Pet Hair Tools That Really Work

[kirbylux77]

Most of us have pets we love dearly, don't we? Back in the fall, I moved into a new place, & now I have a cat that shares my new space. Pictured below is Aries.

Now, of course, the challenge becomes how to clean up after our beloved furry friends. It seems nowadays you see lots of uprights being sold with handheld turbo brushes, but they aren't a real solution. Although they do work, problem is the hair wraps around the brushroll, & you spend just as much time maintaining them as you do using it to clean the hair to begin with. And then there's turbo brushes that are impossible to take apart & clean out....Wessell Werk hand turbo brushes for example. There's also the issue of them eventually failing due to hair damaging the fan & inner workings of the tool. Niclonnic's recent post with his Eureka turbo brush being a perfect example.

Having said that, there have been turbo brushes that have addressed these issues....but without success. Dyson's Tangle Free Turbine Tool does work, but it does have the flaw of hair still getting stuck in the bristles & needing to be manually picked out. A electric mini powerhead does work well, & more reliable, but you still have the issue of having to cut hair off the brushroll.

So....has anyone ever found pet hair tools for vacuums, whether OEM attachments from a manufacturer's line of vacuums, or aftermarket generic tools, that REALLY work to remove pet hair, aren't turbo brushes, & don't require a ton of maintenance & cleaning out after cleaning?

Rob

 

[n0oxy]

pet tools

I don't have pets, but am kind of a hairy person, so I do find that I'm cleaning a bit of that. I think any spinning brush is going to have the issue of needing to be cleaned now and then, there's just no getting around it. You could use a regular tool designed for cleaning couches and chairs, there's no brush on many of those, but they also probably won't clean as well. I would say the best option would be the wessel werk heb160 mini electric brush, I would avoid the turbo brushes. For one thing, they will steal power from the vacuum to spin the turbine, and the passage on those tools is very small, so they will clog very quickly. I wonder how the volt power nozzle, with its air flow would do with pet hair, perhaps someone will chime in who has tried that.
Another thing you have to vacuum up, at least if you have cats is cat litter. My girl friend has two cats, she has mostly hard floors, but the litter box is on a large area rug. For Christmas a year ago, I bought her an Electrolux Ultra One classic, this came with a turbo brush but it didn't take long to realize it could not handle the cat litter, it always clogged and the litter would get stuck in the turbine. This vacuum was mainly designed for hard floors so the hose is not electric, I got her a Wessel Werk ebk340 power nozzle and a 35 foot cord to power it, a bit awkward but it works. Last weekend, after using the floor brush to clean the litter dust off of the hard floor, I connected the power nozzle and tried cleaning the area rug, the results were great. No clogs, and the spinning brush was able to pull the litter out of the rug. Would love to have seen how the volt would have handled that task. So really for pet hair and litter on carpets or couches, you need a spinning brush. For hard floors, a good hard floor brush is good to have.

 

[countryguy]

I have had long hair cats for the past 30 years....for the past 16 years I have had 2 cats. I brush both cats every day which cuts down greatly on cat fur all over the place. They both love to be brushed so it only takes a couple of minutes. For cleaning the furniture, stairs, etc. I use either the Aerus/Lux mini power nozzle or the Wessel Werk mini electric nozzle. Some hair does get wrapped around the brush but it is not a big deal to clean if done after every use.

Gary

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Electric Wessel Werk, Electrolux Sidekick, even the old Kenmore and Hoover straight suction tools did nice. The TriStar straight suction was a good one. Those are the ones Unlike.
Hope it helps!
Andy

 

[compactc9guy]

reply

I have a 2 year old cat and i gota say that my Compact C9 altho its older works wonders whit the upholstery tool that it came whit

 

[rvarley]

I agree with Gary. Daily pet brushing helps a lot. I have 1 long and 1 short haired dogs, 50 and 70 lbs respectively. For some reason, dog hair does not get tangled around the brush. I'll second and third that turbo brushes are worthless and even some powered mini-brushes bog down. The powered Rainbow brush is not so great, but whatever mini-brush I received with my Riccar Prima is the best I've ever used. Never bogs down. Also, the mini-brush that comes with the Dyson V8 is good and has the added advantage of ease of use. While not as effective as the Riccar + mini brush, it's easy to take out and use, so it is used almost everyday. And there is something to be said for that strange satisfaction of actually seeing the debris after it is vacuumed up.

Another surprisingly effective method for bigger spaces is the Riccar supralight (or whatever they call the Riccar version of the lightweight). It has a low speed setting and is small / light enough to be used on some pieces of furniture. It's easier to use than the Prima but not as easy as the Dyson.

There's no getting around the fact that our furry friends are a lot of work, but to me, it's worth every minute of it.

 

[kirbylux77]

Randy - Much agreed! They're definitely worth it. It's amazing how much a cat or dog adds to our life, & you don't realize it until you are away from them for a day or two & you miss them. I can honestly say I look forward to coming home at night, knowing Aries will usually be waiting right at the door for me.

