How to Remove Cat Hair from Clothes: Reader Tips and Tricks
One thing that any cat owner in the world has dealt with is cleaning up fur from their clothes, over and over again.
Having cat hair on your clothes simply comes with the territory, but there are some things that you can do about it. It is possible to have a lovely kitty in your house and still have clean clothes.
We asked our Floppycats readers for advice on how to best remove cat hair from clothes and they told us all about their secret weapons. Take a look and maybe you will find a new way to keep your wardrobe fur-free.
The Sticky Lint Remover Roll Is Sacred
If there is one tool that all of our readers have agreed upon, that is the lint remover, the sacred sticky roll. These come in various shapes and sizes and you can keep them all over the house, in your bag, in your car, and pretty much everywhere you need them.
They are hygienic, easy to use, inexpensive, and easy to find, so it’s no surprise that they are the obvious choice when it comes to fur removal tools. However, there are some alternatives that are even less expensive and some that are more efficient and our Floppycat readers have told them all about them. Let’s see what they are!
You can buy sticky rollers on Amazon.
A lightly damped sponge, washcloth, or paper towel
A lightly damped sponge, a washcloth or a paper towel are the most inexpensive and accessible fur removal tools you have at your disposal.
Use the sponge, washcloth, or paper towel on your clothes, but remember that you can only go in one direction. Then, you rotate the sponge and fold the washcloth or paper towel to start over from another part of the clothing item you are cleaning.
Be careful because if you use these back and forth, you will put the hair right back where you cleaned it from.
Disposable latex gloves or kitchen gloves
Yet another frugal way to clean up cat hair from your clothes, using a latex or silicone glove on you clothes will get the hair right out.
All you have to do is put on the glove and move it along the clothing item you are cleaning. Clean in one direction only to avoid putting the hair back on.
As you can imagine, it’s not the most professional tool, but it is certainly cheap and easy to use, not to mention that it is something you might already have around the house.
Sellotape, mailing tape or scotch tape
That’s right, there is an alternative to the sticky roller and that is something you definitely have around the house – sellotape, mailing tape or scotch tape.
According to our readers, all you have to do is wrap them around your hand (the non-sticky side in) and then move your hand down your clothes to get the hair off.
This is the DIY version of a sticky roll and it works tremendously.
The Lilly Brush
One of our favorite fur-removal tools of all times, the Lilly Brush, is also one of our readers’ favorites. This is excellent on furniture, carpets, upholstery, and definitely clothing.
It is one brush to do it all. Take a look at our extensive review of the Be Forever Furless Brush by Lilly Brush to see just how well it can get the hair off your clothes. It is inexpensive and durable, but also extremely efficient on your clothes and your house, which makes this brush an absolute must.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWZItHOlXd4[/embedyt]
Buy the Lilly Brush BE FOREVER FURLESS.
The OXO Furlifter Brush
Many of our readers wrote about how there are certain fabrics that seem to be particularly prone to gathering cat hair, such as cotton and fleece.
The darker the color, the more visible the hair is and at the end of the day, you need a miracle brush to get it all out.
Some of them even said that they ended up changing their wardrobe to avoid dark colors and switched to lighter shades precisely to avoid the hair.
Well, we’re happy to say that there is a better alternative and that is the OXO Furlifter Brush. It is a godsend when it comes to both cotton and fleece and it is extremely easy to use.
You just move it down your clothes and then you put it in its box and the hair magically goes away. When you pull it back out, the hair is gone. If you don’t believe us, take a look at our review of the OXO Furlifter Brush to see how the magic happens!
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Prevention, Prevention, Prevention
Having a cat in your house guarantees that you will have fur on your clothes, but there are some things that you can do to reduce and prevent that from happening.
Here are the main things you can do to get less hair to clean up from your clothes:
- Vacuum your house as often as you can and use a special vacuum cleaner for the job – this will leave less fur flying around the room and onto your clothes.
- Use an air purifier in your house to reduce the hair flying around in the room.
- Get your cat a lion haircut to have less hair around the house – there is an ongoing debate about shaving your cat, but the bottom line is that there will be less hair to clean up at the end of the day.
- Pamper your cat with a special treatment for its fur – a healthy cat with healthy fur sheds less.
- Brush your cat every single day – if you brush most of the hair away, there will be less on your clothes.There are a lot of different ways to remove cat hair from your clothes.
The battle is ongoing, so you need all the best tools you can get. Tell us about your experience with keeping your wardrobe fur-free in the comments section below.
Which tool do you prefer? Are you are sticky roller person or do you have a Lilly Brush in your life? Let us know!
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
The chom chom! My goodness this thing works on furniture drapes clothes anything! Move it back and forth over the area you want to remove hair and you will gasp when you open the trap door to empty it
I put my sheets and clothes in the dryer first, before washing. I’ve tried it both with heat and without and I didn’t see a difference. If I’m catching a lot in the lint trap – usually with bedding – I’ll let it go through twice. Then I wash.
I use a duster every day, I use my handheld Dyson every day, and vacuum fully ever couple of days. I have resigned myself to the fact that with two abnormally furry monsters, it’s a battle I can’t win. I can open up a brand new piece of clothing and just putting it on I pick up hair!
Although I do enjoy when people notice my furry clothes & smile at me and say, “oh, you have pets?!” and I respond confused and say, “no”. When they look horrified I let them off the hook and share a laugh!
I am always surprised to see you are still reading! Glad to hear from you – how is your kitty?
Interesting about putting sheets and clothes in the dryer first – do you think it helps a lot?
SUPER PAWESOME AND FABULOUS post, Jenny honey! Great topic! Sooooo relevant!!! As you know, I am a Lilly Brusher For Life Kinda Gal! 🙂 <3
Big hugs & lots of love & purrs!
Patti & Miss Pink Sugarbelle:) <3 <3 <3
yes – lilly brush and the oxo are my lifesavers.
The Lilly Brush & The Blue Gloves are my lifesavers as I ALWAYS have a few bags of the Playtex blue gloves under my kitchen counter (as I do ALOT of cleaning and the blue gloves protect my hands from getting so dry and chapped from being in hot water, etc…). I also use them at night to lock in moisturizer on my hands. They work great for all three purposes (cat hair removal, cleaning and hand moisturizing). 🙂 <3
Thanks, Patti – I added the Playtex blue gloves to my cart on Amazon and as soon as I have enough Amazon gift cards, I will order them. Yes, I put on a ton of lotion every night in bed!
Fabulous! I order the 3-pack via my Amazon Prime Membership about every two to three months to keep a good stock handy so I never ever run out. 🙂 <3