Small cat hair elimination device please.

February 26, 2007 1:21 PM

Is there a small vacuum with a beater brush that I wouldn't mind having sitting out in my living room?

I have a major cat hair problem and wouldn't mind vacuuming more often but the closet that houses my big vac is not convenient to the living room where I have the most upholstery that cats seems to like. I would love to be able to pop out a small but hair-effective device, vroom vroom and sit down for an evening of watching tivo'd Colbert Reports.

I figure that a brush is a must for cat hair but if you think you can convince me that suction alone will suffice then please lay it on me.

posted by Patrick Graham to Pets & Animals (11 answers total)

There's the Dirt Devil Kone that's meant to be left out in the room. But I don't know that it would have enough power. It seems somewhat weak compared to ordinary handheld cordless vacuum type things. I haven't tried it, though.

If you have a somewhat-hidden-spot (next to a bookcase, beside the stereo cabinet, etc), I'd just get a regular cordless Dustbuster. The more powerful the better. Just leave the brush head attached and you should have a hairless apartment in no time flat.
posted by bcwinters at 1:40 PM on February 26, 2007

We recieved "The Shark" as a wedding gift. It's a cordless rechargable sweeper that I use exactly as you describe. I use it on hardwoord floors covered with an area rug and it's just great. It isn't exactly pretty to have sitting out, but I put it in the corner by a bookcase and its okay.
posted by dpx.mfx at 1:51 PM on February 26, 2007

I should add that we have a dog and a cat, and it works fine for small areas but if you have a big area you'd have to empty out the dirt-collecting-tray a lot.
posted by dpx.mfx at 1:52 PM on February 26, 2007

I like my Dirt Devil for cat hair.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 2:13 PM on February 26, 2007

I second the Shark, but I would specifically recommend the hand-held (SV736). it is cordless and has a powered brush attachment which really works well for cat hair. If you want to use it on hard wood, the brush attachment comes off, and it has a regular dust-buster-ish intake which works quite well. It also comes with a couple of other attachments, but I pretty much just use the power brush.

I had one of these a while back but left it when I moved out of state. I just bought another one 2 weeks ago. I actually had a hard time finding one as Target doesn't seem to carry them anymore.
Amazon carries them though which is where I ended up getting mine. Sears apparently also carries them.

I have found it the perfect combination of portability, and features. The powered brush attachment does a great job on upholstery and carpet (small areas) and not having to plug it in while using it means I use it much more frequently than I would otherwise.
It comes with a charging wall-mount, so I have my unit hung up right inside my garage where I can reach out and grab it, and its always charged.
posted by heh3d at 2:23 PM on February 26, 2007

Any reason you couldn't get a Roomba?

My boyfriend has very long thick curly hair that is probably just as annoying as cat hair. I have a Roomba (Sage) that deals with it decently, but I also ordered the pet brush "upgrade" that, when it comes, I suspect will do even better things. And hell, you can let it Roomba WHILE you watch the Colbert Report!

I have had good reports from pet-owning family members, both dogs and cats. I love mine. Even my frat boy brother has one.

But I am a very biased roboticist :)
posted by olinerd at 3:24 PM on February 26, 2007

Roomba won't vacuum my couch and upholstered chairs (and I already own one - love it!)

The Shark is looking best so far but I'm hoping for a few more ideas.
posted by Patrick Graham at 4:05 PM on February 26, 2007

I'm thirding the Shark. I adore it. I bought it for the exact same reason- cat hair.
posted by kimdog at 6:39 PM on February 26, 2007

I have a roomba and the little bugger is awesome. got it from target for roughly $150. switch it on when you go to work and when you come back, it's done.

the manual claims house pets will usually regard it with curiosity at first and then proceed to ignore it after a while. I cannot vouch for that but it makes sense. the roomba is not loud or fast.

as for the couch ... just wait for the hovercraft model ;-)
posted by krautland at 8:51 PM on February 26, 2007

I wish I could fourth the Shark recommendation but I've been really disappointed with the one I got. I picked up the handheld model a couple of years ago for the same reasons you describe - I wanted something inobtrusive for cat hair and spot cleaning - but everything about it screamed cheap to me. The power button broke off within weeks of owning it, the suction never seemed strong enough to pick up cat hair, even with the little beater bar extension, and - most irritating - the rechargeable battery was either defective or sub-par, at least on my model. It held barely enough charge to do one large couch before dying, and the charge it held decreased steadily over several months until now it works for about thirty seconds before giving up. Almost completely useless now, it's just waiting for me to get around to tossing it.

Maybe I just got a bad one, since there are so many Shark fans here. Next time I'll be looking for something a bit more robust myself, though. If you do get one, check out the warranty and hold onto your receipt in case you have similar problems.
posted by herichon at 10:35 PM on February 26, 2007

Update: been using the Shark for months now and I'd give it a a solid 'B'. Not perfect but it gets most cat hair off of my upholstered items and I find myself using it for small pick-up jobs.
posted by Patrick Graham at 4:45 PM on July 5, 2007