What's the best cordless vacuum for pet hair?

Our top pick, the Dyson Outsize + is a great option if you're after a powerful design with all the bells and whistles, and several attachments to make cleaning up after pets a lot easier. It's power replicates that of a corded design and offers up to two hours of battery life, more than enough time to clean. The half-gallon dust bin is the largest dust bin available on a cordless, so if your pet sheds excessively, you won't have to empty the dust bin every five minutes. However, due to its size, it's inevitably heavier and bulkier than other cordless options on the market. We also recommend the Bissell IconPet series as it easily swivels for ultimate maneuverability and is the real deal in all its claims from the tangle-free brush roll, powerful suction, and easy dust bin removal with as little contact with dirt as possible. Tineco is also showcasing its technology as a contender among the best pet vacuums with its Tineco Pure One S15 Pet vacuum. It offers incredible cleaning performance and we love the gamification of its iLoop Dust Sensor detects hidden dirt and automatically adjusts power. However, the biggest drawback is that long strands of hair are inevitably wrapped around the brush roll. Luckily, there is a tool to cut it out, and it didn't affect performance, but it is a pain point of extra maintenance.

What's the best vacuum for pet hair on a carpet?

When it comes to homes with ample carpet, we continue to love Dyson upright models, including the newly upgraded Dyson Ball Animal 3 or its predecessor, the Dyson Ball Animal 2 . Both offer tremendous suction power and cull out the most embedded dust and dander from carpets. We were also impressed with Shark's corded offerings, be it the Shark Stratos or the Shark Vertex , which are slightly easier to push or maneuver over the carpet as they have a built-in propellant.

What's the best vacuum for pet hair on hardwood floors?

Again, the Dyson Outsize + is a great option for cleaning on hard floors, especially with the addition of the Laser Slim Fluffy Cleaner Head, which is specifically built for cleaning on hard floors. We also like the design of the Shark Stratos and the Shark Vertex collection, both upright and cordless models with its Duo Clean Power Fins Technology that incorporates a silicone PowerFins roller and a soft roller to swiftly suction dust and debris, even larger pieces and stays well-engaged with floors.

What's the best robot vacuum for pet hair?

The best robot vacuum for pet hair is without a doubt the iRobot Roomba j7+ . Not only does it have decent pickup performance, an auto-emptying bin so you can basically set it and forget it, and amazing navigating skills, but it also has features designed specifically for pet parents, including the ability to avoid pet accidents, pet toys, food bowls, cords, among others. They also offer this very unique proposition: the Pet Owner Official Promise (P.O.O.P) where iRobot will replace your j7+ if the accident turns gets dragged into a larger one.

What's the best vacuum for pet hair on a couch?

For removing pet hair from a couch or other upholstery, you'll want to select a vacuum that comes with attachments such as a mini-upholstery tool that make it easy to vacuum across delicate fabrics. Most cordless and handheld vacuum styles will be sufficient for removing pet hair and dander from upholstery. The Dyson Outsize + comes with a mini-powered tool, and many of the best Dyson vacuums come with one as well. As the base model, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 does not come with a hair turbine tool, but it can be found on upgraded models like the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra or the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Complete However, the Shark Stratos base model does indeed come with its own non-motorized tool which is just OK, but its upgraded model comes with the HairPro Self-Cleaning Pet Power Brush, a motorized tool for furniture.

Which is the best vacuum for pet hair from the car?

For removing pet hair from places like the car, we recommend one of the best handheld vacuums like the BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser Lithium Ion Hand Vacuum which has a built-in hair tool attachment that's easy to slide across upholstered seats. It's compact enough to stay in your trunk too if you want a dedicated product. otherwise, you'll get on with one of our other cordless options that also have a hair tool attachment.

Are HEPA filter vacuums worth it?

When sucking up dust and pet hair, it’s not what you can see that can cause irritation and allergic reactions, but the microscopic dust that you can’t. Pet dander, for example, are microscopic skin cells shed from animals that cause reactions in people with allergies. HEPA filters are designed and rated to prevent these particles from escaping the vacuum cleaner, sealing in the dirt that’s collected. This is very important in a pet vacuum cleaner, particularly if anyone in the house (or a regular visitor) has sensitivities to your animals.

