It has been said that owners and their pets start to resemble each other after awhile. While you think Fido is the cutest dog on the block, you’d rather not cart half his coat around town with you! Pet hair is prone to sticking to our furniture and clothes. It’s an embarrassing problem particularly if you are required to dress professionally for work. What can you do about the problem of unwanted pet hair?
Why Pet Hair Sticks to Your Clothes
Our pets shed. There isn’t much that we can do about that. It is the one down side to pet ownership. But just what is it about our clothes that causes all of that hair to be drawn to them like a magnet?
Have you ever seen your dog barking with hair flying off his body in every single direction with each resounding bark? That is how easily hair is released from our dogs’ coats. It does seems as though pet hair has a magnetic quality to it.
When our pets shed, the hair itself often becomes airborne, and static electricity compels it towards stationary objects like our furniture and our clothing. The truth is your pet’s hair once shed from his body has a positive magnetic charge, and since positives seek negatives for balance, that hair is drawn towards materials that emit the desired charge. This means that magnetically speaking, pet hair and our clothes are natural combination.
Unfortunately, pet hair clings to our clothing for dear life. If your pet has a particularly wiry-textured coat, the hair can act as little needle and embed itself in woven fabrics, making it incredibly difficult to remove.
How to Prevent Excess Shedding
The first step in the war against clinging pet hair is to eliminate as much excess shedding from the equation as we possibly can. There are a number of things that pet owners can do to help reduce the amount of shedding our pets do.
Among the best options for pet owners are:
Brush your pet regularly.
Because hair grows in cycles, it is important for us to engage in regular brushing of our pets to remove dead hair. Committing to a consistent grooming schedule means that our pets have their excess hair removed regularly via brushing. This means that we can control and contain some of the hair loss. Most of the dead hair will remain in your brush for proper cleaning and disposal. That hair would have found its way onto your furniture and clothing had you not taken the time to brush your dog. For maximum results, this must be done on an ongoing basis and at least several times each week.
Vacuum often.
Even with regular brushing, our pets still shed. Your vacuum is an excellent tool in your arsenal of weapons in the battle against unwanted pet hair. Vacuum daily to remove excess hair from your furniture and flooring. This will greatly reduce the amount of hair in your home which can then cling to your clothing.
Feed a high quality diet with appropriate supplements and oils.
Diet plays a critical role in the amount of shedding our pets do. A poor quality diet leads to poor coat growth and limited stimulation of the hair follicle to produce new hair. One reaction to inadequate diet is for hair to fall out rapidly. Feeding a diet that is biologically appropriate for your pet, and that is sourced from the highest quality ingredients will help your pet’s coat to remain healthy. This will greatly impact the amount of shedding your pet will do.
Visit your veterinarian.
Often, disease or illness results in excess coat loss. It is always a good idea to visit your veterinarian for routine veterinary care and testing to rule out any potential issues that might be causing additional hair loss.
How to Remove Unwanted Pet Hair
So you’ve done everything that you know to do to keep your home as free from excess hair as possible. Sadly, even with all of your best efforts, there are still a few straggly hairs that find their way onto your clothes. What is the best solution from removing stubborn pet hair from favourite suit or jacket?
There are many different things that you can try to remove unwanted pet hair.
Among the options are:
Dampened rubber gloves
Wet rubber gloves provides a slick surface for hair to grab onto. They also help reduce the charge of static electricity making it easier for the hair to attach to another surface for removal.
Dryer sheets
Dryer sheets, by definition, function as a means of reducing static electricity in our clothing. In essence, they help to de-magnetize fabrics. Simply take a dryer sheet, and rub it along the surface of your outfit. The hair will instantly be drawn it.
Lint roller
Sticky surfaces are great for picking up excess lint and unsightly pet hair. Make certain to buy a high quality lint roller as the cheaper versions tend to dry out and lose their efficacy quickly.
Vinegar
If all else fails, add a little vinegar to your next washing cycle. Vinegar contains properties which reduce static electricity in our clothing. This demagnetizing agent helps to make our clothes less “attractive” to unwanted pet hair.
When it comes to the battle against pet hair, the best defence is offence. By taking steps to prevent excess shedding and to remove unwanted hair from our home environment as quickly as possible, we aid ourselves in our quest to keep our clothing hair-free. But for those few little hangers-on who insist on finding their way onto our clothes in spite of our very best efforts, these few simple tips will help keep you looking less like Fido and more like you!