Chances are, if you own a dog, you also own a car full of dog hair.Get the fur out and prevent a repeat with these DIY car upholstery cleaning tips.
Regardless of whether you have an SUV with a back area specifically for your pup or just upholstered seats, if you’ve had your dog in the car you’ve been blessed with dog hair. Below are a few tips for removing the dog hair from your vehicle.
Professional detailer
This is the option that involves the least amount of work for you, but the biggest cost. Professional car detailers will carefully scour your car to get rid of the dog hair and will charge you accordingly for their labour. In fact, most detailers add an additional fee for removing pet hair.
If you're selling your car, this investment might be worth it in the long run. But it is an expensive option if you are keeping your car (or your dog).
Do it yourself
This option is far cheaper, but it's also painstaking and tedious. There’s no way around it, and since you already own a dog, you probably know this is coming.
- Use a high powered shop vac or gas station vacuum cleaner to remove the large clumps of hair. No vacuum has been built that will completely rid your car upholstery of dog hair, but it will at least get the top layer.
- Mix three teaspoons of fabric softener with a cup of water in a spray bottle. Give the hirsute area a spritz. The fabric softener will loosen the hair a bit to make it slightly easier to wipe up. Use a pair of yellow rubber gloves and by hand, wipe up the dog hair. Start in one area and rub in the same direction until the hair begins to ball up. Use your vacuum to get rid of the clumps. This is time consuming, but the rubber gloves really do help lift the smaller hairs, thanks to the magic of static electricity.
- If there are still stubborn hairs in your upholstery after the vacuum and rubber glove trick, go over the entire area with a sticky lint brush. Or, wrap duct tape around your hand (sticky side up) to make a home-made lint brush.
- This sounds crazy, but grab some hook-and-loop rollers and run them over the upholstery to lift up additional hair. Ladies, you’re not going to want to use them on your own hair after this, and gentlemen if you don’t know what these rollers are, ask a lady.
To ensure your hard work isn’t instantly undone the second your pooch jumps in the car, go to your local pet store and buy pet-friendly seat covers. They won’t keep the car pristine, but they will cut down on the amount of hard-to-remove fur in your car.