Gary - You're right, normally part of the solution would be brushing the cat & remove some of the hair to begin with. With Aries, though, I don't think that would work. This cat is a little bit on the skittish side. For instance, if I am on the couch, he will come up & spend some time with me....but if I sit up to grab something off the coffee table, off he goes!

Mike - Yes, right, you do need to have a solution to get hair & litter off rugs, & have a good floor brush. Not a problem here though. The cat's litter box is located in the laundry room, & it's on a laminate floor, pretty easy to pick up the kitty litter using the powerhead with the brushroll turned off. Pet hair on the carpets isn't a issue here, Aries usually hangs out on the stairs or the couch. I picked up the Wessell Werk RD285 floor brush to use with my Simplicity Gusto, as my previous house-mate had a dog & her short hair clinging to the horsehair bristles was a annoyance. This solved the problem entirely, though, so for any other pet owners reading this, something they might want to consider trying. https://www.allegrovacuums.com/wessel-werk-central-vacuum-universal-floor-/-rug-tool-zas010.html

I have already decided against the Wessell Werk HEB160 being something I would use for the pet hair. I bought it, & the Simplicity adapter wand, to use to clean up short dog hair on the couches from my previous house-mate's dog....for that, it worked great! Problem is, in order to clean it out, there's 4 screws that would have to be removed. I would find that annoying quick, if I had to use it for cat hair. And although it is a good tool, I do prefer the Lux Sidekick & Kenmore Powermate Jr.

Right now, I don't have access to my other vacuums, as they are in long-term storage a couple hours away. I have a Shark Rotator upright & Shark Professional EP754 canister I kept here & am using, mainly the Rotator I use though since it's bagless. The Shark Rotator's turbo brush is a copy of the Wessell Werk turbo brushes, & I think this should illustrate my frustration with it, & the HEB160. The opening around the brushroll is smaller than most, & it only opens up part of the way, making it annoying to clean out. Whoever came up with this design obviously wasn't thinking of hair wrapping around the brush & the need for cleaning it out!

Rob

 

[n0oxy]

RD285 and prima mini electric brush

The mini brush for the Riccar Prima is basically the Wessel Werk heb160, modified slightly to fit the Prima's hose size and I think it uses a direct connect interface instead of a pig tail cord. While a bit more inconvenient, if the heb160 does not work well, you could always clean the couch and chairs with a larger power nozzle, assuming you could guide it properly.
The RD285 is a good tool, I have one and use it at times to clean my hard floors. The one disadvantage to this tool is that for larger dirt, it may just push it around rather than remove it. It's very good for getting under things though. Another good hard floor tool is the Wessel Werk turn and clean, I think the model number is the D330.
There are also attachments that you can use on a pet that will remove the fur right away, not sure how well they work though.

 

[countryguy]

Rob,

One of my cats is very skiddish also. She will be on my lap one minute and if I just move the wrong way or sneeze, she is gone like a bat out of hell. However, she still loves to be brushed. Start out with a brush that will not get caught in the knots so that it won't hurt the cat. Have the brush beside you and while the cat is on your lap, start to brush him gently. You'll be surprised how quickly he will get used to the brush.

Gary

 

[n0oxy]

more about turbo brushes

Since the topic of turbo brushes came up in this thread, most things have advantages and disadvantages, but try as I might, I simply cannot think of any advantage that a turbo brush offers compared to an electric brush. Even the fact that a turbo brush will work on a nonelectric hose doesn't really matter since the volt power nozzle is now available to fill that roll. And, you can get an electric cord that will allow you to use electric power nozzles without an electric hose. Try as I might, I can't think of any reason to prefer a turbo brush, especially for hair. They are louder, kind of sound like a dentist drill on steroids, and they steal power from the vacuum to spin the turbine.

 

[fantomlightning]

Best...

Pet hair tool/turbo brush I've run across that doesn't tangle and needs minimal cleaning with easy disassembly is the Kirby Zip brush. That thing is almost impossible to bog down, incredibly well balanced and free spinning even my ClearTrack with relatively low suction and airflow was able to power it easily. Plus it pulls completely apart without the need for tools. It's my go to pick when I need something with agitation while I'm cleaning up long human or pet hair.

 

[sptyks]

I Agree...

The Kirby Zipp Brush is hard to beat!


 


 

 

[titaniciscool]

Riccar Fur-Get-It & Simplicity Pet Hair Beware

I recently got a Riccar Fur-get-it tool from Tom G. and I gotta say, that this is fantastic! Gets every single hair! No tangles, no mess, just a nice working tool! It's also not an electric nozzle, so you can use it on any vacuum. No Turbine either, so it's not annoyingly loud.

 

[kirbylux77]

Joe - I have seen the demonstration videos for the Riccar Fur Get It tool. It does indeed look very effective. My only issue with it is it appears like it wouldn't do a very good job on carpeting, that it would be best suited for upholstery. Considering it is likely going to be very pricey, that's a deal breaker for me.

