Best Vacuums for Pet Hair (2018): Buyers Guide, Comparison & Review

 

Nothing beats the loyalty of a dog.

When it comes to unconditional love, you can count on these adorable creatures.

But there’s one problem (well actually a few) – pet hair and lots of them.

Any pet owner will tell you that the biggest challenge owning a pet would be cleaning pet hair.

So we’ll talk about the best vacuums for pet hair.

In a previous article, I’ve already discussed the best cordless vacuums for pet hair. But I just realized that list was lacking in other great options.

So I’ve decide to create a new one just to give you more options.

You’ll find a list of different types of vacuums from uprights, canisters to handheld all of which capable of cleaning pet hair.

Dog owners in particular will struggle with hair shed on different parts of their home.

I’ve love dogs but I don’t love the pet hair. Anywhere they go, there will be a trail of pet hair that needs to be cleaned up.

If you have an army of them running around, you’ll need a tool to keep hair in check.

One of the best tools for the task is a vacuum cleaner. And I’ll show you the best each category.

It’ll keep your family healthy and safe because you’ll be cleaning regularly and your home will be much cleaner.

This guide will help guide you in buying a vacuum that will meet your specific needs.

Best Upright Vacuums for Pet Hair

Upright vacuums offer the most power and thus will be able to deep clean carpet. If your home has carpet and lots of it, this is a logical option. You’ll want to look for something not just with great suction but also has good enough agitation to pick up dirt and grime deep under strands of carpet.

The Dyson Ball Animal 2 is a better option than the Cinetic upright for a lot of reasons.

First and perhaps the deal breaker for me would be power.

The Cinetic upright only has 180 air watts on tap while the Ball Animal 2 has more than 300 air watts.

That’s a huge difference and considering the price of the top-of-the-line Cinetic that’s pegged at close to $600, I’d rather get this at around $500.

The strong suction makes this a no-brainer option if you need an upright that can clean pet hair on carpet.

What makes this a good option

Biggest difference would be the filtration system. This version uses the old radial root cyclones and a pre-motor filter.

Both have washable HEPA filters certified by Asthma and Allergy friendly by the AAFA.

Between the two I’d go with this over the Cinetic because I’m still warry about the long term viability of the Cinetic Science filters. But you’ll have to wash the pre-motor filter at least once a month if you use this every day.

Bottom line

The Dyson Ball Animal 2 is your best option for cleaning pet hair at home. It’s not cheap but if you have lots of carpet and a big home, buying this will help you keep it clean and free from allergens.

However, it’s almost $200 cheaper than the number 1 vacuum for uprights.

It’s a lot of money to spend for a vacuum but for deep cleaning it’s hard to beat this upright.

Unfortunately you won’t get as much power as the Animal 2. This one only produces 250 air watts which is still a high number.

The stiff bristles will clean pet hair on carpet but it doesn’t come with any mini turbo brush for upholstery.

So you’ll have to pair this with a decent handheld vacuum. But for deep cleaning floors it’s more than capable.

Bottom line

Bissell recently just introduced their new product line called the “Pet Hair Eraser”.

The 1650A is the upright version that now comes with the tangle-free brush roll.

If both Dyson uprights above are too price for you this is a good alternative at just under $200.

One of the biggest issues with a traditional brush roll is the propensity of hair to wrap up.

This new feature prevents hair from wrapping around the brush.

Bristles are stiff and bar really thick which is great for agitation pet hair on carpet.

It has the “SmartSeal Allergen” system that keeps dirt inside the bin. To remove odor you can plug in the Fabreze pet odor eliminator.

To put simply, it has HEPA filtration but this is a bagless vacuum so there is still exposure to dust.

It has a detachable wand and 8 foot hose where you can attach a crevice tool, combination tool and the Pet TurboEraser tool.

Just watch the video below and see how this Bissell works on a large pile of mess…

Large pile is an understatement when you see all the pet hair, dander and muck on the rug.

This vacuum did a really good job picking up these messes from a relatively low pile rug. When you look at the brush roll after cleaning cycle, it didn’t have a strand of hair wrapped up.

It has an 8 foot long hose – long enough to clean stairs.

