How to wash my clothes to remove cat hair
February 8, 2024 8:12 AM Subscribe
I've recently moved into a house with a different washer and dryer than I've used before, and this set seems less effective at removing the cat hair on my boring, primarily cotton and athletic fabric laundry. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help me actually clean my clothes?
The washer/dryer is a Frigidaire stacked set and it's only a couple years old but it's certainly not a high quality item imo. Right now replacing it is not an option. The washer is a top loader. We've been using Tide or Sam's Club Tide for years and it has been working fine up to this point. We use dryer sheets as well. I generally wash everything in cold on the normal setting.
I wear a lot of black cotton t-shirts and have several cats, and so it's not rare that my clothes will go into the washer with cat hair on them, but I feel like they didn't use to also come out that way. I am open to any suggestions such as buying some different product, different ways of handling the laundry, pulling it out, etc.
The washer/dryer is a Frigidaire stacked set and it's only a couple years old but it's certainly not a high quality item imo. Right now replacing it is not an option. The washer is a top loader. We've been using Tide or Sam's Club Tide for years and it has been working fine up to this point. We use dryer sheets as well. I generally wash everything in cold on the normal setting.
I wear a lot of black cotton t-shirts and have several cats, and so it's not rare that my clothes will go into the washer with cat hair on them, but I feel like they didn't use to also come out that way. I am open to any suggestions such as buying some different product, different ways of handling the laundry, pulling it out, etc.
There's a Bounce dryer sheet option out now specifically for pet hair. It seems to work, even though I tear the enormous sheets into thirds - I get an impressive amount of cat fur in the lint trap.
posted by citygirl at 8:33 AM on February 8, 2024 [5 favorites]
posted by citygirl at 8:33 AM on February 8, 2024 [5 favorites]
A quick once-over with a lint roller before washing should help.
posted by Umami Dearest at 8:36 AM on February 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by Umami Dearest at 8:36 AM on February 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
Ugh, animal hair!
The couch and chair my cats/dog trio uses have old bedsheets on to catch hair, but still, so much hair in the washer!
Before I wash, I roll the hairy sheets, shake them outside (preferably in a 30mph wind), toss in the dryer on air cycle with a dryer sheet to cut static cling, then finally wash and second rinse. I load the washer 1/2 to 2/3 full to get more sloshing and rinse, then dry with a dryer sheet.
That more or less does it.
Make sure you clean out your washer filter frequently if it has one.
For Mr. BlueHorse's fake fleece jackets that he wears all winter in the house, I vacuum instead of air tumble and then only wash with jeans, so the hair doesn't stick to other things.
That mostly less does it.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:00 AM on February 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
The couch and chair my cats/dog trio uses have old bedsheets on to catch hair, but still, so much hair in the washer!
Before I wash, I roll the hairy sheets, shake them outside (preferably in a 30mph wind), toss in the dryer on air cycle with a dryer sheet to cut static cling, then finally wash and second rinse. I load the washer 1/2 to 2/3 full to get more sloshing and rinse, then dry with a dryer sheet.
That more or less does it.
Make sure you clean out your washer filter frequently if it has one.
For Mr. BlueHorse's fake fleece jackets that he wears all winter in the house, I vacuum instead of air tumble and then only wash with jeans, so the hair doesn't stick to other things.
That mostly less does it.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:00 AM on February 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
watching this thread with interest.
The best lint roller is the Muji Cleaning System Carpet Cleaner. It's the best adheasivs+paper i have ever encountered on a lint roller, plus it's jumbo!
posted by wowenthusiast at 9:01 AM on February 8, 2024 [3 favorites]
The best lint roller is the Muji Cleaning System Carpet Cleaner. It's the best adheasivs+paper i have ever encountered on a lint roller, plus it's jumbo!
posted by wowenthusiast at 9:01 AM on February 8, 2024 [3 favorites]
I have a couple of these, they're soft, sticky rubber that get thrown into the dryer with the clothes, which helps knock the hair off the clothes, I have noticed there's a lot more in the lint trap once I started using these.
We also use the pet dryer sheets, but they're not as effective as I'd like. We have a very floofy dog and two cats so we may be straining their ability to work effectively.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:20 PM on February 8, 2024
We also use the pet dryer sheets, but they're not as effective as I'd like. We have a very floofy dog and two cats so we may be straining their ability to work effectively.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:20 PM on February 8, 2024
I confirm that a pre-spin in the dryer gets the job mostly done - like 10 minutes on air-only will work well.
posted by urbanlenny at 9:06 AM on February 9, 2024
posted by urbanlenny at 9:06 AM on February 9, 2024
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posted by noloveforned at 8:24 AM on February 8, 2024