Zach & Stan - I have had the exact opposite experience with the Kirby Zipp Brush. I have the Heritage II chrome version & the G4 Zipp Brush. IMHO, both do a poor job, both bog down & nearly stop spinning the moment they touch a carpet or couch. I have tried it on many different styles of upholstery & carpet over the years with the same results. I have even tried it with my Kenmore EVPC that has the double stage Ametek motor from the Perfect C101 that pulls 125" waterlift, it STILL does the same thing! What I find is FAR BETTER is the Kirby Turbo Brush from the Heritage I, now sold as the Rug Rat hand turbobrush for central vacs. That thing just rocks! It's next to impossible to stop the brush from turning. Now if only it wasn't so big & bulky....

Gary - I will take your advice. Come to think of it, you may be right on this one! I remembered after posting my reply to you, that one time after using the Shark Rotator, I forgot to put away the wide upholstery tool, & when I went to get up from the couch to put it away, Aries came up & brushed up against it. So who knows, maybe he will take to being brushed, & knowing him he can probably be coaxed with a treat or two. There is a Pet Valu across the road from my work, I'll stop in & see if they have something gentle & make sure it can be returned if need be.

Mike - I agree with you, I think a electric mini powerbrush does have the edge over a turbo brush. Problem is, I don't think the average consumer would be willing to go to the effort of hooking up a second cord with a upright just to get better performance. I think most people would just stick with their turbo brush & be satisfied with it's performance generally.

Pictured below is the Shark Wide Upholstery Tool. It does work well, except that it tries to suck the fabric in while cleaning the couch. If they had positioned the vents of the tool at the back (like Miele does on theirs) instead of at the sides, it would work much better. It would also be nice to see a little wider red felt strips too.

Rob

 

[n0oxy]

perfect c101 motor

Rob, I actually have the perfect C101 and you're right, the motor in that vacuum is quite powerful. I do have the rug rat turbo brush, while I think an electric brush is better, if a person insists on using a turbo brush, that is the one I would suggest. This motor is quite powerful, it's actually able to spin my rug rat as fast as the central vacuum units that I have. If a brush still stalls when using a motor with that power, there is a problem with the brush. Interestingly, the perfect C103 which is a plastic version of basically the same vacuum uses a different motor, it's one stage but is still quite powerful.
I remember at our home and garden show last year, the local vacuflo dealer was there and was telling people that a turbo brush, in this case, probably the turbocat will clean their carpets just as well as an electric brush. I actually thought about confronting him and telling him how wrong he was, but I figured it really wasn't the right place or time to do that, I just hate seeing people being given information that is simply not true.

 

[kirbylux77]

Mike, I agree with you on both points. I would also add the original (NOT T series style) Hoover Windtunnel hand turbobrush is one I recommend as well if you can find one, it's a shame they recently discontinued it.

Speaking of bad hand turbobrushes, this one from Shark is a disappointment as well. It's the latest clear one they now use on new models. I got it with my Shark Navigator I picked up for $5 from a thrift shop. Brand new, & a disappointment from the start. It takes literally nothing for the brush to slow down to a snail's pace the instant it touches upholstery. There's also another version on Amazon.ca for Dyson vacuums, exactly identical, it just has a adapter insert for the Dyson hose & wand. I would take the Dyson Tangle Free Turbine over this!!

http://www.sharkclean.com/parts/0/all/145/handheld-premium-pet-turbo-brush/

https://www.amazon.ca/Spares2go-Tur...&sr=8-4-fkmr1&keywords=dyson+hand+turbo+brush

Rob

 

[mark40511]

I have no problem

with tools getting pet hair probably because I have a short haired cat, except trying to get it off the cat tree. That soft plush material has hair sticking to it like mad, and no brushroll tool will get it off. My Lux sidekick, the rainbow power brush, the shark air driven or kenmore air driven brush. It's like the cat hair becomes PART of the cat tree. I just give up knowing that I at least vacuumed the dust off and got as much hair as possible.

 

[n0oxy]

cleaning hair with a turbo brush

One issue I would think would always happen when cleaning the hair with a turbo brush is that it would clog or jam the turbine. That's another disadvantage of turbo brushes, everything that is vacuumed goes through the turbine, and I would expect that hair would get stuck in, or clog the turbine and require you to open it quite often to clean out the turbine. Interestingly, dirty air cleaners such as the Kirby don't seem to have that problem that I know of anyway, with dirty air machines, everything vacuumed up also goes through the fan, of course, there is much more airflow so perhaps that's what prevents those kinds of problems. If a turbo brush is running very slow or stopping as soon as it touches something, that definitely defeats the purpose of having it, in that case it boils down to a few possible issues. The vacuum being used is not powerful enough to run the brush, or the turbine is too small and does not have enough power to continue to spin the brush once it encounters some resistance. I've been told that the Dyson tangle free brush is a bit unique, but have never seen one. Interestingly, Dyson only includes turbo brushes with their canister models, they have never used electric power nozzles that I know of.

 

[kirbysthebest]

I believe Dyson did make a motor head

I think I read they were notorious carpet destroyers.