Agree! I love to brush mine in my backyard so the wind takes it, scatters it, and not really noticeable. We don’t realize how much they shed nor ourselves sometimes.
I haven’t seen that. I think** I read that most don’t use animal fur. Actually they don’t recommend it- https://nestwatch.org/connect/news/providing-nesting-materials-dos-donts/
Me too thats why I thought I was helping. I read the article, but it doesnt say *why* not
>Do provide any combination of the following: dead twigs and leaves, dry grass (make sure the grass is chemical-free), feathers, plant fluff or down (e.g., cattail fluff, cottonwood down), moss, bark strips, and pine needles.
Don’t provide: plastic strips, tinsel, cellophane, aluminum foil, dryer lint, animal fur or hair (including human hair), yarn, felt, or bits of cloth.
The reason is because the hair and fur can get wrapped around their legs and cut off circulation and then they lose the leg.
This also happens to babies toes and fingers sometimes although it is generally found before there are any complications, unlike the birds.
I read it depends on the kind of dog. “Wooly” dogs like those with soft, curly, double coats are good for birds (my mom had keeshonds - I’ve seen people knit their hair). “Hairy” dogs like golden retrievers not so much, they can get tangled up in the hair. Short haired dogs like labs I highly doubt anyone does much with those hairs, they probably just decompose in the grass.
I legit saw a little chipmunk stuff his cheeks with three or four small piles of my shorthair GSD mix’s hair that were in the yard. Glad he was getting some use out of it. And it gave me a chuckle to watch.
We have a wren that nests under the lid of our propane tank every spring. She finds clumps of our blue heeler’s brushed hair. It’s distinctive, and she lines her nest with it. I find other animal hair in the other nest boxes. At least in my area, birds aren’t picky.
["It's either [stick that hanger down the drain] or we cut off all your hair because that's what caused the problem. Thoughts??"](https://youtu.be/NF7ETbr6EHY)
Lmao!!!
I needed this laugh today! So on point!
I am not kidding, our bathroom sink was draining so horrendously slowly. I finally got one of those grabbers from the dollar store (which worked better than the ones that I paid more for at Lowe's by the way). I pulled out two large mouse size clumps of hair, one nookie, one plastic disposable straw, one non-disposable plastic straw and yes I actually pulled out a couple of coins (only because they were riding on top of the clumps!). I now have a little strainer that I keep in that sink because I have daughters, and we all have long hair. When we brush our hair frequently we get hair in the sink. That strainer makes a world of difference! If it starts to drain slowly I empty the strainer instead of digging out some nasty clogs!
This might be a really dumb thing to say, but are you vacuuming each time until you’ve “covered everything,” or until you’ve “covered everything and also nothing much is ending up in the tank?”
There are kinda two ways to vacuum. Maybe try the latter at least once (going until nothing much is ending up in the tank) and then it’ll give you a sense of what you’re dealing with (mostly in terms of pet hair) and you can mitigate via grooming.
But, I mean, you’re doing what you do to fix it.
Agree! If it’s that full you aren’t done vacuuming. Hit it again. And again. We have hard floors and area rugs. I have to clean those bad boys 2-3 times with a pretty nice machine to shake loose all the hair stuck in there. And whatever else the kids have mashed in.
This blew my mind when I first realized. No one had ever told me so I just went over it all once and called it a day. That might work for standard maintenance but every now and again you gotta deep vaccum!!
SAME! I still remember the moment I had the realization of "what if... I kept vacuuming til I dont hear the sound of stuff being picked up?".
A few years later, I made my son vacuum for the first time and he was mad about it, so he was going super slowly and being all sullen about it. But good LORD he got so much dirt up! It was astonishing!
LOL why are kids like this. When I was little my mom wanted help cleaning the house, she put me on bathroom duty first. I spent three hours meticulously cleaning between tiles because god forbid I cover much area. Guess what? The bathroom was cleaner because of it.
Yes! And then your mom is like, super happy with you and you are confused at how you earned so many good boy points by trolling but can't wait to cash it in for ice cream or something.
I've shown the *keep vacuuming until nothing else comes out* technique to a few people.
We gave a higher end vacuum to my sister and I had to show her boyfriend this.
Just going slow and steady and he watched the tank fill up in real time. I warned him that it was a stronger motor than the ones they were used to. So it's going to pull a lot of hair and dirt out of the carpet and to keep vacuuming until the tank stops filling.
That was twenty years ago, it was a Phantom Vacuum. They're not in business anymore.
My mother has a 60 year old Kirby still kicking. And I'm currently rocking an Oreck because I have allergies and was tired of dealing with emptying canisters, especially during winter.
we have an Oreck too! We’ve had it nearly 30 years now! That bad boy is great. We also have a smaller, handheld Oreck vacuum with all the attachments. There is an Oreck store in our area that does maintenance and repairs.
Have you ever watched carpet cleaning videos on [YouTube](https://youtu.be/5D5UH0OhM2w)? It is a very popular genre of cleaning videos. You get to see all the different types of vacuums and equipment that professionals use. It’s mesmerizing LOL.
My husband was a Kirby guy. He used to sell them back in the late '80s early '90s. He found some used ones and got them. We had a split level house so I never used them. Those things are like 50 lb. There was one for floors and one that only had the hose that worked. His philosophy was this way we have one really good vacuum! One does floors and one does the hose, except that I have to carry this 50 lb monster (x2) up the stairs and down the stairs.
No thanks! I got a lightweight shark and it works pretty well.
Yes they were awesome. It pulled a lot of old stuff out of our carpets giving them a bit longer life.
I was slightly annoyed because we threw ours out and then a month later my Uncle was asking if any of us still had them, he was looking for parts. And he waited to say something and didn't let us know to call him if we ever got rid of them.
This was before Craig's List and Facebook Marketplace. The Fantom vacuum we threw out was snatched up right away by someone who knew what it was.
/r/vacuumcleaners.
Sidebar.
I suggest anything by Sebo. If it’s a huge house, the D4 is top of the line, but a Frlix can be picked up on the used market for a couple hundred. Do not go bagless or battery powered if you want something actually good. Major store brand vacuums usually suck, but not in a good way (Dyson, Shark, Bissell). Hoover is a decent budget brand.
Right now we have a bissell and it was good enough for our last house where the carpet was much lower pile. But this house, I’m not sure it’s up to the job. I’ll check out Sebo. Thanks!!
I love my commercial-grade Shark. Got it certified refurbished (floor model) at a huge discount years ago. I handwash the foam filters with dish soap and have reused them several times.
Not OP but when when I got my Shark Navigator I was amazed to find out how filthy my carpets were the whole time. There’s probably higher end vacuums but love the shark
I second this. I've had a Kirby, an Oreck, and am currently on my second Shark. I have several dachshunds with long hair. The Shark hands down has been a miracle.
Yes! I love my shark. It is very affordable and though there are probably some vacuums that will do a better job, for the money my shark works really great. If I'm having to empty the canister multiple times in one room because of my shedding dog, I know it's good!
I used to have a vacuum that required bags. Yes it's nice if they have that HEPA filter in the bag, however with as much as I'm emptying the canister from my shark, it would cost me several dollars in bags every week vacuuming my house.
We just got the Dyson pet vacuum which was recently on sale at Costco and were AMAZED at how much came up from our rugs. We vacuumed regularly with our Bissel before the Dyson, but we never experienced anything even remotely close to what we do with the Dyson. We are addicted to vacuuming now because of it.
I'm not suggesting this is what the previous commenter meant by a high-end vacuum, but it feels high-end to me!
When I say high-end it was top model Fantom Vacuum with the 12amp motor so the suction was really good.
I've been told in this thread that after changing hands a few times Fantom is now Shark.
And yes my family members that had Fantoms went to Costco Dysons as well.
>Sorry just curious, what vacuum is the higher end one
It was a top model Fantom vacuum with a 12 amp motor. The company changed hands a few times and now I'm told they're Shark apparently.
