The 8 Best Vacuums for Pet Hair of 2024, According to Testing

Table Of Content

• Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum Corded Bagless Pet Upright Vacuum with HEPA Filter
• The 9 Best Vacuums for Pet Hair of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
• Other Notable Vacuums
• What to Know About Vacuums for Pet Hair Before Shopping
• Bissell Cleanview Bagless Upright Pet Hair Vacuum
• Miele Boost CX1 Cat & Dog
• Anti-tangle brush heads

Either way, the best vacuums for pet hair should effectively trap hair from hardwood floors, carpet and upholstered furniture without getting tangled or clogged in the process. If you have an animal that sheds—like a dog or a cat—pet hair can often feel like a never ending chore, but it doesn’t have to. “For pet hair, opt for a vacuum with a furniture attachment since this is where the pet hair collects most often. If you are dealing with a lot of pet hair, it’s important to look for a model with heavy-duty brushes designed to pick up hair and dander from carpets, furniture and hard-to-reach spots,” he adds. Dr. Nicole Savageau, veterinarian with The Vets, an in-home pet care service based in Austin, agreed that a combination of vacuuming and brushing will help zap hair. Most importantly, I loved that this vacuum has a designated mode for vacuuming bare floors.

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum Corded Bagless Pet Upright Vacuum with HEPA Filter

We used this vacuum to clean long dog hair trimmings after a grooming session, and found that it was able to remove all the hair without requiring us to empty the bin to make more room. Speaking of which, the Outsize+ has a dustbin capacity of nearly two liters, making it the largest cordless vacuum cleaner from Dyson. Not only that, but it features two interchangeable batteries that can be charged on and off the machine for up to 120 minutes of runtime.

The 9 Best Vacuums for Pet Hair of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Our best overall canister vacuum pick is the Kenmore Pet-Friendly Pop-N-Go Bagged Canister Vacuum because it is extremely effective at removing pet hair from carpet and upholstery. Plus, it comes with a wide variety of attachments for different cleaning tasks, all of which can be stored on board. And for those who suffer from allergies, the HEPA filter and bagged design prevent allergens from releasing into the air when emptying. The trade-off of the vacuum’s large dustbin is that the vacuum cleaner tends to be a bit top heavy, and thus requires a little more effort to maneuver than your standard cordless stick vacuum.

Other Notable Vacuums

If you have a long-haired dog or cat, you'll love the Shark Vertex Upright Vacuum with Powered Lift-Away. The additional attachment options include a combination tool, crevice tool, and stubborn dirt brush, which make cleaning up pet hair from upholstery and dog beds a simple task. It also easily and quickly converts to a handheld for above-floor cleaning or getting up close and personal with pet beds. It bends under furniture, folds to store and adjusts its suction based on how clean or dirty it detects your floors to be. Additionally, I wanted to see how well each vacuum worked on different surfaces.

What to Know About Vacuums for Pet Hair Before Shopping

She has written guides to upright and canister, handheld, and cordless stick vacuums, among others. This model’s app is user-friendly and offers dozens of customizations, such as scheduling cleaning cycles and vacuuming specific rooms. It tells you when to replace filters and brushes, and with the included remote control, you can send it back to places it may have missed.

Bissell Cleanview Bagless Upright Pet Hair Vacuum

We gave the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro vacuum a perfect rating for its effectiveness on both hard floors and carpet. This is because it seamlessly removed large chunks of pet hair and even bits of kibble without missing debris or pushing anything across the floor. "Always start a pet hair removal project by vacuuming, as no other tool or trick will remove as much hair as quickly and easily as a vacuum," adds Melissa Homer, chief cleaning officer at MaidPro.

Next to all of the products on this list, you may have noticed our BHG Recommends seal of approval. Products that earn the seal have been put through rigorous testing to make sure they're worth a spot in your home. We buy most of the products we test ourselves, but occasionally we are provided samples by companies if buying isn't an option. In these cases, we use the same testing criteria we use to test the purchased products.