Bottom line

Bissell is on to something here with the Pet Hair Eraser 1650A. The tangle free system is really tangle free. And this will cost less than both Dyson uprights at just $200. It’s a bargain in our book.

Miele doesn’t get the love it deserves because their products are so expensive.

But when it comes to filtration and cleaning performance, this brand should be on your list.

In terms of filtration, they’re one of the best. Their bags and filtration system will filter out up to 0.1 microns – that’s 99.95% filtration.

So this meets HEPA 13 standards in Europe. And if you’re familiar with how the Europeans set standards it’s usually higher than the United States.

The C3 Cat & Dog uses a bag that’ll hold around 4.76 quarts of dry dirt (or 1.19 gallons) which is bigger than the Dyson Cinetic upright.

The bag remains sealed even after you remove it thanks to the spring loaded self locking seal.

It prevents allergens from spewing out when you pick up the bag from the bin.

To clean pet hair on carpet floors and stairs, the Cat & Dog comes with the SEB228 Electro Plus motorized brush with the five level height adjustment that’ll you can adjust for different type of carpet.

It also has the SBB300-3 parquet twister for bare floors. The STB 101 mini turbo brush will work great at cleaning pet hair on upholstery.

Bottom line

If you don’t mind paying close to a thousand dollars for a canister vacuum this is a very good option. It has probably the best filtration system that keeps allergens up to 0.1 microns inside the bag. A great option for medium and even.

Shark has another potential winner in the Lift Away NR96.

This is their flagship canister vacuum that has the same “Lift Away” system as the Shark upright NV803.

What’s lacking is the DuoClean system that should be available in future releases.

Armed with a motorized main cleaning head, this lightweight canister is capable of cleaning pet hair on various surfaces like bare floor and carpet.

With the flexible hose, detachable wand and interchangeable tools, you can use this to clean carpeted stairs.

You can directly attach the power head to the handle which makes stair cleaning easy.

The wand itself is adjustable so even tall folks can use this.

Shark also added the “Lift Away” feature that separates the pod from the body. It frees makes the vacuum much lighter because you don’t need to carry the pod. You’ll be able to move this around easier.

It won’t be as good as the Miele in terms of deep cleaning BUT it’s a much cheaper option.

Don’t expect the same filtration though as this is a bagless.

Bottom line

This is another viable option if the Miele is too expensive. It’ll do a pretty decent job cleaning carpet and upholstery because of the motorized brush roll available in the main cleaning tool and upholstery tool. But it lacks HEPA filtration so it’ll not be a good option if you have asthma.

Best Handheld Vacuum for Pet Hair

Handheld vacuums are great spot up cleaners that every home with a pet needs. You can use these tools to pick up not just pet hair but also litter. Since these vacuums are lightweight, it’s easy to move them around your home. You can even use these inside your vehicle if you often travel with your pets.

In very small homes where space is a premium, a good cordless handheld is an invaluable tool.

Not having any cords will allow you to clean up on the fly.

Have guests coming over in just 15 minutes? Just grab a cordless and quickly pickup whatever pet hair there is on your sofa.

The Black & Decker BDH2020FLFH is one of the best because it has two really handy features that pet owners will love.

First is the 4 foot flexible hose that extends the reach of this product and a dedicated pet hair tool that works well on fabric upholstery.

It also comes with an extension wand with a floor tool at the end that’ll help you clean hard floors without bending over.

To round out the tools list, it also comes with a combination brush/nozzle and crevice tool.

The 20 volt lithium ion battery will take roughly 3 hours to charge and run for about 15 minutes.

If you can’t afford a Dyson then this is a viable cheaper alternative.

By the way I’ve also compiled 5 of the best cordless vacuums for pet hair in another article, please check that out of you can.

Bottom line

If you need something compact, lightweight and cordless this is a great option. Power is great for a cordless. Run time is also great at 30 minutes max. You’ll love using this to pick up pet hair on areas like your sofa, chairs and even stairs. The flexible hose also makes it great to use on tight spots.

