Secrets to Avoiding and Removing Pet Hair from Wool Outerwear?

May 17, 2021 8:09 AM

I'm at the "I've tried everything" and am looking for any ideas I might have missed. I have two cats that shed a lot (e.g., in a ray of sunlight I can always see little pieces of hair floating around).

For removal, I've found moist clothes brush doesn't work and super-sticky lint remover works a little. (I pretty much always walk around looking like a crazy cat lady...)

posted by Jon44 to Pets & Animals (10 answers total)

Try rubber (real rubber, e.g. dish) gloves! I learned this tip from Way of the Househusband.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:42 AM on May 17, 2021 [5 favorites]

Aside from removing fur from clothing I find it really helps to use a furminator on the cats. My cats have always really liked being brushed with one and it removes far more fur than any other kind -which limits how fur-coated everything else is - and my current cat is long-haired.
posted by leslies at 9:32 AM on May 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

Silicone cat brush (Zoom Groom) also works on clothes/upholstery. Try using both the nubby side and the flatter back side. Vacuuming can help loosen hair that's gotten in the weave. I haven't tried moistening one of the velvet clothes brushes, but it does a decent job dry as a first pass on smoother things.

Agreed that a deshedding comb (furminator - I got a knockoff on Ebay that works fine) helps on the prevention side.

Never ever pick up the cat wearing things that are hard to get hair out of. Keep those clothes in a closet or drawer as much as possible. Put a blanket on your lap / designate a cat-holding t-shirt. I miss my cashmere sweaters.
posted by momus_window at 9:43 AM on May 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

in a ray of sunlight I can always see little pieces of hair floating around

DIY room air filter
posted by flabdablet at 10:09 AM on May 17, 2021

This yellow pet hair sponge thing was the best thing I found for fluffy soft sheltie hair, which is similar to cat hair. It works so much better than lint rollers or clothes brushes.
posted by umwhat at 10:09 AM on May 17, 2021

Ugh I feel your pain. My cat is super-floofy and pale, and I am super-fussy and wear a lot of dark colours :(

FWIW I have found removing cat hair so laborious, and all the tools for it so ineffective, that now I focus only on prevention.

The Furminator does help a little. But mostly what I do is I segregate my outside-the-house clothes into cupboards and closets where she can't get to them, and I do not pick her up when I'm dressed for outside. Inside, I only wear clothing that's the same colour as her, or that is slippery (e.g. silk or technical fabrics). Since I started doing this, everything has been totally fine :)

(If you're interested in house advice too, my strategy there is i) no textile furnishings, ii) bare wood floors, iii) the Rabbit MinusA2 air purifier, and iv) an army of robot vacuums running pretty much continuously. It works!)
posted by Susan PG at 10:16 AM on May 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

Try rubber (real rubber, e.g. dish) gloves! I learned this tip from Way of the Househusband.

And put few drops of water on the gloves.
posted by jgirl at 11:14 AM on May 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

If your wool clothes are sturdy enough and you have access to a front loading dryer with a lint trap, put them in there with a dryer sheet (generic, Bounce, whatever scent you can handle) and run them at low heat or permanent press setting for about 20 minutes. I do this with items (like wool blankets or fuzzy throws) that have picked up cat fur but aren't otherwise dirty. It's so satisfying to clean the lint trap and see the huge amount of fur that has been sequestered!
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:20 AM on May 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

Rubber or latex gloves with grippy nubbins on them, run over the clothing. Then as soon as you get home strip off anything you don't want covered in cat hair and they go into a closet or drawer so you don't have to clean them again and again. I completely change my clothing when I get home from work (in the pre-pandemic times) and don't ever mix "outside" clothes with "home" clothes.
posted by Anonymous at 1:41 PM on May 17, 2021

What you need is the Muji Lint Roller. It is life-changing.

It is better than all other lint rollers because it has lighter paper and superior tackiness not too heavy, and also it's extra wide so it goes fast. I keep one by my door, one in my bedroom and one kicking around the living room for doing the couches.
posted by wowenthusiast at 11:59 AM on May 18, 2021