I got a great tip from the site the other day, to stop my pup tipping up her water bowl. I tried it and it works like a dream.

I have three dogs in all and it has always bugged me that my stairs get so hairy, and it's so difficult to keep them clean. So many great ideas, anyone got a good tip for this one?

Thanks

Kat

Kat - have you got a Dyson? We recently finally got money together for one (I mean, how expensive??), but they do sell a handy tool for it called "The Animal tool". It's small enough to do the stairs and is apparently specially designed for animal hair on furniture and stairs. My partner's suggestion was to clingfilm the pets - typical *lol*
Take care - let us know what you get!
Kathy
xxx

Kathy
does it really work ???

I dont know if the animal tool works - I have a bog standard DC07, and it works fine. We were told not to buy The Animal hoover, but to get the DC07 and the animal tool instead. My Dyson is a godsend - and with 2 cats (one of whom is mainly white) it's worked wonders. I was answering Katrina purely on hearsay, sorry *lol* :)

I'm not thrilled with the Animal tool. It's okay at the bottom of the stairs, but halfway up it stops. And it does nothing to pick up the hair in the car, either. :( I'm going to see how the ordinary floor tool fares.

Try a slicker brush,picks all the dog hair up and you can have the job done in half the time without lugging a big vacum cleaner about, does require a little bit of elbow grease though!

Get an old glove , make it damp and then use it to wipe the carpet on the stairs ..you will find that the hairs get rolled up into a nice tidy ball very easily and then you can pick then up

Not that I have any experience of hair everywhere of course :rolleyes: :D

Melody :)

I find the animal tool works well, but probably because we have a short pile carpet on the stairs it works better, a wet cloth is just as effective though, just more fiddly and makes me sneeze! :)

Hayley

I have had a Dyson for years and its the best money I ever spent on a gadget BUT!!! last year I decided I would treat myself to the new Animal one it was a big mistake bits kept falling off it so i took it back got my money back and went back to my old one which is still going strong :) if you have a store called TJ Hughes in your area they still sometimes stock the old style one.
I was going to get the dyson washing machine but general opinion is they are not that good.
I also have a Henry vacuum cleaner (with a smiley face on )which we use for the cars and caravan and its brilliant especially on stairs and My Oldest son does car valeting and he says thats the very best you can buy for the hire firm he works for the cars and vans come back in a terrible state and the good old henry does the Job :)

I could be a saleslady couldnt I ? :) :) :)

The Which magazine this month has tested all the vacuum cleaners. The Dyson has scored the worst for reliability. The best scores for picking up pet hair is the Electrolux Glider Z5740 on the uprights and the Miele Cat & Dog 700S716 on the cylinder.
Lara x

Yes and make sure it's a rubber glove :) You could also stick on a pair of trainers or rubber soled shoes and scrape your foot across the carpet to get the hairs up. It works a treat on rugs and doormats as well :)
Lara x

Buy a bungalow? :D

:D :D @ Chloe!

Chloe - That's my next plan!

Thanks for all your great ideas. I do have a dyson, but don't find the stairs get done all that well with the extending tool thing. I don't have the animal tool though. Have tried the rubber glove, it does work, but I was hoping to use a bit less energy. Just being lazy I guess. Thanks a lot all.

Kat

Mmmmmmm, a Vax that does wet and dry, on the carpet shampooing mode, that shifts hair quite well.

A stiff broom, a rubber curry comb, or a rubber glove will also work, but it does depend on the type of carpet you have.

My best advice, do what i did, remove carpet from stairs, paint with a good quality floor paint, and then you can just hoover, and occasionally wash down! It does work, though, it is noisy if you have a house full of people who NEVER take their shoes off, and insist on galloping up and down teh stairs!

Em

We're building a new house later this year, and one thing that was agreed upon is no carpets :) Our current house is full of them and it's such a pain to vacuum. The dog seems to scratch more when she's inside too, compared to her tiled varandah.

rubbing the stairs with your hand in a rubber glove is quite good, or I have just bought a rubber brush that is fantastic.

Thanks everyone, I knew I could count on you for some good ideas. I keep thinking about doing away with the stair carpet but my husband doesn't seem to keen (the carpeting in the house has been disappearing at quite a rate) he seems determined to hold on to some!

Going to try all your ideas, I like the rubber currycomb idea. Tried the slicker but it snags on my carpet.

Anymore ideas welcome

Kat

Dyson do an accessory called the Mini Turbobrush which is excellent - only works with the newer dysons (DC05 and above) If you look on their web site it says it only works with the DC05 but I have the DC07 and it fits fine. It is absolutely brilliant - makes the animal specific one look useless