While at least ten percent of the population is severely allergic to cats, many more people are bothered by the hair they can leave around a home. Even cat lovers are often irritated by the amount of cat hair they find on their clothes, furniture, and carpets.
If you have house guests, you may struggle to wrangle all of the cat hair everywhere. Even people with very mild allergies can be uncomfortable when hair starts getting into their food and clothing. Some might find it hard to breathe and difficult to spend time in your home.
Because you want to be a great host and have a clean home, you need to know the tips for dealing with cat hair. Try these 5 steps to get control of your cat’s hair when it tries to take over your home.
1. A Wet Sponge
Just a wet sponge or paper towel can take care of a lot of your cat hair problems. If you have a “low-pile” carpet or one that’s not very dense, your first step should be to vacuum. After a couple of passes, try a common kitchen sponge, lightly dampened.
You might be surprised by how much hair you pick up on just a couple of passes with the sponge.
You might even be able to pass this over the cat to take off some of their looser hair. If you’d prefer, lightly dampen your hands and gently pet them to get some of that loose hair off.
2. Use a Balloon
As a kid, you might have done the trick where you make your hair stand up with a balloon. Take this principle to another level and clean your cat with a balloon.
They might be tempted to run from the balloon or pop it. If an inflated balloon is too much for your cat, you can at least use it on your carpet and furniture.
3. Try Tape
Try wrapping some packing tape around your hand, sticky side out. You’ll suddenly have a great tool for wiping hair from your furniture.
The adhesive should be good for a couple of passes on your furniture, clothing, or carpeting.
If your cat is shedding a lot, make sure they don’t have any health problems.
4. A Lint Roller
If you have a lint roller or a velcro curler, you should be able to catch hair from fabric surfaces around your home.
If you’ve got a lint roller that relies on a sticky adhesive layer, you might have to go through a few layers before you’re finished.
5. Fabric Softener
Believe it or not, dryer sheets are fantastic for picking up pet hair.
If you use liquid softener, make a light solution of water and softener and spray it where you think you’ll find pet hair. It’ll come off easily once the softener hits it. If you’re still stuck trying to find the right solution, ask your veterinary hospital what they would recommend.
Picking Up Cat Hair Is Easy
With just a few household items, you can make the irritation of cleaning your cat’s hair from your house a lot easier. Try a few different methods and see what works best for you and your home.
If you’re looking for more information on living with cats, check out our article on cat behavior.