How Do I Get Rid of Pet Hair in My House

Vacuum and wash to get pet hair off your floors, furniture and clothes. A purifier only catches the dander and fine dust still floating in the air. Size it to your room: Coway Airmega with Vacuumable Pre-Filter for a small room, Levoit Vital up to 388 sq ft, and Levoit Core with light sensor up to 606 sq ft.

How to Get Rid of Dog Hair on Clothes

Hair on your clothes has already settled, so washing and vacuuming remove it. A purifier can't pull out what has settled on carpets, bedding, furniture or upholstery. It does clean the dander and dust that hair leaves in the air. Find your room below and click that unit.

• Your pet shares a small bedroom or office: get the Coway Airmega with Vacuumable Pre-Filter. Its pre-filter comes clean with your vacuum.
• Your pet shares a living room or large bedroom, up to 388 sq ft: get the Levoit Vital. Its pre-filter washes out, and the maker rates it for 388 sq ft at 4.8 air changes per hour.
• Your pet shares an open-plan space or a room up to 606 sq ft: get the Levoit Core with light sensor. The maker rates it for 606 sq ft at 4.8 air changes per hour.
• You smell the dog from the next room: get the AllerAir 5000 D. Its deep carbon bed holds 24 lb of carbon.

Sizing comes first. Multiply your room's length by its width, then compare that to the unit's maximum room size. EPA says to pick a CADR (the airflow rating on the box, like a fan's cubic feet per minute) at least 2/3 the square footage of the room. The Airmega 100 rates 108 for smoke, so keep it to small rooms.

Now adjust for your ceiling and floor plan. If your ceilings are over 8 feet, take the next size up. If your space is open plan, size for the whole space. If you're between two sizes, take the bigger one.

Next, check for ozone. Skip ionizer and plasma features. EPA says products that advertise "plasma" or "ions" can generate high amounts of ozone. The Levoit pages show CARB marks.

Smell is the last check. For general pet odor, get the AllerAir 5000 D and its deep carbon bed.

Air Purifier for Pet Hair

A purifier for pet hair works on fine particles, not the hair itself. A human hair is about 70 micrometers wide, roughly 30 times larger than the biggest fine particles. Dander is the part that floats. If you want a unit chosen for a home with shedding pets, see the best air purifier for pet hair.

For cat hair in your house, vacuum and wash the surfaces it settles on, and let the purifier take the dander. Fur isn't the allergen. The proteins in the dead skin attached to it are, and they can ride on particles under 5 microns.

To control dog hair in your house, pair the purifier with HEPA vacuuming, bedding washing and surface cleaning.

Choose a true HEPA filter. By the U.S. Department of Energy's definition, it traps at least 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles.

Then place and run the unit. Put it in the room you and your pet use most. Keep it clear of curtains and anything that blocks airflow. Higher fan speeds and longer run times filter more air.

A dirty, overloaded filter won't work well, so rinse or vacuum the pre-filter and replace the main filter on schedule. A purifier filters airborne particles and odors. It doesn't treat pet allergies, and a doctor does. If your home has no pet worries and you just want a general pick, see the best air purifier.