Creature comfort: Dyson engineers reveal the science behind pet hair, dander and how to clean it

Dyson Engineers are obsessed with making machines that clean better, especially when it comes to pets. The World Health Organisation estimates that we spend more than 90 per cent of our time indoors. For the 67 per cent of US households (63 million) who share their home with a pet¹, this can be particularly challenging.

Once airborne, dander and the dust mites that live on it can be inhaled, triggering allergies³. As well as dust mites and skin flakes, dried saliva, urine or faeces containing allergens may flake off from an animal's fur and become airborne, where it can be inhaled⁴. In fact, as many as three in 10 people with allergies have allergic reactions to cats and dogs in the US and cat allergies are about twice as common as dog allergies⁵. Much like dust, dander builds up in soft furnishings such as carpets, mattresses and pillows and is the food source of dust mites.

“If pet hair is a problem for you, vacuuming your floors and soft furnishings regularly and not allowing dust, pet hair and dander to accumulate is essential,” explains James.

“It’s worth investing in a vacuum with extra strong suction power and a fully-sealed filtration system as our research shows that the best way to get rid of pet hair and dander is to remove it from your home completely. That’s why we spend a lot of time developing our filters and seals at Dyson, to make sure that we capture not only the pet hair you can see, but also the dander you can’t.”

Dyson Engineers' top tips for pet hair cleaning at home:

1.    Groom the source of the problem

Pets shed fur all the time as their hair reaches the catagen phase – the stage in a hair’s life cycle stops growing. They shed much more regularly than humans, so grooming your pet frequently will avoid hair being deposited in your home. Groom your pet in the same area and spot clean this with slow vacuuming using a Mini-Motorised tool, designed with nylon bristles to remove embedded pet hair and dander.

Dyson vacuums are equipped with up to 240AW of powerful suction to ensure effective pick-up of fine dust like pet dander and large debris like pet hair.

2.    Clean up high and down low

Like dust, pet hair and dander can become airborne when disturbed and fall onto lower surfaces, so start cleaning up high and finish on your floors. Don’t miss out armcharis and sofa, especially if you pets spend time there. Soft furnishings can hold pet hair as well as pet dander, dust mites and other allergens. A Mini-Motorised tool is great for furniture you can’t put in the wash.

Dyson vacuums come with an a range of accessories, so users are equipped with the right tools for every cleaning need. The Dyson Hair Screw Tool transforms your cord-free stick vacuum into a handheld and is effective on both hard floors and soft furnishings and can remove embedded pet hair and dander, fast.

3.    Wash pet blankets and remove covers

Washing blankets, cushions and bedding – wherever your pets spend the most time! – at 60 degrees celcius will help to break down allergens and reduce the amount of microscopic dander that dust mites feed on⁶. At the end of the wash, make sure you remove any pet hair out of the drum.

4.    Vacuum slowly and in multiple directions

Vacuuming slowly gives the airflow and brush bar more time to “agitate” the pet hair and remove it from the surface.

Go over the carpet a few times in alternating directions to pick up more pet hair and agitate some of those embedded ones loose. But don’t forget, any more than two or three times give minimal increase according to our research.

5.    “Peel” pet hair from surfaces

Some vacuums are engineered with nylon and carbon fibre bristles at their cleaner head to disturb the hair and “peel” it off the surface. Using a cleaner head with a lint picker strip will stick the pet hair to it – a lint roller can do the job in some cases, but it may not be as effective as picking up the pet dander that causes allergies.

The brush bar on the cleaner heads of Dyson vacuums have carbon fibre bristles that removes the static attraction between fine dust and hard floors which allows the vacuum to then suck it up easily. The Dyson V15 comes with the High Torque cleaner head that has added anti-tangle technology which is perfect for capturing pet hair while ensuring it does not tangle on the brush bar.

6.    Vacuum little and often

Pet hair is more likely to clump on carpets or form tumbleweed on hard floor surfaces than human hair. Vacuuming little and often prevents excessive build-up of pet hair. If you’re tight on time, using a robot cleaner to remove pet hair while you’re out will keep pet hair under control between more thorough cleans.  

7.    Keep your home free of odours  

The odours that come with a furry friend likely won’t be as loveable as they are. Aside from pet beds and indoor litter trays, most of the pet smells will come from their shed hair and dander that float around the house, working their way into the cracks and crevices of your soft furnishings or under your furniture. Dogs can also sweat on their paw pads and this gets walked around and into your carpets and soft furnishings.

Air purifiers can remove odours. At Dyson, we test on a whole range of real-life smells, such as cat urine and wet dog odour. Dyson Purifiers use an activated carbon filter which has millions of micropores to absorb odours and gases and just one gram of this activated carbon⁷ has a surface area of 1000m2 – that’s the same as four tennis courts.