How To Get Cat Hair Off A Comforter

Cat hair on every surface in your home is one of the tradeoffs of living with your pet cat. If your kitty sleeps on your bed, there's typically an extra abundance of her fur on your comforter. Removing the fine layers of hair from your comforter is a challenge, but it's not impossible. Wash it off, vacuum it up, pull it off with tape, or brush it away with a pair of rubber gloves. You can even find pet hair remover gadgets for ridding your comforter and upholstery of cat hair.

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Running your comforter through the washing machine and dryer is an effective way to remove cat hair. Whatever isn't dislodged and rinsed away in the washer will be drawn into the lint trap in the dryer. To avoid fur clumping in your washing machine, put the comforter in the dryer first to dislodge loose fur before putting it through the wash cycle.

If your comforter is bulky and you don't want to hassle with frequent washings, get a lightweight comforter or throw. Spread the lighter blanket over your comforter during the day, then fold it up and place it in your cat's "spot" on the bed at night. The lighter comforter will be easier to wash when necessary.

If you've tried vacuuming your cat's fur off your comforter with no success, you might need a better tool, specifically vacuum attachments made especially for picking up pet hair. These attachments typically fit on the end of most vacuum hoses and the suction from the vacuum turns a heavy-duty brush that scrapes the hair loose so it can be sucked up from your comforter.

If you live in a dry climate or your kitty's fur has extra sticking power courtesy of a static charge, spray your comforter with static spray before you vacuum it. The spray will break up the charge, allowing you to get more cat hair off, more easily.

You've probably noticed how your cat's fur seems to end up stuck to anything you tape, making it obvious how effective the product is for attracting and holding pet hair. Any kind of adhesive tape will work, but larger, sturdier types of tape such as duct tape or packing tape work best. Not only do those kinds of tape have more adhesive, but their larger size will get more cat hair off a bigger section of your comforter than a flimsy piece of gift-wrapping tape.

Start by tearing off a 2- to 3-foot length of tape and holding the ends taut with your hands. Then press and lift the tape repeatedly on your comforter, using a fresh piece of tape as often as necessary.

Rubber is useful for attracting and removing cat hair from most cloth and upholstered surfaces. Put on a pair of rubber gloves — the kind you use for washing dishes — and swipe your hands repeatedly across your comforter several times. The gloves will be effective dry or damp, but using them when they're completely wet will just make a soggy mess.

If you wet your gloves before using them to take cat hair off your comforter, pat them with a towel to remove the excess water first. Keep an old towel or other rag on hand for wiping the fur from your gloves between swipes. You'll likely see more fur than you expected.

Removing cat hair from household furniture is such a widespread dilemma that an entire industry has sprung up to offer solutions. Department stores, pet supply stores and many super-store websites stock an array of products designed to remove pet hair from comforters, sofas, clothing, and more.

You'll find everything from Velcro-like pads to pumice stones, rubber brushes to adhesive rollers, and even special cloths that are advertised to pull cat hair off a comforter with one swipe. If home remedies fail, you can always give one or more of these commercial gadgets a try.