Miele Boost CX1 Cat & Dog

However, if you have several very hairy pets, bagless vacuums, particularly cordless stick vacs, tend to fill up more quickly. Bagless vacuums have lower operating costs (new bags can be expensive), but they expose you to dust, hair, and dander when you empty them. The Ryobi 18V One+ HP stick vac stands up on its own, but it’s heavier than many of its cordless competitors and harder to maneuver on stairs.

Best vacuum cleaners: Our expert housekeeper weighs your options - The Associated Press

Best vacuum cleaners: Our expert housekeeper weighs your options.

Posted: Sat, 27 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Anti-tangle brush heads

Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails. She has expanded CR’s cookware category to include not only more pots and pans but also other essentials like stand mixer attachments, sheet pans, and vacuum sealers. Since the mid-1990s, Mary has held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our vacuum reviews, ranked by their pet-hair cleaning performance.

Better yet, it’s maintained its exceptional performance even after a year of daily use, performing just as effectively as it did the first time I used it. The cordless stick vacuum offers specific features like an anti-tangle brush head and laser brush head that makes cleaning hair easier. The laser brush head illuminates even microscopic dirt and debris, so you easily see what you’re sucking up. I found this to be particularly helpful when cleaning the pet hair in my home—my dog’s hair is a light tan, and my hardwood floors are light brown.

The noise of some louder bots made all the animals in our test house skedaddle. SEBO sells more attachments online, including a pet kit with a mini turbo brush and a grooming tool. (The other two cats and the rabbits bolted.) Respect your pet’s wishes when trying one of these, and don’t force it. One of our robot-vacuum picks, the Eufy RoboVac 11S Max, now features one side brush instead of two. We have not noticed any difference in its cleaning ability and have adjusted this guide to reflect the design change. The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser has a built-in filter to trap and remove even particle-sized debris, and it comes with three different attachments to help you clean every corner of your home.

With its motorized brush and extendable crevice tool, this handheld vac cleans up pet fur in a snap, especially on upholstery. Loss of suction power typically means that a vacuum's airflow is blocked, according to Toogood. "It is crucial for a vacuum cleaner to have one strong, powerful airflow running continuously through the machine," says Toogood. We liked the maneuverability and lightweight design of the Bissell Multi-Clean Allergen Lift-Off Pet Vacuum, but its effectiveness did not live up to our expectations. This vacuum had a lot of trouble picking up the dog hair in our testing lab, and the suction wasn't strong enough to pick up kibble, either.

A standard attachment that comes with nearly all vacuums, these are long, slim tools that fit into tight areas, such as behind the toilet or between couch cushions. They’re useful for cleaning up clumps of hair that may have gathered in corners of your home where the vacuum’s floorhead may not fit. There are many models on the market, but specific attachments make them ideal for cleaning dust, crumbs and other messes embedded in floor mats or seats.

When you have dogs or cats, removing fur from nearly every surface is simply a part of everyday life. That's why finding a vacuum cleaner that works well on pet hair is so important. The Neato D8 Intelligent Robot Vacuum is moderately priced and capable of covering up to 750 square feet on a single charge.

Plus, it can be controlled via an app, features numerous attachments, and comes with an anti-tangle brush roll. Finally, our best overall upright vacuum cleaner is the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Complete because it’s effective at lifting deeply embedded hair from high-pile carpeting without getting it tangled around the brush roll. This lightweight stick vacuum is easy to maneuver for whole-home cleaning, including above-floor cleaning, thanks to its attachments and removable handheld vacuum. We found it to be highly effective at sucking up cat hair, human hair, dust bunnies, dry kibble, plant soil, and food crumbs. It was particularly efficient at removing bothersome cat litter from hardwood floors, too. And the unique brush roll features silicone fins that prevent hair from getting wrapped around it.