18 answers

Dog Hair, Vacuums and Cold Weather Static - HELP

Hello Ladies,

I have a canister vacuum because most of my floors are hardwood and am having no problem cleaning them. I am however, having a heck of a time getting my vacuum to pick up the dog hair off my carpets. And I'll tell you, I think it has something to do with the cold weather and how dry our house is. We have a lot of static.
I boil a pot of water almost every day and we keep a cast iron pot of water on our wood burning stove and that helps out a lot.
But this ding-dangit vacuum is taking the cold weather hard. The dog hair just seems to push around and not suck up. It's infuriating.
We change the bag religiously and keep pulling the dog hair off the brushes, so it's not a matter of not keeping up with the maintennance.
I've even tried crop dusting our main carpet with static guard before a vacuum. And although this tends to work a bit, I hate the idea of the kids playing on the rug after.
So what I'm hoping for is a 'This worked for me' idea so I can stop fantasizing about chucking the vacuum out the window.

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions,
J.

3 moms found this helpful

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Okay, this may just be the biggest bit of stupidity you've all ever heard. I tried the pet sprinkle stuff, I tried changing the belt. Nothing worked. Then I took the brush part off and looked inside and found a huge glob of dog hair and lint out of the opening. And guess what, the vacuum works fine now.

Duh. Supreme Duh. Major Duh.

Thanks for all the ideas ladies!

Featured Answers

I have two dogs that shed a LOT. I finally bought a rubber broom. I had to buy it online, but I love it. It's a little extra work, but I consider it excercise. I don't like using chemicals in the house so the rubber broom works best for me.

C.

1 mom found this helpful

I saw a lot of people advising getting a new vacuum, I have a Dyson that works awesome for the hair from my yellow lab. However, I also use Arm & Hammers Pet Fresh carpet deodorizer. It helps to loosen up the hair and the vacuum just sucks it all up. It smells nice and is safe for kids. Good Luck!

More Answers

new vacuum on market works wonderfully for this.it is called shark it has been on tv and i know that it is available at department stores like walmart bed bath and beyond look for it.also for pet odors try this it has worked for me and i have 16 dogs in my home.mix some borax mule team detergent with lemon juice (REAL) put it into mop water.trust me no one will know you had a dog in there this is also good and safe for pets as it is natural.you can use it in place of spray cleaners as well just make up a warm or cold bucket of water and clean your surfaces with it

2 moms found this helpful

I have two dogs that shed a LOT. I finally bought a rubber broom. I had to buy it online, but I love it. It's a little extra work, but I consider it excercise. I don't like using chemicals in the house so the rubber broom works best for me.

C.

1 mom found this helpful

hello, we own a Golden retriever/yellow lab mix and the hair is unbelievable! we have hardwood floors and carpet combo as well. I have found it in every corner of the house, and for the wedding my SIL bought us a little blue vaccuuum called the "Shark" vaccuum and it works like a dream! I personally think it can't be beat! I am not sure whether Shark is the brand name or model name but if you ebay or google shark vaccuum i am sure you will find it. The only thing is you have to learn to hear the sound it makes when the bag is full, and it's not a big vaccuum so it gets full about every 3 uses with our dog's load of hair, but it picks it all up every time. It would probably help if I vaccuuumed a little more often too. ;) Good luck! --A

1 mom found this helpful

Hi. I also have two dogs that shed alot. On your carpets, get the rubber broom (looks like a rake) and use it before you vaccuum. On your hardwood, use a Swifer. This is relatively an inexpensive way to pick up the dog hair and no chemicals are available for roaming fingers or mouths. Otherwise, I would invest in a better vaccuum cleaner. My vaccuum picks up the dog hair. Good Luck.

1 mom found this helpful

I bought the Bissell Pet Hair Vacuum for about 129 and it is great! Some of the reviews said people were taking thier Dysons back! It has no bags and great attachments for furniture too. I have an AMerican Eskimo and they shed big white clumps of fur. I have to sweep every day and it picks it all up, every time! I love it!

1 mom found this helpful

J.,
I was having trouble with my vacuum not doing a very good job of picking things up, it would just push the dog hair around also. It turns out that the motor belt was worn out. It wasn't broken but it was streched and that caused it to run inefficiently. You really couldn't tell because it appeared to run just fine. I took it to a repair place, the guy looked at it and replaced the belt, charged me $5!

A little squirt bottle of water? Would slightly damp dog hair pick up easier? Couldn't hurt right?

Good luck!

I think I have genuine feelings for my Dyson! It is great with dog and cat hair, It is the best vaccuum ever and well worth the price. We are having static problems also. I had track pants on earlier and had to change, they kept clinging to the backs of my legs! We have done and still do the whole water boiling thing but nothing seems to work really well. One of these days we will install a whole house humidifier.How well would keeping the heat at a lower temp work? I may try that. I hope someone has a great idea for the static, it is irritating! But one more word: Dyson

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