How to Remove Dog Hair From Clothes in Washing Machine

How to Remove Dog Hair From Clothes in Washing Machine

When you have a dog at home, you cannot avoid its hair sticking to your clothes. When you come back after a long day's work, your dog jumps up to hug you, and you enjoy its warm welcome by cuddling it. However careful you are though, it is quite natural for some dog hairs to stick onto your clothes. Most of the time, these hairs are hard to remove, even when after you have washed your clothes in the washing machine. If this sounds like you then follow these simple and time-tested hacks to get rid of dog hair from your clothes, while washing them in the washing machine.

Tips to Remove Dog Hairs From Clothes

Using Dryer Sheets for Removing Dog Hair

You can buy dryer sheets when you want to remove canine hair from your clothes before putting them in the washing machine. These are available in most stores, especially pet stores. Dryer sheets help to absorb all the dog hair from your clothes. They are anti-static, thereby helping you get rid of all the excess dog hair in your clothes.

Before starting your laundry, wipe your clothes with these dryer sheets thoroughly, and then put them in the washing machine. These sheets come with a pleasant smell, which is a bonus! You will find many types of dryer sheets in the market today in all types of variety. If your dog belongs to a furry breed, you need to buy sheets exclusively designed to collect a lot of hair.

Using Fur Zappers to Get Rid of Long Canine Hair

If your dog belongs to a breed with long and shiny locks, you may not be able to remove all the hair altogether from your clothes using dryer sheets. In this case, you can use fur zappers instead. As the name indicates, these products help collect and lock the fur from your clothes when they are still in the washing machine. They are made of silicone, allowing them to catch the dog fur easily.

The best thing about these fur zappers is that they are reusable. You can clean them easily after a couple of uses, and a pack of two can last for up to a year if you buy the right brand. While they don't work well with dryer sheets, you can use fur zappers along with wool dryer balls, which we will explain in the next section.

Using Wool Dryer Balls for Canine Hair and Wrinkle Removal From Clothes

Wool dryer balls are products that help to soften your clothes and remove dog fur from them entirely. They don't emit any odor, making them perfect solutions for sensitive people. You can put these wool dryer balls anywhere in the middle of your laundry with fur hair. As the machine starts to run, the pet hair stuck onto the clothes will get loosened because of the properties of these wool dryer balls.

These are highly effective products, as they help remove dog fur from the clothes and make the clothes soft and wrinkle-free. These wool dryer balls promote airflow inside the washing machine's dryer. So, they can improve your machine's speed in completing the laundry.

Dryer First

A simple tip that will help you get rid of dog hair from clothes is using the dryer first before starting the washing machine. When there is a lot of dog fur on your clothes, you can put them in the dryer and run them for about 10 minutes (preferably without any heat cycle). During this time, the dog fur gets caught in the dryer's lint trap. After the time is up, you can put the clean clothes in the washing machine and start your laundry cycle.

Prep Work Is a Must for Removing Dog Hair

It is always good to remove as much dog hair as possible from your clothes before putting them in the washing machine. After this prep work, you can try out the abovementioned methods to eradicate pet hair. Some of the tried and tested, effective tricks to remove dog hair from clothes before tossing them over in the washing machine are:

Lint rollers - These are specifically designed to remove pet hair, and rolling them over your clothes for a minute before using the washing machine is a great idea to get rid of all the dog fur from your clothes.

Fabric brushes – You can use fabric brushes that come with fur removers to eliminate the extra fur stuck onto your clothes before putting them in the laundry.

Rubber gloves – Using rubber or latex gloves can help you get rid of stubborn dog hair from your clothes. Thanks to the property of rubber, you can loosen the pet hair with a gentle rub on your clothes.

Sponge - You might already use a kitchen sponge to clean your vessels. You can invest in another one to exclusively get rid of dog fur from your clothes. Today, there are many sponges designed to remove pet hairs. You can use it with absolute ease on your clothes and furniture.

The Best Home Remedy for Dog Hair Removal – Vinegar

When nothing else works, you can trust vinegar. Because of its acidic properties, vinegar is known for cleaning surfaces, fabrics, clothes, etc. When the laundry starts, keep watching for the beginning of the rinse cycle on your washing machine. You can then pour about ½ a cup of white vinegar into the machine when it is about to start. Vinegar helps to loosen the dog fur stuck on your clothes, and it keeps your clothes soft as well.

Using Steamers for Very Soft Fabrics

Are you apprehensive about following the above tips for very soft fabrics? Are you worried that the material may get damaged? Well, you have nothing to worry about. You can use small steamers to loosen the pet hair from soft fabrics. Once these steamers have loosened almost all the dog fur, you can then proceed with using vinegar, rollers, brushes, or anything that suits you on these fabrics. Making the fabric damp by using a steamer on it initially is the key to removing pet hair entirely from it.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different, but very easy methods to get rid of dog hair from clothes in the washing machine. You have to ensure that you keep your dryer and washing machine clean at all times, as their cleanliness is related to the quality of your clothes.

About the Author

Kirsten Heggarty
Website | + posts

Kirsten created The Pet Handbook with the aim of sharing her knowledge about pets, pet food, healthy habits, and more. All of her advice is based on years of her own experience with her pets, and feedback that she has received from grateful readers about her tips. If you want to know more please read the About Me page.