Best Stick Vacuums for Pet Hair

A stick vacuum is a good compromise if a canister or an upright is too bulky for your needs. This is best suited inside small homes where space is a premium. The latest variants that are available in the market right now are versatile enough and have a long enough run time to clean your home whole without the need to recharge. Such is the battery technology we have right now thanks to brands like Dyson and Shark.

If you own a small home with an equal mix of carpet and bare floor then you have to take a close look at the Dyson V8.

It’s probably the most versatile stick vacuum without a cord. And it has enough power and a long enough run time to clean a small flat.

Two main tools are the soft roller cleaner head and the direct drive cleaner tool that provide great agitation.

The soft roller head will work great on bare floor literally pulling dirt towards the suction chamber while the direct drive cleaner head does a decent job on carpet.

It won’t deep clean as well as a corded but at least pet hair won’t pile up. A post motor HEPA filter will keep allergens up to 0.5 microns inside the bin.

At max mode the V8 has around 115 air watts so power is decent. But it’ll only run for 7 minutes when engaged.

If you find think that paying $400 is too much then go with the Dyson V7 or any of the V6 variants.

Bottom line

The Dyson V8 is great option for small to even medium sized homes because of its sheer versatility. You can use it as a stick vacuum to clean floors or a handheld and clean different nooks and crannies. It isn’t the strongest cleaner but if you need a lightweight and an effective cleaning tool for pet hair then have a look at this.

Despite being an old model, the Hoover Linx Stick is still a great option for cleaning pet hairs on floors.

It has decent power, light and you don’t need a lot of space to store this. More than 8,000 people have left reviews so Hoover must be doing something right.

But this product is purely a stick vacuum and will only clean floors. There’s no hose or tools that’ll allow this to clean above floor.

Bottom line

This is a nice cheap cordless stick option for folks who live inside apartments. It’s light, compact and will do a decent job of picking up pet hair on carpet or hard floors. Take note that it does not have any capability of cleaning upholstery or stairs so pair this with a handheld.

How to choose a vacuum for pet hair?

You can’t use just any vacuum to clean pet hair. It will bog down and you’ll spend more time cleaning up the brush roll instead on focusing on the task at hand.

Most “standard” vacuums have a brush roll, hose and just enough power to pick up loose dirt. But when cleaning pet hair, you’ll need something with specialized tools and enough power suck up hair off fabric upholstery or carpet that’s often the toughest areas to clean.

Powerful motor and stiff bristles

A default option that a salesman would recommend you is a vacuum with a motorized brush.

Carefully inspect this part and make sure that the bristles are stiff.

Soft bristles will not provide enough agitation to completely pick up pet hair on areas like carpet.

It’ll just push it aside and not pick any at all.

Or it’ll lack suction to pull the hair out of the motorize brush and you’ll spend more time cleaning up the brush roll than vacuuming.

Stiff bristles will do a better job in terms of picking up these up.

Pair that up with a powerful motor and it’ll go inside the bin and not stay on the brush roll.

HEPA filtration

Another feature to look at is HEPA filtration. These filters have smaller holes that trap finer pieces of dirt such as allergens.

This feature is a must have if you suffer from any sort of condition like asthma.

The downside for these filters is you’ll have to replace them once or twice a year depending on how many pets you have.

Some manufacturers like Dyson have washable HEPA filters that will last the lifetime of the machine.

Bagged or Bagless

Whether or not to buy something with a bag would depend on your sensitivity to dust and pollens. Bagged vacuums are great because it’s not messy at all to empty the bag.

When it’s full just open the bin, pull out the bag and throw it away.

No mess, no fuss. But bags do cost money and it adds up over time. The cost of these bags would depend on the brand you choose.

If you want to know more about the difference between these two features, I’ve written a comprehensive guide so please take some time and read it.

Hose length

A hose helps extend the functionality of vacuums to areas above the floor. Most new uprights have hoses that detach from the frame. The longer the hose the better the reach and the more area it’ll be able to clean.

Weight

Full sized uprights weigh between 15 and 20 pounds.

If you’re weak or have mobility issues, a vacuum this heavy isn’t an option. A lightweight vacuum would be a better option.

Durability

It’s hard to measure durability just by reading at the features. A good indicator would be consumer reviews.

