What vacuum do you use for pet hair?

[Unique User]

My dog sheds A LOT.  Our current 8 year old, $45 Walmart special vacuum is just not picking up the pet hair any longer.  Anyone have any recommendations?  We're only planning on being in our house for another 2 years so I don't want to go too crazy on cost, but the pet hair drives me crazy. 

[reeshau]

You're only going to be in the house 2 years, but how long will you have the dog?  And furniture?

We went all out and got a Miele C3 Cat & Dog.

https://www.amazon.com/Miele-Complete-Canister-Vacuum-Cleaner/dp/B00R43I490

No way we paid this much--just looked for a quick listing of what it was.  But we did probably pay half.   Maybe you can find one used.  Maybe there will be a "post-virus comeback sale" at the appliance store.  Works on hard surfaces, too.  Admittedly, we only have a cat, and a short hair at that.  But we do know about the dog shedding thing.

[frugalfoothills]

At one point I had two large, lab/retriever mixes and I felt like my entire life was vacuuming up hair. I used a $250 gift card to Target to cover most of the cost of a Dyson animal hair vacuum.

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-2872467/dyson-ball-animal-2-upright-bagless-vacuum.jsp?skuid=30885684&ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=FLOOR%20CARE&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=30885684&CID=shopping15&utm_campaignid=9733267171&pid=googleadwords_int&af_channel=CSE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvf-_u7yB6QIVr9SzCh074QNiEAQYASABEgLgF_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Looks like it's on sale at Kohl's' right now. Only complaint is that it's kind of heavy to haul upstairs, but it does a great job and it's relatively easy to take apart and clean. If you're not looking to spend much, I had this vacuum prior to the Dyson:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/BISSELL-Poweredge-Pet-Hard-Floor-Vacuum-Cleaner-81L2A/279123521?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=17664

Much cheaper and still did a great job... the V shape lets you really get along baseboards. It's also super light. Downside is, it only lasted about 3 years before crapping out. Dyson is going 5 years strong. You get what you pay for.

Editing to add: I obviously have hardwoods throughout my house since both of these are hard-surface specific, so if you're carpeted you might want to rethink these.

[Firehazard]

We have a Shark lift-away with the soft microfiber roller in the front.  It's lightweight and easy to maneuver.  We have tile and area rugs and we get our 2600 sf home done quick and thorough.  Came with a great pet hair tool for the beds and furniture.  I think I paid around $170 at Costco a few years ago.  I've had Sharks before and they don't last more than 5 years usually, but the ease of use keeps me going back.  We have a old Dyson too, but it weighs a ton and doesn't have the swivel steering so it is very tiring to use by comparison.  But I have to say, we've had the Dyson for 12 years and the suction is still unbelievable.

We have two dogs and a cat, BTW.

[Loretta]

I have a fancy Dyson but really no vacuum I’ve ever owned has done all that great with cat hair.  I do like that I can take the Dyson apart to wash out the filter, drum, roller areas myself pretty easily. 

[MudPuppy]

We have a dyson ball that we got when we got married 9 years ago. It works really well still and is easy to clean. We have three large dogs with short hair.

[SunnyDays]

I just use my regular Kenmore upright.  When I had a Golden Retriever, I bought a Bissell Pro Pet Hair Eraser, which I found just rolled the hair into balls and ropes which I then had to pick off the carpet, but it was still better than my upright because the longer fur clogged it.  Now that I have a shorter haired dog (Shepherd cross), and 2 cats, the upright is sufficient as long as I vacuum about twice a week.

[Zamboni]

We have the highest end Dyson. Works great on pet hair.

Good luck!

[SuperNintendo Chalmers]

We always say that the greatest appliance we ever bought is our SEBO Airbelt canister vacuum.  Not inexpensive by any means, and many may consider it a non-starter for that reason.  But we bought it 10 years ago with two shedding labs, and it's still rockin like a champ to this day.  Makes the carpet look new every time.  And more cost effective than buying cheaper vacuums and replacing or repairing them when they inevitably broke, which is what we had been doing before then. 

[Catica]

We always say that the greatest appliance we ever bought is our SEBO Airbelt canister vacuum.  Not inexpensive by any means, and many may consider it a non-starter for that reason.  But we bought it 10 years ago with two shedding labs, and it's still rockin like a champ to this day.  Makes the carpet look new every time.  And more cost effective than buying cheaper vacuums and replacing or repairing them when they inevitably broke, which is what we had been doing before then.

I have Sebo Felix. Got it 12yrs ago when I got 2 cats. Still going strong.

