whether it be pet hair, dust, or general mess. Unlike most others in this guide, this vacuum is just as effective on hard floors because of the dust away hard floor attachment with a microfiber pad. This enables it to pick up big crumbs and debris while remaining delicates on the surface.

The full machine itself weighs only 8.6 pounds, so it is easily carried around obstacles within your home. If you can’t reach an area with the main unit, it has a quick release pedal, which detaches the base unit and gives you the portability and reach anywhere. The crevice tool gets into all those difficult places that are often missed by other vacuums, and the dusting brush works well at dislodging hairs and dust that have gotten into fabrics.

The home and car detail kit can be attached to add extra functionality when cleaning around tight edges, and the under appliance wand lets you reach in tight spaces underneath objects that would usually be too heavy or tricky to move out of the way.

I like how this vacuum is maneuverable to reach all areas, but there are more included features to make the process even easier. The LED lights, which are located on the hand vacuum and nozzle, do a great job at illuminating the area you are cleaning, and highlighting any hair or speck of dust that you have missed, and wouldn’t necessarily see otherwise.

Storage capacity can sometimes become a problem with vacuum cleaners, but with this latest model the capacity is twice that of previous versions. The dust cap is removable and washable, so it is simple to empty and clean. The special TruePet motorized brush is designed to be resilient when picking up large amounts of hair, and separates it into clumps for easy removal and to prevent it from clogging up the internal mechanisms.

It depends why you are looking for a vacuum for pet hair, but if you are also looking for a main vacuum cleaner then this is one that’s absolutely worth considering. It’s powerful and portable, and will let you clean virtually any space within your home. It’s also a good choice for you if you have lots of pets and have a huge amount of related mess around the place because the suction will easily cope.

If, however, you already have a good upright vacuum cleaner and are looking for an extra device to give you support with erroneous pet hairs, this product is probably too expensive and full of features that aren’t so necessary for you, and you should instead opt for a cordless vacuum for pet hair, which is handheld and smaller.

Pet hair and dirt gets everywhere, and you need a device with a variety of attachments to be able to effectively clean it all up. Whether your home is carpeted or hard floored, there is a vacuum suited for you, but with so many choices on offer it is tough to decide which is the best vacuum for pet hair in your environment.

Our choice of vacuum cleaner for pet hair is the SharkNinja Shark Rocket HV322. It comes with a variety of attachments and features to allow you to quickly and easily rid your home of annoying hair and dirt.

About the author

Sarah Andrews

Hi I'm Sarah, dog lover and blogger. I was born into a dog-loving family and have been a proud doggy mommy ever since I can remember. I love sharing my dog knowledge and love being an active part of the dog-loving community.