Are bagless or bagged vacuums better for allergies?

As discussed above, a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters is what you need if you have allergy sufferers, keeping the microscopic irritants sealed inside the dust bin. However, the big issue is what happens when you empty a vacuum. For bagless cleaners, emptying has to be done with care, as opening the bin can create a cloud of dust, releasing smaller particles back into the air, causing issues for those with allergies. Bagged vacuum cleaners have an extra level of protection, as the bags act as both additional filters to prevent particle escape, but you also remove and throw away the dirt without exposing it to fresh air. Look for a cleaner that has self-sealing bags for the best results. As such, bagged vacuum cleaners are often easier to deal with for households where members are very sensitive to allergens. That doesn’t make bagless cleaners a poor choice, though: just be careful how and where you empty the vacuum’s bin. To prevent the spreading of allergens, a vacuum bin should be ejected either down, directly into a larger internal bin or, for additional safety, emptied in the same way into an outside bin.

Best vacuum for pet hair 2023: tested by our expert team

The best vacuum for pet hair will banish fur and smells. We test Bissell, Dyson, Shark, and more to see if they really work

Best vacuum for pet hair - a goldendoodle dog and a Dyson vacuum

(Image credit: Getty Images / Jason Doiy)

By Jaclyn Turner

last updated 16 February 2023

Contributions from

Courtney Irwin, Camryn Rabideau

Cleaning up after dogs or cats is easy with the best vacuum for pet hair. Designed to capture hair, dust, dirt, and dander, these vacuums are a must-have for pet owners. Using a pet vacuum can also make your home hypoallergenic, which works wonders when seasonal allergies hit.

Our panel of expert reviewers meticulously tested the best vacuums for pet hair, so you can trust our judgement on what's best to buy. Thanks to our hands-on experience of trialling these vacuums in our homes, I'm certain that every single one of them is a good buy.

The specialized models from household names like Dyson, Shark and Bissell all have features that go further to clean up after your pet, which puts them among the best vacuum cleaners.

Best vacuum for pet hair 2023

Why you can trust Homes & Gardens Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

1. Dyson Outsize +

Best vacuum for tackling pet hair

Specifications

Type: Cordless Stick

Power: 220AW

Dust bin: 0.5 gallons

Weight: 7.98lb

Max dB: Not disclosed

Battery life: Up to 120 minutes of run time (across two batteries)

Reasons to buy

Large dust bin

Excellent 220AW suction

Advanced de-tangling brush bar technology

Strong battery life

As powerful as a plug-in vacuum

Reasons to avoid

Bulky to carry around

Why you should buy it
It's the best vacuum for pet hair you can buy.

Why I love it
Nothing comes close to the Dyson Outsize +. With 220 AW, this cordless vacuum packs all the power of a plug-in model. Loaded with all of Dyson's most exciting technology, the newly revamped detangling brush bar means that hair doesn't get tangled, and sensors that automatically adjust the suction power to each floor type. Even better, there’s an LCD screen at the rear that gives you the current battery life in minutes and even shows you handy how-to videos to keep the vacuum running its best. The most notable feature is - unbelievably - a laser. Mounted on the hard floor head, it's more than just a gimmick, revealing all the dust and dirt the eye can't see.

I love the enormous half-gallon dust bin, which holds plenty of dirt and keeps you from going to the trash too often. The attachments are fantastic too, especially if you have pets. The most useful for pet hair is the mini motorized tool, which is great for pet hair on stairs and upholstery, but you also get a combination tool, a crevice tool, and a stubborn dirt tool with plenty of storage on the charging dock and the vacuum itself.

Good to know
The enormous half-gallon capacity makes the Outsize a lot bulkier than other cordless vacuums, so it's noticeably heavy when cleaning moldings and stairs. The eject system on the dust bin is usually effective, but if you overfill the bin you'll have to reach in to pull out clumps of dust. Like all Dysons, it comes with a considerable price tag.

Find out more in my Dyson Outsize review.