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I love my German Shepherds but I’m always astounded out how much they shed. When they ride in the car with me they get so excited, going from one window to the other to get a good look at everything. In the process, dog hair is getting EVERYWHERE.
It’s not really possible to remove pet hair with just a vacuum cleaner. Even a powerful detailers vacuum can’t handle the job alone. It’ll pick up some but it will leave most of it tangled in the nap of the carpet or upholstery.
Let’s cover how professional detailers do the job and include a few additional hacks for removing pet hair as well.
How To Get Dog Hair Out Of Car Carpet & Seats
- Prep the carpet and/or seats with 7 to 1 fabric softener and water spray to help remove dog hair
- Wear nitrile rubber gloves to make dealing with removing pet hair easier
- Use a pumice stone on large areas
- Use a rubber pet hair brush on tight areas
- Vacuum Dog Hair Piles Away
How To Get Dog Hair Out Of Carpet & Upholstery In Your Car Or Truck (Step By Step)
Professional detailers don’t have time to waste dealing with removing pet hair. They need to get it out quickly and thoroughly so they can move on to the next job.
Here are the steps pros use removing pet hair easily:
Step 1 – Prep With Fabric Softener
Fill a spray bottle with 1 part fabric softener and 7 parts water. Lightly spray the carpet and upholstery with this dilution and allow it to sit for a few minutes.
This will allow the carpet or upholstery to release a bit making it easier to remove pet hair trapped in the nap of the fibers.
Any fabric softener that you would use with your laundry should work well.
Step 2 – Wear Nitrile Rubber Gloves
Nitrile gloves are very grippy and will help you pull pet hair out of nooks and crevices with your fingers. They’re also great to use when detailing, in general, to keep chemicals off your hands.
Nitrile gloves themselves are a great tool for removing pet hair from car carpet and upholstery but we have some more effective options coming up.
Step 3 – Use A Pumice Stone On Large Areas
A quality pumice stone that is shaped to pull pet hair from your car seats and carpet is the best tool for removing pet hair.
The stone is very rough and will grab hair as it is dragged across carpet and fabric. Even stubborn strands will get hooked by the pumice and pulled out of the weave.
This is the most effective tool for removing pet hair.
Step 4 – Use A Rubber Pet Hair Brush On Tight Areas
A rubber pet hair brush is one other tool that is a go-to for professional detailers. It is also very grabby like nitrile rubber gloves. Its rubber bristles are even better than gloves at being able to grab pet fur and hair from your car.
If you have only one tool for removing dog hair, this is the one to have.
Step 5 – Vacuum Hair Piles Away
Last, you want to use a powerful vacuum to suck up the piles of pet hair you’ve collected from car seats and carpet with your pet hair removal products.
Any vacuum will do but professional detailers use powerful vacuums to make their job easier. A good detailing vacuum is a must for any serious detailer or professional.
The Metrovac Vac N’ Blo 4.0 Peak HP Detailing Vacuum is an absolute beast. 4 horsepower of suction will rip dirt and pet hair from a car or truck interior. It can also be reversed to act as a blower for drying your vehicle after washing.
Hacks To Remove Dog Hair From Your Car Upholstery & Carpet
If you’re trying to save a few bucks or can’t wait for Amazon to ship you a pumice stone or pet hair detailing brush then you might want to try some of these tips to remove dog and cat hair from your car or truck.
Rubber Blade Method
There are rubber blades available on the market for removing pet hair and they work similarly to how rubber brush does.
If you can find something at home that has a rubber blade you may have found a tool that will remove pet hair very effectively. A slipper with a grippy rubber sole could be a good tool you could find around your home, for instance.
Duct Tape Method
Wrap the duct tape around your hand with the sticky side facing out. You can then run your hand over your car seat or carpets.
This method will help pick up some of the hair but the problem is that it isn’t going to get hair that is trapped deep in the nap of your car seats or carpet.
Velcro Curlers Method
If you have velcro curlers you can use rub them across the pet hair-covered areas and hope the velcro grabs the hair and pulls it out. In reality, this isn’t as effective as it sounds. It works better on seats where the velcro won’t grab the fabric. On carpet, it will grab hair and the carpet fibers and generally be difficult to use.
Lint Rollers Method
Lint rollers seem like a good idea at first but in practice, they really only pick up hairs that are loose on the surface of seats and carpets. A lint roller isn’t going to be able to pull many hairs out from the nap of carpet or upholstery. You’ll also probably run through quite a bit of the sticky pads on the lint roller as well.
Balloon Static Electricity Method
This is probably the most ridiculous idea I’ve seen others describe. The concept is to rub the balloon on your upholstery or carpet to generate a static charge. Supposedly the static charge will pull the pet hair off of the car seats or carpet. It might work slightly but static electricity isn’t going to generate enough force to actually pull hair that is trapped in the nap of carpet out.
How To Keep Dog Hair Out Of Car Upholstery & Carpet
Short of banning your beloved companion from your car or truck, nothing is going to completely eliminate dog hair from collecting in your car if your pup spends any real amount of time in there.
There are a few ways to help reduce problems with dog hair in your car. Let’s run through them.
Pet Seat Covers
Honest Outfitters Quilted Dog Seat Cover
This pet seat cover fits most car back seats. It covers the seatbacks, seat bottoms, door panels, and backside of the front seats. I particularly like that it covers the door panels. My German Shepherds aren’t small and they can get pretty excited. They spend most of their time by the windows and those big paws and claws can do some damage. By almost encapsulating the entire space where you keep your pups, the hair will mostly get kept within the confines of the seat cover. When it’s time to clean up you can just remove the seat cover and vacuum it quickly since it doesn’t have a nap for hair to get trapped within.
Pet Seat Belts
Vastar Adjustable Pet Seat Belt
I know this doesn’t sound like it could do much for limiting the amount of hair that gets shed inside your car or truck. The way it helps is that it will keep your dog from moving as much. If your dog isn’t rubbing up against the interior of your car he or she won’t shed nearly as much. It also will keep the hair that does shed more confined to one area, making clean up easier.Deshedding Brush
Pet Neat Deshedding Tool
This is the obvious suggestion and likely the one that no one wants to hear. Regularly brushing our sweet pooch is a chore that we all tend to procrastinate. If you’re going to do it though I recommend getting a good quality de-shedding brush. It’ll make the job more efficient. It’ll get at your pup’s undercoat and pull out large tufts of hair that would otherwise end up on your car’s seats or interior.Helpful Links
Conclusion - Pet Hair Removal Method
It can be really difficult to remove pet hair. If you have the right tools though the job can be significantly easier.
With a pumice stone, rubber brush, nitrile gloves, and some fabric softener, this difficult job suddenly because almost trivial.
Not only will these tools work wonders, but they’re also pretty cheap too.