[dodojojo]

Dyson Pet Cordless--huge improvement over my old upright Red Devil.  Picks up cat and human hair unlike the RD.  Cordless and compact is perfect for small apartment life. Not sure it would be great for a house or bigger places.  May work well as a quick spot vacuum whilst also having a bigger corded vacuum. 

[Rosy]

We used to have a cat nicknamed fluffball that actually had a triple layer of fur - she'd walk down the hall and you could see fluffballs:).

We upgraded to a Dyson pet model when they first came out - it is awesome. The first time I used it on the rug I couldn't believe the difference - it has enormous suction.
Too much suction for some jobs - still works great ten or so+ years later.

I'm thinking of getting the cordless pet from Dyson, now that they've come down in price.

[K_in_the_kitchen]

After needing a new vacuum every 3 years or so, even when choosing mid-range brands, and having had a Dyson Ball Animal that repeatedly failed and had to be taken in for warranty repairs (and then having a replacement from Dyson themselves fail), we went with a Sebo Airbelt D4 Premium. It was that or a Miele, but I thought the Sebo would do better with dog fur.  It's a fantastic vacuum and has handled everything thrown at it.  When we first got it we had 3 German Shedders, I mean Shepherds ;-) and had to vacuum daily.  We're down to one Shepherd and one Chihuahua mix, so these day we can go longer between vacuuming.

I'll add that I was uncertain about getting a bagged vacuum, but wow, does having a bag cut down the dust!  When I bought my Sebo I did so through an acquaintance I'd known for many years, whom I'd done business with for other natural/green products, and she was willing to give me a good deal, especially on accessories and filter bags.  Buying the bags by the case saves a lot of money.

[okisok]

I have a lab mix and a Dyson Animal stick vac. It's lightweight and really easy to maneuver. As a previous poster mentioned, it is really easy to clean. There's a ton of YouTube videos out there on maintenance and repairs. I got mine for about $200 on a Target Black Friday deal about three years ago, when I had two cats and the dog. The cats have passed away, but the vac is going strong.
This winter I got a Roomba, which is the biggest help. It keeps the floors really clean, and I pull out the stick vac to get in behind furniture and in the corners. The stick vac has a wand and an upholstery attachment which is nice for the couch and the car interior.

[draco44]

I'm going to go in a bit of a different direction than the others. If you rely on the vacuum for total hair removal domination, you may need to pony up some cash, or at least be much more diligent about maintaining your vacuum than a non pet owner.

But if you quickly use a rubber broom to first collect the bulk of the hair, then vacuum, pretty much any vacuum will likely do the job.  I see that the FURemover Extendable Pet Hair Removal Broom, for example, is currently selling for $13 on Chewy.com. It's supposed to work on carpet as well as bare floors. I haven't tried that personally, but have seen smaller rubber brushes work well removing fur from upholstery.

Maybe a two-step process is unappealing, but if keeping costs down is a big factor, the brush + existing vacuum strategy may be a simple and cost-effective solution for you.

[imadandylion]

You're only going to be in the house 2 years, but how long will you have the dog?  And furniture?

We went all out and got a Miele C3 Cat & Dog.

https://www.amazon.com/Miele-Complete-Canister-Vacuum-Cleaner/dp/B00R43I490

No way we paid this much--just looked for a quick listing of what it was.  But we did probably pay half.   Maybe you can find one used.  Maybe there will be a "post-virus comeback sale" at the appliance store.  Works on hard surfaces, too.  Admittedly, we only have a cat, and a short hair at that.  But we do know about the dog shedding thing.

We have this one too, and yes, definitely did not pay $1000 for it. That's nuts! That said, it works very well in our two cat household where other vacuums have failed.

[reeshau]

I'm going to go in a bit of a different direction than the others. If you rely on the vacuum for total hair removal domination, you may need to pony up some cash, or at least be much more diligent about maintaining your vacuum than a non pet owner.

But if you quickly use a rubber broom to first collect the bulk of the hair, then vacuum, pretty much any vacuum will likely do the job.  I see that the FURemover Extendable Pet Hair Removal Broom, for example, is currently selling for $13 on Chewy.com. It's supposed to work on carpet as well as bare floors. I haven't tried that personally, but have seen smaller rubber brushes work well removing fur from upholstery.

Maybe a two-step process is unappealing, but if keeping costs down is a big factor, the brush + existing vacuum strategy may be a simple and cost-effective solution for you.

This is a good, Mustachian suggestion.  I do remember when we had a rubber broom, in our first house--ah, the memories! I will have to rethink how luxurious our 1-step process is now.

[marty998]

I will give one more vote for a Dyson. Though mine has been picking up human long hair not pet hair :)