Dog owners know that taking their canine companion for a ride in the car almost always means their car seats will be covered in stubborn dog hairs. If you own a heavy shed breed, a quick car ride to the veterinary clinic or groomer can lead to pounds of fur stuck on your seats and carpet.
Even when you use a vacuum or put a towel down for your dog to sit on, their fur still ends up all over your vehicle’s upholstery. Luckily, this guide explores how to get dog hair out of car seats!
See our related article where we put the Best Car Seat Covers to the test. Be sure to check out our guide before you go!
The 7 Best Ways to Remove Dog Hair From Car Seats
To make things easier for pet parents, we’ll be going over 7 of our favorite ways to get dog hair out of car seats! By following these creative tricks, you won’t have to worry about taking your beloved pooch out for a drive!
READ MORE: How to Get Dog Hair Off Cricut Mat. See how in our quick and easy guide!
1. Use a Balloon
You read that right!
If you’re wondering how to get dog hair out of car upholstery, any standard inflated balloon can actually be a useful weapon in your war against pet hair.
When you run the inflated balloon over the surface of your car seats, hair will raise off the seats and cling to the balloon. This is all thanks to static electricity, which causes hairs and other lightweight pieces of debris to stick to the balloon’s surface.
Once the balloon is covered in hair, you can simply throw it away! While this method does a fairly decent job at removing any hair sitting on the surface of your car seats, the static generated by rubbing the balloon on your seats is rarely strong enough to pull out those really stubborn, embedded hairs.
For those, you’ll need something a bit stickier…
2. Try Duct Tape
If your car seats are covered in hair, duct tape is an affordable and effective solution. Simply take a strip of duct tape and fold it over with the sticky side facing outwards. Quickly dab the sticky side of the duct tape on your car seats and anywhere else that you notice embedded pet hairs.
Make sure you’re not pressing the tape into the seats too hard, or the tape can leave residue behind on your seats. Follow a dabbing motion, similar to how you would blot a spilled drink out of a carpet.
This method is effective, and while it can take some time, duct tape is affordable and widely available, so it can be a really useful option.
3. Dryer Sheets
You might be surprised to learn how effective dryer sheets are at pulling pet hair off of soft surfaces.
You’ll need a fresh, unused dryer sheet for this method. Once you have one, simply run the dryer sheet over the surface of the hair-covered seats. Not only will pet hair stick to the dryer sheet, but it will also pull dust and debris from the surfaces of your vehicle’s interior.
As a bonus, a dryer sheet will also leave your car smelling fresh and clean, which can be helpful if your pooch has left your car smelling, well, like a dog. Some people keep dryer sheets in their car so they can give the interior a quick tidy when they don’t have time to use a vacuum.
Looking for ways to make your home and car smell fresher? We shared Tips to Eliminate Dog Smell in this informative guide!
4. Velcro Hair Curlers
Velcro curlers or Velcro rollers are great for gripping our hair, and fortunately, they also work exceptionally well for grabbing and holding onto stray pet hairs!
Simply roll the curler over the fur-covered surface, and loose hairs will cling to it. Just be careful, as the clingier Velcro curlers can also pull the fabric. It’s a good idea to test this method out on an inconspicuous piece of carpet, such as in the trunk of your car.
If it doesn’t leave any noticeable marks behind, you can try it out on your seats.
You can usually find some inexpensive curlers that won’t have enough strength to damage your seats by looking for them in a dollar store. These lower-quality Velcro curlers are ideal for pulling pet hair off of seats, even if they don’t work as well for their intended purpose.
5. Rubber Gloves
The rubber glove trick is super popular, and for good reason. Just grab a standard pair of rubber gloves like you would use to clean your kitchen or bathroom, and you’ll be able to fully de-hair the interior of your car.
Just make sure you’re using unused gloves. You don’t want any cleaning products from the surface of a used pair of gloves to damage your upholstery.
Put a dry rubber glove on one hand and use it to rub your seats, carpets, and any other surface inside your car that’s covered in hair. Try to move your hand in a single direction.
If you find that the dry glove isn’t working very well, you can lightly dampen the surface of the glove. Moisture will add some weight to the dog hair and help it clump up, making it easier to see and remove.
You may want to mist the surface of the car seat with water if your dog has hair that’s difficult to see against your car’s interior. This will encourage the dog hair to clump when you go over it with your glove, making it much easier to notice.
6. Lint Rollers
As you would suspect, you can use a lint roller to quickly remove pet hair and dander from the surface of your car seats. While they’re designed to clean clothes from dog hair and other debris, they also work exceptionally well for getting pet hair out of cars.
If you value convenience, you can’t beat a lint roller after you’ve been on the road with your furry friend!
7. A Window Squeegee
Not only can squeegees be used to clean the windows of your vehicle, but the rubber blade on the back of the squeegee also works well as a pet hair remover.
The rubberized side of a squeegee will work to pull loose hair from the car seat cover and carpet. Make sure you move in a single direction, similar to the way you’d use a rubber glove to remove pet hair.
Every few swipes, you can wipe the loose hair off of the blade before continuing to squeegee the interior. If you’re using your squeegee for dog hair removal in your vehicle, buy a cheap one from a dollar store. While the cheap ones tend to leave streaks on glass, inexpensive squeegees work well for pet hair removal!
The best thing about using a squeegee is they’re cheap, effective, and completely reusable!
READ MORE: Best Dog Crates and Carriers for Car Travel. Avoid dog hair altogether by putting your dog in a crate or carrier whenever you’re on the road! Here are our favorites.
Conclusion
By now, you should know how to get dog hair out of car seats using these simple and affordable tricks! If you don’t want to clean up after every road trip with your dog, a car seat cover is a great way to protect your interior.