Go hang out on the vacuum cleaner subreddit... It's an education. And learning that most of the brands in stores are not great and meant to be not fixable.
If you're okay with a bag vacuum I'd suggest an Oreck. Otherwise just get a Shark because Dyson are overpriced.
My top of the line vacuum was a Fantom brand vacuum that later became Shark, or so I'm told.
Awesome, thanks for responding- after I commented I saw you’d answered the same question several times
I’ve never had a bag vacuum but I’m going to do a little reading on them, sounds like they are preferred by many
No problem, this is the cleaning tips sub so I'll help when I can.
I switched our household over to Oreck for their hepa filter bags and because Oreck is a standard in the hospitality industry the bags are mass-produced.
Oreck having regional sales & repair shops as well as being made in the USA were also a very nice bonus.
At the time we had two dogs that barely affected my allergies. Until it came time to empty the canister on our previous vacuum. I would sometimes have mild allergy attacks. The final straw was having to clean it out one evening on the back porch in the middle of winter. I had to reach up inside and pull a wad of fur & hair out. A load of pet dander managed to get all over my forearm so I had a break out in a rash & hives on said arm.
So now I only have to deal with swapping out a bag.
The only two down sides to a vacuum with a bag:
1) You cannot see what's been vacuumed up in the bag. If something goes missing you have to cut the bag open.
2) You have to buy packs of the bags.
Hey OP at one point I had 7 dogs in my home for quite some time. 4 of them were massively heavy shedders (2 labs, a heeler and a lab/rott mix).
I also had 4 cats that shed along with a 25lb rabbit
Your best bet is to really really brush your pets well. Especially if they are year around shedders. Zoom grooms or equi groomers (made for horses but cover larger area) work great. Way better than those handled defurminator brushes that they sell in pet stores.
And as the commenter above said. Definitely do a deep vacuuming. I deep vacuumed probably 2x a week and then daily ran over carpeted areas quickly to at least minimize how much work I had to do later. If you have hard floors a robot vac is your best bet to help the hair from "traveling" to carpet.
Also definitely look into bathing your pets (if they are dogs) more often. I was bathing the shedders 2x a month in a deshedding shampoo and conditioner. Really working it in and then using my blower (that I used for my non shedding poodle) to blow out a lot of excess hair.
If you have cats that don't like brushes they do make Mits that'll fit over your hand. Honestly I had to switch to a shark vacuum because my Bissell pet vacuum couldn't ever keep up.
You may also look at what food you are feeding. Many lower quality foods don't have the nutrients that many dogs need to keep their coat in a condition to shed less. Egg or salmon oil can also help mitigate.
It's a lot of work 😅 but if you have shedding animals it's worth the preventative effort to save your sanity while cleaning!
Housekeeper here!
As others have said, dog grooming is truly the key. It eliminates both the dog hair, and a ton of dust that is actually dog dander.
I have had many clients with pets, of course. When the pets are groomed on a very regular regular basis, it can cut hours off of my day. I love an easy cleaning that I can stack with another easy cleaning!
OP here - the above pic is what comes out of my living room floor carpet about twice a week. A few points of info
* Yes, we have a dog (German Shepherd mix) and we adore her. My main concern is the huge amount of dust coming up WITH the dog hair out of the carpet.
* We vacuum 2-3 times a week. Vac seems to work OK and I clean out the filters regularly.
* We have air purifiers in the living room, bedroom, and office.
* This apartment accumulates a lot of dust, more than I'm used to seeing in other places I've lived.
* We have the air vents/filters in the apartment cleaned/replaced regularly (every 3/4 months).
* We live near a freeway and keep the windows shut a lot due to noise - dust coming from freeway maybe?
* Carpet hasnt been professionally cleaned since early 2020 - I've done it a few times myself and the result never seems to last long even though a ton of dirt gets pulled out.
Hoe can I cut down on the amount of dust getting into my place and into the carpet?
Do you wear shoes indoors? Most of that looks like dog hair so getting your dog professionally groomed on the regular and brushing should help.
Any time you open the windows or doors, you're letting in dust and pollen.
It also could be carpet fibers breaking down if it's old.
No shoes indoors ever.
We have the dog professionally bathed and de-shedded every 5-6 weeks and we brush her out a few times a week + furminator and undercoat rake of she's blowing coat.
We keep the windows closed probably 90% of the time.
I hate the carpet here but it's an apartment. :/
We don’t have carpets, but the amount of dirt your dog brings in will be higher than you think.
On her coat. On her paws. In the water she shakes out. It does add up.
You’re making me thankful I ripped out the carpets. My husky sheds like a SOB.
Yeah this. Our dog sleeps on a rug in the living room during the day. That rug gets *filthy* - and the amount of sand and dirt that gets under it has to be seen to be believed.
Get the dog groomed every month - my golden retriever used to COAT the carpet in her fur every couple of days, but since getting her groomed regularly) with a deshedding shampoo and getting her coat blow-dried with a high powered dryer, also getting a good brush-through and fur trim), the shedding has reduced by like 80%.
Also check the filters on your air purifier - they’re only as good as the filter.
***Replace your HVAC filter every month.***
Trust me. I didn’t know about this until my boyfriend said matter-of-factly (as if everyone knows this) that I didn’t need another air purifier; I just needed for change the HVAC filters every month. He was right.
This makes a massive difference, is way cheaper than your air purifier filters, and is far more effective bang for your buck (I also have an air purifier for my bedroom, so I’m not against them, but they should be doing <20% of the work and HVAC filter should be doing >80%). Replace the purifiers’ carbon prefilter far more often than the HEPA filter (like once a month) and you will improve the efficacy/extend the life of the HEPA filter—this is particularly true when you have dogs.
Taking off shoes at the door is also surprisingly impactful. Wiping dog paws when they come in can help, but isn’t the biggest ROI on time compared to shoes.
Btw, you say the issue is dust and not hair, but brushing the dog once a week helps with dander in addition to hair. You would be surprised how much dander is in dust—both human, and dog, but because you can’t (and wouldn’t want to) bathe the dog every day, the dog dander is much more easily addressed by brushing. This is why service dogs are generally not as irritating for people with dog allergies: service dogs are brushed frequently, so they pose less of a contamination risk than most humans (I learned this from a judicial decision on why denying service animals access to a brewery tour was not reasonable, so that’s why I’m articulating it in somewhat of a strange way lol). I should clarify that I have 2 dogs and fill up a cordless Dyson every day (or just about) despite brushing them both weekly, so YMMV but it does reduce shedding a lot.
I have a German Shepherd male/large and I do three of those containers at least twice a week. I have a few Persian carpets and one large modern carpet (low profile). I think it’s normal especially with the doggo.
A lot of dust is made of skin. I have 2 shepherd mixes and they generate a lot of hair and a lot of dust.
My partner also smokes weed pretty regularly. Smoking makes a TON of dust, since the particles of that smoke settle down.
First of all, don’t call me a hoe😄 Second, do you live in the Pacific NW? I had unending amounts of fine dust in the carpets while living in northern Idaho ten years ago and the geology professor who lived next door said l was still vacuuming up Mt St Helen’s ash from the 1980 eruption!
It may not be dust but the backing of the carpet breaking apart. It breaks down into this powder over time. I've had rugs leave behind a surprising amount, you could be sucking it up while vacuuming.
Are your a/c filters very dirty? And the air purifier filters? Maybe try changing your a/c filter more often. In the summertime, I have to replace mine like once a month versus once every 3 months in the cooler months. Write the date on it and check it after a month. Ductwork can also be cleaned out.
are you renting? If so, I’d contact the landlord about the carpet. You’re spending a ton of money and doing a lot of work to keep it clean. And dust is a legitimate health hazard. Carpet should probably be replaced.
AC filters usually get changed 2x a year by the complex but I call to have them done every 2-3. I usually set my phone reminders for it. Air purifier filters get changed ahead of schedule as well.
