Every pet owner, at some point of time, faces the issue of pet hair in varying quantities spread all over the interior of the vehicle. As a parent of an adorable fur-ball, presence of pet hair is an inevitable reality that you need to accept. A better option entails being prepared for the eventuality of seeing the interior of your car covered with pet hair and educating yourself on how to remove it.
If allowed to remain on the surface of the upholstery, pet hair can cause myriad health problems ranging from allergies and skin rashes to asthma and throat infection. Therefore, removing pet hair from your car is a must and it entails applying techniques that differ a little from the methods you would use for cleaning the interior of your home.
Discussed as follows are some DIY hacks that could help you to remove pet hair from your car.
Vacuum Cleaning
Given the space and mobility constraints of a car, using a regular vacuum cleaner within such a small area is out of question. Instead you must invest in a small-sized hand-held vacuum cleaner with a brush or a bristle attachment which you could easily operate as and when required to clean the car’s interior of pet hair.
In addition to pulling out the pet hair, the device should also be ergonomic enough to cover every nook and cranny how much ever inaccessible it might be. You may want to read our review on the best vacuum cleaners for cars for the most popular brands at the moment.
Rubber Gloves
All you need to do is don a pair of kitchen rubber gloves and sweep over the various surfaces of your car in a single direction. For more effective results, you could wet the gloves since the damp surface would collect all the pet hair in a clump, which can then be scooped up or rolled into a ball and removed.
Running a Balloon
Based on the principle of static electricity, this method entails blowing up a balloon and running it over the surface. The static electricity which is generated as a result would cause at least the pet hair on the surface, if not the embedded strands, to come off. Subsequently, the balloon can be deflated and discarded.
Duct Tape/Packing Tape
Duct tape or packing tape acts as a replacement of a lint roller when it comes to removing pet hair from your car. Since you need to wrap it around your palm with the sticky side out and collect all the pet hair, it is imperative to ensure that the tape is sturdy enough. Also, the glue needs to be sufficiently sticky so as to hold on to the pet hair.
That being said, it is just a matter of pressing the tape on to the upholstery or any other surface and draw out the strands.
Pumice Stone
Having created a fabric softener solution by dissolving 1 part fabric softener into 7 parts water, you are supposed to spray it over all the fabric surfaces in your car. Next, take the pumice stone and run it over the sprayed areas in one direction so as to extract all the pet hair.
A standard practice with this hack is to keep a bucket of fresh water close by so as to rinse the stone after every few rounds. This is to ensure that the stone is free from the extracted hair before being rubbed over the surface.
Brush
For most effective results, you could opt for a brush having wire or rubber bristles and the modus operandi entails using this tool to brush the surface of the upholstery. In addition to being the simplest, easiest and most affordable option, it is also the most effective is drawing out deep-seated strands of pet hair that may elude other superficial cleaning methods.
Squeegee
Normally used for cleaning windows, squeegees have been found to be equally effective for removal of pet hair. As long as you move it in a single direction either towards you or away from you, the rubber blade would scrape all the pet hair and leave it in a pile at one end.
Do make it a point to wipe the edge of the rubber blade every once in a while and once all the hair has accumulated at one end, you would have to remove it by hand or through any other method.
Dryer Sheets
Although seemingly mundane and commonplace, these are surprisingly very effective in ridding your car of pet hair. What renders dryer sheet truly practical is the fact that it can used just as easily on the console and the flooring of the car as the seats or fabrics.
Without using water or any other cleaning agent, just wipe the surface of the vehicle with a dryer sheet and marvel at the difference.
Final Thoughts
While these DIY hacks for removing pet hair aren’t meant as a cure, there are preventive measures too that a pet owner can undertake. Pets do tend to shed a lot of hair and in the event it might be causing health problems within the family, it is advisable to take some preventive action.
To begin with, you can ban your pet from entering the car. However, this may not be always possible and as an owner you might feel the absence of your furry friend while travelling. So the next option is to limit the movement of the pet within the car by restricting it to a crate or a basket. This would ensure that much of the pet hair that is shed would remain within a specific zone rather than spreading everywhere from the console to the upholstery and flooring. Yet another preventive measure includes brushing your pet thoroughly before allowing it into the car so that whatever hair is loose will have already been removed.
Cleaning the car of pet hair is an intimidating task but definitely not an impossible one. In the face of multiple DIY hacks, the onus is on you to identify a technique that works best for you and use it regularly to remove pet hair from your car.