If you see a lot of complaints about major issues that are consistent, you may want to avoid that product.

Warranty

Another overlooked feature would be the warranty. A longer warranty brings you better peace of mind because if something goes wrong just send the product back.

Miele have 7 year warranty to most of their upright vacuums. While Dyson and Shark back their products up with a 5 year warranty.

Newer Bissell uprights (particularly their pet hair series vacuums) now have a 5 year warranty.

If you buy from Amazon you can also purchase an extended warranty on top of these.

Brands

There are lots of brands in the market that claim to tackle pet hair. Most will claim that their products will clean up pet hair and make your life easy. But the reality is a lot of these are just marketing rubbish and what they claim will not match to real world performance.

While I won’t recommend just looking at the brand alone, here are some of the best…

Bissell

Bissell is one of the pioneers in the vacuum industry and have been in this business over 100 years.

If you’re considering this brand then look at their “Pet Hair Eraser” series. They have a full range of products that range from uprights, handhelds to carpet cleaners. All these products will work well picking up pet hair.

Dyson

James Dyson invented the bagless vacuum even it took him more than 5,000 tries.

They are now starting a new trend – going filter-less with the Cinetic Technology. These are available in their upright and canister vacuum line.

Miele

Miele comes from the same country that produced the Mercedes Benz which is Germany. Is it as over engineered as the Mercedes? Maybe but their name is synonymous with high quality products and great filtration. They specialized in bagged vacuums with careful thought on how it filters allergens.

They have a “cat & dog” series line specifically designed to clean pet hair. Don’t limit yourself to this but it is a good starting point if you choose to take a close look.

Hoover

Don’t sleep on Hoover. They offer great options with their multi-functional cordless upright vacuums. Hoover recently launched their “REACT” series – a line of upright vacuums that will deep clean pet hair from carpet.

Shark

Shark is one of my favorite brands because of their innovative “Lift Away” and “DuoClean” features that extend the functionality of their uprights without sacrificing cleaning performance.

How big is your home?

It’s important to match the type of vacuum you’ll buy to the size of your home.

For larger homes you’ll need a large vacuum with a large enough bin to store dirt without you having to constantly making trips to the bin.

An upright would be an ideal choice because these machines have the most power and agitation. Modern uprights like the Shark DuoClean NV803 even coverts to a canister for above floor cleaning.

Also try to get something with at least a 30 foot power cord so you don’t have to constantly look for an outlet to plug into.

Size wouldn’t be an issue because you’ll have lots of storage anyways.

For smaller homes like an apartment obviously you’ll need something more compact for storage reasons. A stick vacuum would be a good option because these won’t require as much storage space. But still have enough power to pick up pet hair.

Some cordless vacuums may come in handy in these situations like a Dyson V8 because it will not only do floors but also upholstery, stairs and everything in between. At over $500 it isn’t cheap but a good investment if you can afford buying one.

Handhelds also come in handy inside really small homes or as a tool to clean upholstery or stairs.

Will You Vacuum Carpet, Hard floors, Stairs or Upholstery?

The type of surface you’ll be cleaning will help determine the type of vacuum you’ll choose.

For example, if your home has wall to wall carpeting then an ideal option would be something with enough power and agitation to deep clean.

Hardwood won’t require as much agitation because there are no fibers that block the pathway to dirt. But homes with old school hardwood with deep cracks will need something with good power to pick up dirt trapped under those cracks.

Don’t forget the “extras” for cleaning upholstery, vents, curtains or inside your vehicle

Higher end brands like Shark and Dyson have loads of tools specifically designed to clean certain parts of your home and even inside your vehicle.

Do you have any preference?

Would you prefer an upright, canister, stick or handheld?

Uprights by default have the most power but these tools often are the heaviest so it’ll not be always the best choice for the job.

A good rule of thumb is choosing an upright for larger homes and a canister, stick or handheld for smaller homes. But like what I’ve said there are uprights that can function as a canister so don’t forget those options.

Upright vacuums are great for large homes because these have the longest power cords and the largest bins.

Good brands like Dyson, Shark and Miele offer the best power and agitation that can deep clean carpet.