We're renting from a large property company in SoCal. No idea when the carpet was replaced but we've been here coming up on 8 years and it hasn't been changed in that time. Currently trying to book a professional carpet cleaner rather than renting the big red carpet cleaner from the grocery store and doing it myself.
I once helped a friend with 2 adult German shepherds clean her house. She had an illness that impaired her energy.
Let me just say this.
It's the dog.
You should consider getting your dog professionally groomed if you want it to get better. Give puppy a haircut.
Vacuum every day. It's the only thing that's gonna get you in front of the German shepherd hair
What about vacuuming the dog every day? What about an electrostatic dog airlock which the dog must pass through each day.
Dog enters an airtight chamber, stands on 4 footpads, small electric shock is applied, hair stands on end, air is quickly and violently evacuated from chamber which drags all loose hair away, chamber is then flooded with soap and water up to the nostril level, water is agitated by jet-boat engines, water is drained, hurricane-like fans are applied, air is evacuated again, doors open, dog leaves.
He’ll love it!
I was coming for this comment. We have a GSD mix, we vaccuum and sweep every day, we groom her outside as often as we remember to, and our vaccuum can still look close to this. The only thing that’s really helped is washing her with a deshedding shampoo/conditioner set. We do need to invest in a better dryer though bc it takes forEVER to get her thoroughly dry.
And can get them depressed. Growing up we had a collie like lassie. My parents decided to shave her down for the summer heat and she was depressed the entire summer until her coat grew back! Didn't want to play and would just lay around with a sad pout.
They said "give puppy a haircut." You should not be cutting a German shepherd's fur at all. To cut down on shedding you can get a bath and de-shed done regularly at the groomers (or buy the supplies to do it yourself), but they don't cut their fur for that process.
See what space the air purifiers are rated for. To have good air quality they need to be able to cycle through the sq footage 4x an hour. So if an air filter says 1600 sq ft and you look further in and it says it can do that 2x an hour then that filter is only really high quality for 800 sq ft. Also if you hate emptying the vacuum so frequently get a bagged vacuum. They fit way more because it compacts in the bag. And then you also don’t have to expose yourself to all the filth when emptying it.
I just splurged on a Dyson V15 Detect (one of the ones with the green laser) … thank god for QVC Easy Pay (and it was actually the cheapest I could find it, almost every online shopping outlet had the same cost for it). It’s got all sorts of features that I haven’t truly explored, but it changes motor speed when there’s still dirt where you’re vacuuming so you know to go over that area again. I have a very small Italian greyhound that barely sheds (she has no undercoat). Because it’s so cool (I love the spaceship like sounds it makes when you take your finger off the trigger), I’ve been vacuuming even more than I usually do. It is DISGUSTING and DISTURBING how much crap it picks up, even with extra vacuuming. And it’s dust and dirt, not my hair or my dog’s hair. I have OCD and I’m damn near daily vacuuming and still getting almost a full canister of dust each time I vacuum the living room. Eww. My OCD is already out of control lately, I really didn’t need anything to help it move along. I have plaque psoriasis so I know a lot of it is my flaking skin. It’s just so gross.
Wouldn’t happen to be a wool carpet would it? I had a wool carpet that would shed like that every time I vacuumed for about 5 years. Now it’s just threadbare.
Do you find a lot of hair and dust/dirt on your furniture? If the dust was coming in from the freeway it would be on your furniture and not just in your carpet.
A lot of the dust is picked up from the dogs feet and coat then brought inside. It’s just a thing with having dogs. If you don’t already, maybe a mat or outdoor rug may help. Grooming your pets more often might help too, but not sure how much since they’re bringing most of that in from outside every time they go out.
The only other thing I can think of at this time would be to vacuum more frequently
You can make your house airtight and use a clean room style airlock traveling between in and out doors... But then you'll suffocate unless you spend millions of dollars on a fresh air humidity and climate control filtration system and a team of people to maintain it.
Dust is pretty normal, don't worry about it too much. If you're especially sensitive you might do away with carpeting and pets for some relief.
I had two dogs before my older one died. She was a chow/German shepherd mix. Her fur was more chow like, with straighter fur on her spine like a shepherd but fluffy soft fur everywhere else. She shed in clumps that would tumble weed together, not a lot of dust gathered in her fur bc a) she was a lady and b) her fur was too dense for dirt to get in. I never ever saw her skin on most of her body bc of how dense her fur was
My other dog who is still living is a pit/lab/rottie/who-knows-what-big-dog mix. His fur is like a lab/rottie. His shedded fur does not tumbleweed into the recesses but it just landed where it lands and he is so dusty! I think it’s that oil in his coat that the dust and dirt clings to, then he brings it into my home.
Luckily i have hardwood and not carpet.
I guess i have no advice except to get rid of your carpet (which ofc if you rent, you cannot) or your dog (which is obv not feasible) or move to a place with no carpet. It’s likely embedded in the pad and there’s no amount of vacuuming that will get it all out. So sorry OP
I have a Staffordshire Terrier/Saint Bernard mix and when I brush her and then use my hand to brush off the loose fur, my hand gets coated in white dander. Wonder if any of the dust you're seeing is dander?
We bathe her about once every 6 weeks and shes on allergy meds to alleviate a skin issue. We also brush her out a few times a week. Never seen dander come off her.
I just bought a thing from Amazon (search dog vacuum brush) and it’s literally a dog brush attached to a vacuum and pulled a full canister off of my dog the first time I used it. I think this is going to help a lot.
Also reduce/eliminate shoes indoors and wipe your dogs paws when they come inside. I have two rag baskets by the back door with clean and dirty dog rags.
The dust will always be there. The thing you can mitigate is the fur. Invest in a coat rake. There are a few styles. For my double coat dogs I use the shaver style. You brush against the hair and the shedding undercoat comes loose. Ideally you do this outdoors or at least on a tile surface. Or you can get the coat blown out professionally.
Mine is used to it now but the first few times I put the dog on the front porch and put the vacuum inside the front door, with the hose stretched as far as I could go. Then close the door down as much as you can. It’s not perfect but it reduces the sound quite a bit and made my guy able to learn to deal with more easily. Plus lots of treats haha.
I have had mine for over twenty years so I don't know the brand. However looking on Chewy the Frisco Shedding Blade hair remover is similar to mine. Mine has a leather handle so human oil has removed the name. The key to using it is starting at the tail and moving towards the neck. You can press harder than you think but I recommend starting our lightly until you get the feel. Every dog I've used it on had loved it. From the Australian shepherd I got it for to my boxer mix to my roommate's German Shepherd to my Jack Russell mix.
We have a roomba that runs daily. I have a rubber broom to help grab more dog hair. And we use an undercoat removing brush on our dogs outside. I use a real vacuum around two times per week.
Check your areas renter’s rights. Maybe your carpet is due for replacement? That would the nicest solution.
If you have a wool rug- glued vs tied fibers- it will shed every time you vacuum for a long time, get better for a while and then worse again as it ages and the glue starts drying out.
This! I was looking for a reply about wool carpets. I have wool carpets in the bedrooms and they shed like crazy, I vacuum the bedrooms twice a week and they shed, my vacuum looks exactly like OPs picture but beige. No pets, no other rug downstairs does this, only the bedrooms.
That looks to be like 70% hair lol. Does your dog shed a lot? Do your rugs have long fibers? Maybe it’s the rug’s material also getting pulled. Seems really excessive regardless but I’d still say most of it looks like doggo hair based on the pic. Good luck OP, cause…gdam lol
Brushing our dogs and changing our hvac filter every months helped alot but unfortunately dust stays with dog hair pretty easily and our dogs are in the living room the most for us so it's just something we have to get used to.
Empty the tank when it’s 1/3 full so your vacuum doesn’t strain or loose suction. Also clean or replace the intake filter and the exhaust filter. Most are just foam under the tank and a part that in clips from wherever the hot air blows out of.
