Removing Dog Hair from a Car

March 29, 2004 4:24 PM

Needed: Advice for removing dog hair from a car I'm about to sell.

Tape works well for upholstery, but what about stubborn hair embedded in carpet? All the 50 cent vacuum rentals suck. Uhhh, I mean they don't suck.

posted by machaus to travel & transportation (9 answers total)

Depending on how new the car is (and how flush with cash you may be), you may want to invest $100 or so in a professional detailing.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:31 PM on March 29, 2004

Some pet stores sell a "sponge" made out of rubber that just wipes that stuff right off. Here's an example. (results probably depend on type of hair, but I was pretty impressed with the results)
posted by milovoo at 4:40 PM on March 29, 2004

I second mr_crash_davis. Especially if the car is worth more than $4000. A hundred bucks in a great detailing job can add $300-500 in resale value.
posted by BlueTrain at 4:52 PM on March 29, 2004

what breed?
because it depends -- short hair, longer, really long.

and what about the upholstery? nylon, alcantara, etc, what?
posted by matteo at 4:58 PM on March 29, 2004

Is dog hair like cat hair? I recently learned that a rubber kitchen glove does a really good job of loosening deeply embedded cat fur from upholstery. For the $1 they cost, it's worth a shot, right?
posted by catfood at 7:09 PM on March 29, 2004

Yeah, have the car detailed unless it's a total beater.

Those sponges, I have found, don't work as well on nappy things, like my couch. Grrr.

Perhaps try spraying some static guard on the rugs to help loosen the hair and then go over the carpets with a borrowed shop vac. You can also go over it with the suspiciously named Love Glove, which is about the only thing I've found that even begins to address the cat hair embedded deep in my stupid nappy couch.
posted by jennyb at 6:34 AM on March 30, 2004

Ever heard of the Malamute Husky? Your problems are nothing compared to the nightmare that is my life.
posted by Keyser Soze at 10:03 AM on March 30, 2004

....anyways I go in a circular motion to remove doghairs, and thenh shampoo the carpet.
posted by Keyser Soze at 10:04 AM on March 30, 2004

I own a dog with long hair that flows from her body in the spring. My girlfriend recently found this tool and I have to say it works amazingly well. It's really just a squeegee, but it was a great purchase.

In your future cars, I highly recommend a seat cover for dogs, if you want to preserve any resale value. The hair can be removed, but that "damp dog smell" remains for a long time.
posted by maniactown at 11:23 AM on March 30, 2004