Canister vacuums offer better versatility and maneuverability because these have hoses and interchangeable tools but at the expense of a shorter power cord and smaller bin. So it may not be a good option for large homes.

It can be a secondary machine that will clean stairs and upholstery. You can also use it as a primary cleaner inside smaller homes like condominiums or apartments.

Stick vacuums offer the same functionality as an upright but with less power and agitation. It also has a smaller bin that won’t hold as much dirt.

Some brands like Bissell over 2-in-1 functionality that morphs the stick into a handheld. But these often times lack power.

Hand held vacuums are the lightest and have the most maneuverability. And cordless handhelds are the most portable because you can take these anywhere.

Look for these different attachments

Most people ignore these tools but these are very important in cleaning tight areas or above the floors surfaces.

These extend the functionality of the vacuum and make life much easier in terms of cleaning.

Upholstery tool

source: www.dustbag.co.uk

An upholstery tool has a motorized brush designed to deep clean upholstery and carpet. Some use a different form of agitation like rubberized heads with ribs or velco-like strips.

Most brands use the same design but there are brands like Dyson that utilize a different solution that’s much more effective.

Crevice tool

Source: Lowes.com

Helps you clean tight areas like crevices thanks to its thin design. These are great for cleaning areas between cushions or baseboards.

Extension wand

You’ll find this tool in canister vacuums and some stick vacuums like the Dyson V6 or Shark Rocket. This device extends reach and you can use a different attachment on it depending on the need.

Dusting tool

Source: Dyson.com

This helps in cleaning up dust on flat surfaces or areas with lots of tight spots like a keyboard or vent.

Motorized brush / brush roll

A motorized brush refers to a device with bristles whose main purpose is to agitate dirt on carpet.

It won’t be as effective on hard floors because dirt already exposed on this surface. So some manufacturers like Dyson and Shark now utilize a soft roller brush that it.

Hard floor brush tool

Source: merseyspares.co.uk

These tools come in handy on tile surfaces or hardwood for cleaning fine dust particles. You can find this mostly on canister vacuums and some uprights.

Mini motorized brush / power nozzle / power brush

Whatever the term manufacturers use, these tools have the same and function – to clean fabric upholstery or stairs. Some have their own motor that provides better agitation while others only rely on air for the brush to spin.

Mattress tool

Mattress tools may vary. Some have motorized brushes while others have a wide base with textured surfaces for agitation.

Angled brush tool

An angled brush tool has pivoting points that bend at varying angles. These help clean high areas like the ceiling fans or high above cabinets.

How much are you willing to spend?

This should be one of the first considerations when something to clean pet hair. Remember not to skimp here because we’re talking about a tool that’ll help keep the environment you live in clean.

You can set a hard cap (e.g. you aren’t willing to go over $150) or a more flexible range (e.g. between $50 and $100).

A decent vacuum for carpet can cost anywhere between $120 and $350. Those include cordless options. Anything over $350 would be a luxury in my opinion.

Consider this an investment and not an expense

Spending a little bit more isn’t a bad thing because higher end brands use better quality materials.

Better raw materials equates to a longer lasting product. And these will perform better which is the bottom line why you buy these products.

If you buy a cheap product what happens is it prematurely breaks. You’ll spend more in the long haul buying cheap products over and over.

To Wrap Up

I hope this lengthy article helped you in narrowing down your vacuum options for cleaning pet hair.

Choosing the right one will depend on the size of your home, type of flooring and budget.

Smaller homes will benefit from a cordless, handheld or a stick vacuum. If you don’t have any carpet then a cheaper stick vacuum like Shark Rocket HV 302 will do.

But larger homes with lots of carpet will need a full sized upright to deep clean.

Folks with asthma would benefit from a vacuum with a bagged HEPA filter and I’ve recommended some above like the Miele C3 Cat & Dog. One brand I didn’t mention in the list but should be on your short list would be the Oreck Magnesium.

LIke Miele it has a bag but it’s weighs just 8 pounds. If you’re having trouble with carry heavy uprights this is a great option.

If you have any questions or suggestions please hit me up below.