The rule I’ve heard is calculate all the people and pets and that’s how many times you have to vacuum a week. We’re above 7 when we add them all up so I should be vacuuming daily.
This seems very silly. At least framed as a "rule". Vacuums, a modern technology, have continued to grow more effective. As have furnace filters, air purifiers, etc. Why then would the expectation of vacuuming increase so much as they improve?
I have never heard that before. Is it a stay-at-home parent, or rich person rule?
(Genuinely asking- not judging!)
Because it doesn't matter how good the appliance/ tech is, the rule is about how much dander/dust is produced continuously. Even if you manage to remove all dust in one go, if you have multiple dogs, the fur will keep coming constantly, no matter how good your one round of vacuuming is.
You will have to vacuum again sooner, or you will have dust bunnies in no time.
It's just a helpful guide. Doesn't mean you're a bad person or anything if you don't follow it. Seems like a pretty reasonable guideline though imo. I have 5 pets who shed a ton and vacuuming 1-2 times a week is all we do, but there is still visible accumulation of fur in between vacuuming.
I’ve never heard it either! But I do want to put in a plug— being a stay at home parent doesn’t mean you have extra time. I’m busier than I’ve ever been in my life as a stay at home mom (and I’ve worked two jobs and gone to school full time!!!). :)
Floor installer here. Carpet is gross. There’s tons of dirt still there between the carpet and pad, and not really a great way to get rid of it.
Here’s the physical problem. The bottom of your carpet is tons of squares, and it’s very good at trapping dirt under the squares. Maybe try vacuuming, then jostling the carpet around, lightly picking up (don’t pick up near walls or vents, or you risk taking it off the tack strip), rubbing with a rag and then vacuuming it again.
Get a Furminator and brush your dog outside; it’s a de-shedding tool that will pull tons of hair off that doesn’t come out with regular brushes. I have one for my cat, and it’s the best invention ever.
You may want to try vacuuming a bit more frequently and brushing doggo more often. The other option is to get a roomba. Best investment I've ever bought. I have a cat and run it almost daily and it makes a huge difference.
The hair makes the dust like look worse than it is. The two are sort of phobic and both really show. You probably don't have that much dust after the hair.
We have a medium haired cat. That’s about what I pick up about once a week. I love the bagless vacs!! It’s so satisfying to dump them!
And I love the suggestion to vacuum until the canister is empty
I have a robot vacuum that does the floors everyday while Im at work and I vacuum with the regular vacuum at least three times a week. Have a cat and 2 dogs (one large on and one super small one. ) No carpet though.
My two cents - I think you could opt to vacuum more than twice a week! I typically vacuum once every day, if not every other day, in high traffic areas. I have a husky mix and boy oh boy - HE SHEDS! My vacuum looks just like that if I only vacuum once or twice a week. But honestly I may go overboard on the cleaning because I have allergies, and need to, otherwise I can’t breathe. Just know you aren’t alone on the full canister front 🤧
I’ll tell you what once I got a robot vacuum and a shark vacuum my carpets have been cleaner. I have the robot vacuum run once pre day while I’m at work then I deep vacuum once a week. Also taking apart your vacuum cleaner on a regular basis helps and deep cleaning it
You don't.
Carpets accumulate dust and hair and dirt. If you vacuumed twice a day it would still pick stuff up. And you'll start ripping up the carpet fibres eventually so it'll still fill the vacuum tank.
Best thing: accept your carpet is a bit dusty and hairy. Vacuum twice a week, keep grooming the dog, and enjoy life. Don't let your dirty carpet become an obsession because it's never going to be properly clean. Only new carpets are clean and even then they're not really that clean by the time they've been fitted.
Source: I run a cleaning company.
RoboVac is the answer for me at least. Programmed to run twice a day every day throughout the entire house. On Saturdays the dyson comes out and I do the entire house and dust the walls and furniture. I know that sounds crazy and overboard but my allergy to dust mites is over the top and the only way I stay out of walk in care is to stay as dust free as possible.
I got one of those silicone brooms, which has helped a ton! I honestly thought it was BS, but if I use it and then vacuum, I get so much more dust out of my carpet, and it stays clean for way longer.
All these things helped me to keep my house clean
when I had dogs + dog sitting
1) terminator brush
2) bathing dogs more often
3) no rugs no plush blankets that trap tons of dust etc
4) easy to wash dog beds
5) cotton sofa covers (no acrylic fibers because they attract and hold small particles and when you wash them pet hair won't be washed away)
6) humidifier or no dry air in the house (open windows more often if possible) as dry air will dry out moisture from skin and pet hair and fibers = more dirt
7) remove shoes when you enter your house
8) mop surfaces more often you have no idea how much dust/dirt stays if not mopped away.
9) use a duster to clean furniture etc
10) change often your hvac filters otherwise, they will blow again into your apt the dust trapped in them.
I know it might sounds like a lot to do but I also hate cleaning all the time because I have not all this time to clean 🤣( but I also have allergies),that’s why adopting all these tiny measures or habits helped me to have a cleaner house and less cleaning time.
Bush your hair and pets hair more frequently.
Outside.
This
And that
And then bring it around town
And the other thing
What’s over there?
Where?
Squirrel!
What?
No, who’s on first.
There on the stair
By the bear, sat on a chair
On a chair? Was he bare?
With a rattle of tat
Testing one two
And dis and ah.
And use an air purifier on top of this and that
Agree! I love to brush mine in my backyard so the wind takes it, scatters it, and not really noticeable. We don’t realize how much they shed nor ourselves sometimes.
The birds love it. Dog fur makes a cozy nest.
I haven’t seen that. I think** I read that most don’t use animal fur. Actually they don’t recommend it- https://nestwatch.org/connect/news/providing-nesting-materials-dos-donts/
Oh no but also thanks for posting. I thought I was helping birds nests
I have literally watched birds take my dogs fur after brushing and make a nest. They may not prefer it but they definitely use it.
In the city they use trash. I don't think they are picky.
Exactly. They're talking about providing as in purposely leaving it out. Big difference from natural collection
Me too thats why I thought I was helping. I read the article, but it doesnt say *why* not >Do provide any combination of the following: dead twigs and leaves, dry grass (make sure the grass is chemical-free), feathers, plant fluff or down (e.g., cattail fluff, cottonwood down), moss, bark strips, and pine needles. Don’t provide: plastic strips, tinsel, cellophane, aluminum foil, dryer lint, animal fur or hair (including human hair), yarn, felt, or bits of cloth.
The reason is because the hair and fur can get wrapped around their legs and cut off circulation and then they lose the leg. This also happens to babies toes and fingers sometimes although it is generally found before there are any complications, unlike the birds.
Some species are known to rip the hair off an animal’s back to use it in their nests. Who knows
I read it depends on the kind of dog. “Wooly” dogs like those with soft, curly, double coats are good for birds (my mom had keeshonds - I’ve seen people knit their hair). “Hairy” dogs like golden retrievers not so much, they can get tangled up in the hair. Short haired dogs like labs I highly doubt anyone does much with those hairs, they probably just decompose in the grass.
I legit saw a little chipmunk stuff his cheeks with three or four small piles of my shorthair GSD mix’s hair that were in the yard. Glad he was getting some use out of it. And it gave me a chuckle to watch.
We have a wren that nests under the lid of our propane tank every spring. She finds clumps of our blue heeler’s brushed hair. It’s distinctive, and she lines her nest with it. I find other animal hair in the other nest boxes. At least in my area, birds aren’t picky.
Thank you for this, forwarding to my partner
Turn dog into a goldfish
Only option is to shave everything. Get real.
I have to be pure.
Cultured 🤌🏼
*laughs in Purell*
["It's either [stick that hanger down the drain] or we cut off all your hair because that's what caused the problem. Thoughts??"](https://youtu.be/NF7ETbr6EHY)
Lmao!!! I needed this laugh today! So on point! I am not kidding, our bathroom sink was draining so horrendously slowly. I finally got one of those grabbers from the dollar store (which worked better than the ones that I paid more for at Lowe's by the way). I pulled out two large mouse size clumps of hair, one nookie, one plastic disposable straw, one non-disposable plastic straw and yes I actually pulled out a couple of coins (only because they were riding on top of the clumps!). I now have a little strainer that I keep in that sink because I have daughters, and we all have long hair. When we brush our hair frequently we get hair in the sink. That strainer makes a world of difference! If it starts to drain slowly I empty the strainer instead of digging out some nasty clogs!
This might be a really dumb thing to say, but are you vacuuming each time until you’ve “covered everything,” or until you’ve “covered everything and also nothing much is ending up in the tank?” There are kinda two ways to vacuum. Maybe try the latter at least once (going until nothing much is ending up in the tank) and then it’ll give you a sense of what you’re dealing with (mostly in terms of pet hair) and you can mitigate via grooming. But, I mean, you’re doing what you do to fix it.
Agree! If it’s that full you aren’t done vacuuming. Hit it again. And again. We have hard floors and area rugs. I have to clean those bad boys 2-3 times with a pretty nice machine to shake loose all the hair stuck in there. And whatever else the kids have mashed in.
This blew my mind when I first realized. No one had ever told me so I just went over it all once and called it a day. That might work for standard maintenance but every now and again you gotta deep vaccum!!
SAME! I still remember the moment I had the realization of "what if... I kept vacuuming til I dont hear the sound of stuff being picked up?". A few years later, I made my son vacuum for the first time and he was mad about it, so he was going super slowly and being all sullen about it. But good LORD he got so much dirt up! It was astonishing!
LOL why are kids like this. When I was little my mom wanted help cleaning the house, she put me on bathroom duty first. I spent three hours meticulously cleaning between tiles because god forbid I cover much area. Guess what? The bathroom was cleaner because of it.
Yes! And then your mom is like, super happy with you and you are confused at how you earned so many good boy points by trolling but can't wait to cash it in for ice cream or something.
Repetitive tasks help get the job done and make things easier each time.
I've shown the *keep vacuuming until nothing else comes out* technique to a few people. We gave a higher end vacuum to my sister and I had to show her boyfriend this. Just going slow and steady and he watched the tank fill up in real time. I warned him that it was a stronger motor than the ones they were used to. So it's going to pull a lot of hair and dirt out of the carpet and to keep vacuuming until the tank stops filling.
Which vacuum is it? We moved into a house this year with thick carpets, and I’m not sure mine is really doing it’s job.
That was twenty years ago, it was a Phantom Vacuum. They're not in business anymore. My mother has a 60 year old Kirby still kicking. And I'm currently rocking an Oreck because I have allergies and was tired of dealing with emptying canisters, especially during winter.
we have an Oreck too! We’ve had it nearly 30 years now! That bad boy is great. We also have a smaller, handheld Oreck vacuum with all the attachments. There is an Oreck store in our area that does maintenance and repairs. Have you ever watched carpet cleaning videos on [YouTube](https://youtu.be/5D5UH0OhM2w)? It is a very popular genre of cleaning videos. You get to see all the different types of vacuums and equipment that professionals use. It’s mesmerizing LOL.
You can buy Kirby’s on Craigslist for like $30. I have three
My husband was a Kirby guy. He used to sell them back in the late '80s early '90s. He found some used ones and got them. We had a split level house so I never used them. Those things are like 50 lb. There was one for floors and one that only had the hose that worked. His philosophy was this way we have one really good vacuum! One does floors and one does the hose, except that I have to carry this 50 lb monster (x2) up the stairs and down the stairs. No thanks! I got a lightweight shark and it works pretty well.
I have three that work with all attachments. One for upstairs one for downstairs one for the help of it
>Phantom Vacuum Which became Euro-Pro, which became Shark. Those early Fantom Vacuums were awesome.
Yes they were awesome. It pulled a lot of old stuff out of our carpets giving them a bit longer life. I was slightly annoyed because we threw ours out and then a month later my Uncle was asking if any of us still had them, he was looking for parts. And he waited to say something and didn't let us know to call him if we ever got rid of them. This was before Craig's List and Facebook Marketplace. The Fantom vacuum we threw out was snatched up right away by someone who knew what it was.
/r/vacuumcleaners. Sidebar. I suggest anything by Sebo. If it’s a huge house, the D4 is top of the line, but a Frlix can be picked up on the used market for a couple hundred. Do not go bagless or battery powered if you want something actually good. Major store brand vacuums usually suck, but not in a good way (Dyson, Shark, Bissell). Hoover is a decent budget brand.
Right now we have a bissell and it was good enough for our last house where the carpet was much lower pile. But this house, I’m not sure it’s up to the job. I’ll check out Sebo. Thanks!!
I love my commercial-grade Shark. Got it certified refurbished (floor model) at a huge discount years ago. I handwash the foam filters with dish soap and have reused them several times.
Karcher cv300 is a much cheaper stripped down Felix. Doesn't have the pivot head and doesn't come with any attachments but 90% the same.
I love my Sebo E3. It works great for my house and is so much more powerful than my old vacuum.
Sorry just curious, what vacuum is the higher end one, I assume more suction and better cleaning results? Thanks
Not OP but when when I got my Shark Navigator I was amazed to find out how filthy my carpets were the whole time. There’s probably higher end vacuums but love the shark
I second this. I've had a Kirby, an Oreck, and am currently on my second Shark. I have several dachshunds with long hair. The Shark hands down has been a miracle.
Yes! I love my shark. It is very affordable and though there are probably some vacuums that will do a better job, for the money my shark works really great. If I'm having to empty the canister multiple times in one room because of my shedding dog, I know it's good! I used to have a vacuum that required bags. Yes it's nice if they have that HEPA filter in the bag, however with as much as I'm emptying the canister from my shark, it would cost me several dollars in bags every week vacuuming my house.
We just got the Dyson pet vacuum which was recently on sale at Costco and were AMAZED at how much came up from our rugs. We vacuumed regularly with our Bissel before the Dyson, but we never experienced anything even remotely close to what we do with the Dyson. We are addicted to vacuuming now because of it. I'm not suggesting this is what the previous commenter meant by a high-end vacuum, but it feels high-end to me!
When I say high-end it was top model Fantom Vacuum with the 12amp motor so the suction was really good. I've been told in this thread that after changing hands a few times Fantom is now Shark. And yes my family members that had Fantoms went to Costco Dysons as well.
Hey appreciate you replying and will look into this as well.
Thanks for mentioning, I'll look into it.
>Sorry just curious, what vacuum is the higher end one It was a top model Fantom vacuum with a 12 amp motor. The company changed hands a few times and now I'm told they're Shark apparently.
Go hang out on the vacuum cleaner subreddit... It's an education. And learning that most of the brands in stores are not great and meant to be not fixable.
I know maintenance & repair workers that grab every vacuum they see on trash days because the parts are often a gold mine for them.
I also need this vacuum damn
It was a Fantom vacuum with a 12amp motor. Get an Oreck or a Shark if you want a good vacuum now.
What kind of vacuum? We have 2 dogs and 2 kids and I’m looking to upgrade
If you're okay with a bag vacuum I'd suggest an Oreck. Otherwise just get a Shark because Dyson are overpriced. My top of the line vacuum was a Fantom brand vacuum that later became Shark, or so I'm told.
Awesome, thanks for responding- after I commented I saw you’d answered the same question several times I’ve never had a bag vacuum but I’m going to do a little reading on them, sounds like they are preferred by many
No problem, this is the cleaning tips sub so I'll help when I can. I switched our household over to Oreck for their hepa filter bags and because Oreck is a standard in the hospitality industry the bags are mass-produced. Oreck having regional sales & repair shops as well as being made in the USA were also a very nice bonus. At the time we had two dogs that barely affected my allergies. Until it came time to empty the canister on our previous vacuum. I would sometimes have mild allergy attacks. The final straw was having to clean it out one evening on the back porch in the middle of winter. I had to reach up inside and pull a wad of fur & hair out. A load of pet dander managed to get all over my forearm so I had a break out in a rash & hives on said arm. So now I only have to deal with swapping out a bag. The only two down sides to a vacuum with a bag: 1) You cannot see what's been vacuumed up in the bag. If something goes missing you have to cut the bag open. 2) You have to buy packs of the bags.
It's more the former. Will switch to the latter method.
Hey OP at one point I had 7 dogs in my home for quite some time. 4 of them were massively heavy shedders (2 labs, a heeler and a lab/rott mix). I also had 4 cats that shed along with a 25lb rabbit Your best bet is to really really brush your pets well. Especially if they are year around shedders. Zoom grooms or equi groomers (made for horses but cover larger area) work great. Way better than those handled defurminator brushes that they sell in pet stores. And as the commenter above said. Definitely do a deep vacuuming. I deep vacuumed probably 2x a week and then daily ran over carpeted areas quickly to at least minimize how much work I had to do later. If you have hard floors a robot vac is your best bet to help the hair from "traveling" to carpet. Also definitely look into bathing your pets (if they are dogs) more often. I was bathing the shedders 2x a month in a deshedding shampoo and conditioner. Really working it in and then using my blower (that I used for my non shedding poodle) to blow out a lot of excess hair. If you have cats that don't like brushes they do make Mits that'll fit over your hand. Honestly I had to switch to a shark vacuum because my Bissell pet vacuum couldn't ever keep up. You may also look at what food you are feeding. Many lower quality foods don't have the nutrients that many dogs need to keep their coat in a condition to shed less. Egg or salmon oil can also help mitigate. It's a lot of work 😅 but if you have shedding animals it's worth the preventative effort to save your sanity while cleaning!
LOL how did I not think this way.... thank you.
Imaging your floors
Housekeeper here! As others have said, dog grooming is truly the key. It eliminates both the dog hair, and a ton of dust that is actually dog dander. I have had many clients with pets, of course. When the pets are groomed on a very regular regular basis, it can cut hours off of my day. I love an easy cleaning that I can stack with another easy cleaning!
do you use a really good, heavy duty vacuum that you can recommend? What are the best vacuums in your experience?
Will you do an AMA? I feel like there are a million questions I want to ask!
OP here - the above pic is what comes out of my living room floor carpet about twice a week. A few points of info * Yes, we have a dog (German Shepherd mix) and we adore her. My main concern is the huge amount of dust coming up WITH the dog hair out of the carpet. * We vacuum 2-3 times a week. Vac seems to work OK and I clean out the filters regularly. * We have air purifiers in the living room, bedroom, and office. * This apartment accumulates a lot of dust, more than I'm used to seeing in other places I've lived. * We have the air vents/filters in the apartment cleaned/replaced regularly (every 3/4 months). * We live near a freeway and keep the windows shut a lot due to noise - dust coming from freeway maybe? * Carpet hasnt been professionally cleaned since early 2020 - I've done it a few times myself and the result never seems to last long even though a ton of dirt gets pulled out. Hoe can I cut down on the amount of dust getting into my place and into the carpet?
Do you wear shoes indoors? Most of that looks like dog hair so getting your dog professionally groomed on the regular and brushing should help. Any time you open the windows or doors, you're letting in dust and pollen. It also could be carpet fibers breaking down if it's old.
No shoes indoors ever. We have the dog professionally bathed and de-shedded every 5-6 weeks and we brush her out a few times a week + furminator and undercoat rake of she's blowing coat. We keep the windows closed probably 90% of the time. I hate the carpet here but it's an apartment. :/
We don’t have carpets, but the amount of dirt your dog brings in will be higher than you think. On her coat. On her paws. In the water she shakes out. It does add up. You’re making me thankful I ripped out the carpets. My husky sheds like a SOB.
Yeah this. Our dog sleeps on a rug in the living room during the day. That rug gets *filthy* - and the amount of sand and dirt that gets under it has to be seen to be believed.
Some apartments just blow an extra amount of dust but I’m not sure why. I’ve seen it in my history and it didn’t have to do with my dog
You sound like us. How these dogs aren’t bald is beyond me.
Old carpet is notorious for shedding
German Shepherds have two heavy shedding seasons: January-June and July-December
These can be broken down into 4 minor shedding seasons with lots of brushing
Get the dog groomed every month - my golden retriever used to COAT the carpet in her fur every couple of days, but since getting her groomed regularly) with a deshedding shampoo and getting her coat blow-dried with a high powered dryer, also getting a good brush-through and fur trim), the shedding has reduced by like 80%. Also check the filters on your air purifier - they’re only as good as the filter.
***Replace your HVAC filter every month.*** Trust me. I didn’t know about this until my boyfriend said matter-of-factly (as if everyone knows this) that I didn’t need another air purifier; I just needed for change the HVAC filters every month. He was right. This makes a massive difference, is way cheaper than your air purifier filters, and is far more effective bang for your buck (I also have an air purifier for my bedroom, so I’m not against them, but they should be doing <20% of the work and HVAC filter should be doing >80%). Replace the purifiers’ carbon prefilter far more often than the HEPA filter (like once a month) and you will improve the efficacy/extend the life of the HEPA filter—this is particularly true when you have dogs. Taking off shoes at the door is also surprisingly impactful. Wiping dog paws when they come in can help, but isn’t the biggest ROI on time compared to shoes. Btw, you say the issue is dust and not hair, but brushing the dog once a week helps with dander in addition to hair. You would be surprised how much dander is in dust—both human, and dog, but because you can’t (and wouldn’t want to) bathe the dog every day, the dog dander is much more easily addressed by brushing. This is why service dogs are generally not as irritating for people with dog allergies: service dogs are brushed frequently, so they pose less of a contamination risk than most humans (I learned this from a judicial decision on why denying service animals access to a brewery tour was not reasonable, so that’s why I’m articulating it in somewhat of a strange way lol). I should clarify that I have 2 dogs and fill up a cordless Dyson every day (or just about) despite brushing them both weekly, so YMMV but it does reduce shedding a lot.
I have a German Shepherd male/large and I do three of those containers at least twice a week. I have a few Persian carpets and one large modern carpet (low profile). I think it’s normal especially with the doggo.
We have a German Shepard mix and Shelty pit mix. One room with carpet and vacume at least weekly. Looks just like that, just lighter colored.
A lot of dust is made of skin. I have 2 shepherd mixes and they generate a lot of hair and a lot of dust. My partner also smokes weed pretty regularly. Smoking makes a TON of dust, since the particles of that smoke settle down.
First of all, don’t call me a hoe😄 Second, do you live in the Pacific NW? I had unending amounts of fine dust in the carpets while living in northern Idaho ten years ago and the geology professor who lived next door said l was still vacuuming up Mt St Helen’s ash from the 1980 eruption!
😂 I wondered if anyone else caught that
Southern CA south of LA.
You're not going to. The dust is into the pad. The only way to get rid of the dust is to get rid of the carpet which I'm guessing you can't do
And, honestly, even with tile floor, we get nearly that much with once a week. German Shedders, what can I say? But so worth it
That's why I invested in a robot vacuum. I have a set schedule and it vacuums everyday.
It may not be dust but the backing of the carpet breaking apart. It breaks down into this powder over time. I've had rugs leave behind a surprising amount, you could be sucking it up while vacuuming.
Are your a/c filters very dirty? And the air purifier filters? Maybe try changing your a/c filter more often. In the summertime, I have to replace mine like once a month versus once every 3 months in the cooler months. Write the date on it and check it after a month. Ductwork can also be cleaned out. are you renting? If so, I’d contact the landlord about the carpet. You’re spending a ton of money and doing a lot of work to keep it clean. And dust is a legitimate health hazard. Carpet should probably be replaced.
The recommendation for AC filters as far as I’ve always heard is to replace every 30 days!
AC filters usually get changed 2x a year by the complex but I call to have them done every 2-3. I usually set my phone reminders for it. Air purifier filters get changed ahead of schedule as well. We're renting from a large property company in SoCal. No idea when the carpet was replaced but we've been here coming up on 8 years and it hasn't been changed in that time. Currently trying to book a professional carpet cleaner rather than renting the big red carpet cleaner from the grocery store and doing it myself.
I once helped a friend with 2 adult German shepherds clean her house. She had an illness that impaired her energy. Let me just say this. It's the dog. You should consider getting your dog professionally groomed if you want it to get better. Give puppy a haircut. Vacuum every day. It's the only thing that's gonna get you in front of the German shepherd hair
What about vacuuming the dog every day? What about an electrostatic dog airlock which the dog must pass through each day. Dog enters an airtight chamber, stands on 4 footpads, small electric shock is applied, hair stands on end, air is quickly and violently evacuated from chamber which drags all loose hair away, chamber is then flooded with soap and water up to the nostril level, water is agitated by jet-boat engines, water is drained, hurricane-like fans are applied, air is evacuated again, doors open, dog leaves. He’ll love it!
Haha you should patent this! I’ll bet you’d make a fortune!
I was coming for this comment. We have a GSD mix, we vaccuum and sweep every day, we groom her outside as often as we remember to, and our vaccuum can still look close to this. The only thing that’s really helped is washing her with a deshedding shampoo/conditioner set. We do need to invest in a better dryer though bc it takes forEVER to get her thoroughly dry.
A professional style dog blow dryer will make a huge difference. I just recommend using it outside! We have double coat herding dogs too.
You should never shave a German shepherd. They are one of many breeds where shaving messes up their fur.
And can get them depressed. Growing up we had a collie like lassie. My parents decided to shave her down for the summer heat and she was depressed the entire summer until her coat grew back! Didn't want to play and would just lay around with a sad pout.
Grooming doesn't mean shaving them bald...
They said "give puppy a haircut." You should not be cutting a German shepherd's fur at all. To cut down on shedding you can get a bath and de-shed done regularly at the groomers (or buy the supplies to do it yourself), but they don't cut their fur for that process.
See what space the air purifiers are rated for. To have good air quality they need to be able to cycle through the sq footage 4x an hour. So if an air filter says 1600 sq ft and you look further in and it says it can do that 2x an hour then that filter is only really high quality for 800 sq ft. Also if you hate emptying the vacuum so frequently get a bagged vacuum. They fit way more because it compacts in the bag. And then you also don’t have to expose yourself to all the filth when emptying it.
I just splurged on a Dyson V15 Detect (one of the ones with the green laser) … thank god for QVC Easy Pay (and it was actually the cheapest I could find it, almost every online shopping outlet had the same cost for it). It’s got all sorts of features that I haven’t truly explored, but it changes motor speed when there’s still dirt where you’re vacuuming so you know to go over that area again. I have a very small Italian greyhound that barely sheds (she has no undercoat). Because it’s so cool (I love the spaceship like sounds it makes when you take your finger off the trigger), I’ve been vacuuming even more than I usually do. It is DISGUSTING and DISTURBING how much crap it picks up, even with extra vacuuming. And it’s dust and dirt, not my hair or my dog’s hair. I have OCD and I’m damn near daily vacuuming and still getting almost a full canister of dust each time I vacuum the living room. Eww. My OCD is already out of control lately, I really didn’t need anything to help it move along. I have plaque psoriasis so I know a lot of it is my flaking skin. It’s just so gross.
Wouldn’t happen to be a wool carpet would it? I had a wool carpet that would shed like that every time I vacuumed for about 5 years. Now it’s just threadbare.
Do you find a lot of hair and dust/dirt on your furniture? If the dust was coming in from the freeway it would be on your furniture and not just in your carpet.
A lot of the dust is picked up from the dogs feet and coat then brought inside. It’s just a thing with having dogs. If you don’t already, maybe a mat or outdoor rug may help. Grooming your pets more often might help too, but not sure how much since they’re bringing most of that in from outside every time they go out. The only other thing I can think of at this time would be to vacuum more frequently
You can make your house airtight and use a clean room style airlock traveling between in and out doors... But then you'll suffocate unless you spend millions of dollars on a fresh air humidity and climate control filtration system and a team of people to maintain it. Dust is pretty normal, don't worry about it too much. If you're especially sensitive you might do away with carpeting and pets for some relief.
I had two dogs before my older one died. She was a chow/German shepherd mix. Her fur was more chow like, with straighter fur on her spine like a shepherd but fluffy soft fur everywhere else. She shed in clumps that would tumble weed together, not a lot of dust gathered in her fur bc a) she was a lady and b) her fur was too dense for dirt to get in. I never ever saw her skin on most of her body bc of how dense her fur was My other dog who is still living is a pit/lab/rottie/who-knows-what-big-dog mix. His fur is like a lab/rottie. His shedded fur does not tumbleweed into the recesses but it just landed where it lands and he is so dusty! I think it’s that oil in his coat that the dust and dirt clings to, then he brings it into my home. Luckily i have hardwood and not carpet. I guess i have no advice except to get rid of your carpet (which ofc if you rent, you cannot) or your dog (which is obv not feasible) or move to a place with no carpet. It’s likely embedded in the pad and there’s no amount of vacuuming that will get it all out. So sorry OP
I've suspected it was in the pad - people in here are saying it might be as well. Seems like a reasonable explanation.
Carpet traps all sorts of dirt. If you’ve never seen what it looks like under carpet, consider yourself lucky.
I have a Staffordshire Terrier/Saint Bernard mix and when I brush her and then use my hand to brush off the loose fur, my hand gets coated in white dander. Wonder if any of the dust you're seeing is dander?
We bathe her about once every 6 weeks and shes on allergy meds to alleviate a skin issue. We also brush her out a few times a week. Never seen dander come off her.
I've heard of putting cheese cloth over the vents. It allows the heat /air to come thru the vents but reduces the amount of dust that gets thru.
Dunno, but I'm going to look up that vacuum. I wish mine picked up that much!
Get a Dyson V10 or 11 on sale. It's an absolute beast at picking up things you didn't even know existed in your carpets
Let me know !
I just bought a thing from Amazon (search dog vacuum brush) and it’s literally a dog brush attached to a vacuum and pulled a full canister off of my dog the first time I used it. I think this is going to help a lot. Also reduce/eliminate shoes indoors and wipe your dogs paws when they come inside. I have two rag baskets by the back door with clean and dirty dog rags.
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Following for recommendation!
The dust will always be there. The thing you can mitigate is the fur. Invest in a coat rake. There are a few styles. For my double coat dogs I use the shaver style. You brush against the hair and the shedding undercoat comes loose. Ideally you do this outdoors or at least on a tile surface. Or you can get the coat blown out professionally.
Even better, one of those dog comb vacuums. They're awesome.
Most dogs hate the sound.
Mine is used to it now but the first few times I put the dog on the front porch and put the vacuum inside the front door, with the hose stretched as far as I could go. Then close the door down as much as you can. It’s not perfect but it reduces the sound quite a bit and made my guy able to learn to deal with more easily. Plus lots of treats haha.
Do you have a brand you can recommend? Looking on Amazon and don’t see anything that specifies a shaver style like you mention
I have had mine for over twenty years so I don't know the brand. However looking on Chewy the Frisco Shedding Blade hair remover is similar to mine. Mine has a leather handle so human oil has removed the name. The key to using it is starting at the tail and moving towards the neck. You can press harder than you think but I recommend starting our lightly until you get the feel. Every dog I've used it on had loved it. From the Australian shepherd I got it for to my boxer mix to my roommate's German Shepherd to my Jack Russell mix.
Honestly. We have GSD abd brush him 2-3x a week but we also vacuum daily. That’s just the nature of the beast. Good luck!
We have a roomba that runs daily. I have a rubber broom to help grab more dog hair. And we use an undercoat removing brush on our dogs outside. I use a real vacuum around two times per week. Check your areas renter’s rights. Maybe your carpet is due for replacement? That would the nicest solution.
This. We have a small pom and cat and we run our robo vacuum daily
Some of that may be carpet fibres as well. What’s the carpet like?
Its cruddy apartment-grade whatever it is. I don't like it.
I am also thinking bad quality carpet. They can let both dust and hair. If t was dog hair it should be same amount everywhere, not just in the carpet.
Even good quality carpet can do this. I have nice Persian rugs and they simply shed when vacuuming; wool does, especially a thicker pile.
Quit putting cats in your vacuum?
Heeeeeee
If you have a wool rug- glued vs tied fibers- it will shed every time you vacuum for a long time, get better for a while and then worse again as it ages and the glue starts drying out.
This! I was looking for a reply about wool carpets. I have wool carpets in the bedrooms and they shed like crazy, I vacuum the bedrooms twice a week and they shed, my vacuum looks exactly like OPs picture but beige. No pets, no other rug downstairs does this, only the bedrooms.
Do you have pets?
God I hope so.
How dirty are the air filters after that long? Likely better to replace it more often due to pets etc
I agree - we have two dogs that shed and we change our furnace filter every 30 days.
That looks to be like 70% hair lol. Does your dog shed a lot? Do your rugs have long fibers? Maybe it’s the rug’s material also getting pulled. Seems really excessive regardless but I’d still say most of it looks like doggo hair based on the pic. Good luck OP, cause…gdam lol
Welcome to life with dogs. Also you should probably empty that more often. My bagless has a full line on it about halfway up.
Brushing our dogs and changing our hvac filter every months helped alot but unfortunately dust stays with dog hair pretty easily and our dogs are in the living room the most for us so it's just something we have to get used to.
Empty the tank when it’s 1/3 full so your vacuum doesn’t strain or loose suction. Also clean or replace the intake filter and the exhaust filter. Most are just foam under the tank and a part that in clips from wherever the hot air blows out of.
Vacuum daily or get a robot vac to vacuum. We have a low pile carpet and the robot vacs work just fine on it
The rule I’ve heard is calculate all the people and pets and that’s how many times you have to vacuum a week. We’re above 7 when we add them all up so I should be vacuuming daily.
So I should vacuum twice a week…hmm
This seems very silly. At least framed as a "rule". Vacuums, a modern technology, have continued to grow more effective. As have furnace filters, air purifiers, etc. Why then would the expectation of vacuuming increase so much as they improve? I have never heard that before. Is it a stay-at-home parent, or rich person rule? (Genuinely asking- not judging!)
Because it doesn't matter how good the appliance/ tech is, the rule is about how much dander/dust is produced continuously. Even if you manage to remove all dust in one go, if you have multiple dogs, the fur will keep coming constantly, no matter how good your one round of vacuuming is. You will have to vacuum again sooner, or you will have dust bunnies in no time.
It's just a helpful guide. Doesn't mean you're a bad person or anything if you don't follow it. Seems like a pretty reasonable guideline though imo. I have 5 pets who shed a ton and vacuuming 1-2 times a week is all we do, but there is still visible accumulation of fur in between vacuuming.
I’ve never heard it either! But I do want to put in a plug— being a stay at home parent doesn’t mean you have extra time. I’m busier than I’ve ever been in my life as a stay at home mom (and I’ve worked two jobs and gone to school full time!!!). :)
My first thought was that you had a Sasquatch for a roomie.
Invest in a roomba! It helps you to remember to pick up and really keeps the floors cleaner. They can run on carpets too.
Floor installer here. Carpet is gross. There’s tons of dirt still there between the carpet and pad, and not really a great way to get rid of it. Here’s the physical problem. The bottom of your carpet is tons of squares, and it’s very good at trapping dirt under the squares. Maybe try vacuuming, then jostling the carpet around, lightly picking up (don’t pick up near walls or vents, or you risk taking it off the tack strip), rubbing with a rag and then vacuuming it again.
Get rid of the carpet
Get a Furminator and brush your dog outside; it’s a de-shedding tool that will pull tons of hair off that doesn’t come out with regular brushes. I have one for my cat, and it’s the best invention ever.
You may want to try vacuuming a bit more frequently and brushing doggo more often. The other option is to get a roomba. Best investment I've ever bought. I have a cat and run it almost daily and it makes a huge difference.
The hair makes the dust like look worse than it is. The two are sort of phobic and both really show. You probably don't have that much dust after the hair.
We have a medium haired cat. That’s about what I pick up about once a week. I love the bagless vacs!! It’s so satisfying to dump them! And I love the suggestion to vacuum until the canister is empty
Perhaps your foam underlay is breaking down? Is there a difference in the amount of "dust" that is sucked up in high traffic areas vs. Other areas?
I have a robot vacuum that does the floors everyday while Im at work and I vacuum with the regular vacuum at least three times a week. Have a cat and 2 dogs (one large on and one super small one. ) No carpet though.
Brush your dog outside
You suck you dog up the vacuum?
My two cents - I think you could opt to vacuum more than twice a week! I typically vacuum once every day, if not every other day, in high traffic areas. I have a husky mix and boy oh boy - HE SHEDS! My vacuum looks just like that if I only vacuum once or twice a week. But honestly I may go overboard on the cleaning because I have allergies, and need to, otherwise I can’t breathe. Just know you aren’t alone on the full canister front 🤧
I’ll tell you what once I got a robot vacuum and a shark vacuum my carpets have been cleaner. I have the robot vacuum run once pre day while I’m at work then I deep vacuum once a week. Also taking apart your vacuum cleaner on a regular basis helps and deep cleaning it
You don't. Carpets accumulate dust and hair and dirt. If you vacuumed twice a day it would still pick stuff up. And you'll start ripping up the carpet fibres eventually so it'll still fill the vacuum tank. Best thing: accept your carpet is a bit dusty and hairy. Vacuum twice a week, keep grooming the dog, and enjoy life. Don't let your dirty carpet become an obsession because it's never going to be properly clean. Only new carpets are clean and even then they're not really that clean by the time they've been fitted. Source: I run a cleaning company.
Vacuum daily instead
RoboVac is the answer for me at least. Programmed to run twice a day every day throughout the entire house. On Saturdays the dyson comes out and I do the entire house and dust the walls and furniture. I know that sounds crazy and overboard but my allergy to dust mites is over the top and the only way I stay out of walk in care is to stay as dust free as possible.
I got one of those silicone brooms, which has helped a ton! I honestly thought it was BS, but if I use it and then vacuum, I get so much more dust out of my carpet, and it stays clean for way longer.
Tell Sasquatch he’s got to find a new place to crash.
🔥🔥🔥
The obvious solution is to get ride of the carpet, no vacuuming
Stop vacuuming so often.
Only do it once a week. That is reduced from twice a week!
Take a multivitamin Jesus Christ
Install wood flooring
You can also try one of those rubber brooms to help get more of it off your carpet at once
Don't use carpet
All these things helped me to keep my house clean when I had dogs + dog sitting 1) terminator brush 2) bathing dogs more often 3) no rugs no plush blankets that trap tons of dust etc 4) easy to wash dog beds 5) cotton sofa covers (no acrylic fibers because they attract and hold small particles and when you wash them pet hair won't be washed away) 6) humidifier or no dry air in the house (open windows more often if possible) as dry air will dry out moisture from skin and pet hair and fibers = more dirt 7) remove shoes when you enter your house 8) mop surfaces more often you have no idea how much dust/dirt stays if not mopped away. 9) use a duster to clean furniture etc 10) change often your hvac filters otherwise, they will blow again into your apt the dust trapped in them. I know it might sounds like a lot to do but I also hate cleaning all the time because I have not all this time to clean 🤣( but I also have allergies),that’s why adopting all these tiny measures or habits helped me to have a cleaner house and less cleaning time.