How To Remove Dog Hair From Clothes In Washing Machine

This article shows you how to remove dog hair from clothes in washing machine. Ready? Let’s roll…

If you keep your dog at home with you, then there’s one sure thing you will have to battle – dog hair. Well, that is if your dog is furry. 

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Most furry dogs shed hair all year round. So, when your dog spends time on your bed, on your couch and on your carpet, it just can’t help but leave some hair behind. 

Dog hair is so light that it easily gets stuck on clothes, beds and couches. Even worse, is that they are notoriously difficult to get rid of. 

It could be so frustrating that one is tempted to let go and let the hair be. Well, don’t do that. 

Hair strands could carry germs and bacteria that are dangerous to your health. They compromise the hygiene of your home putting both you and your dog at risk. 

There are a few ways to solve the hair problem, and one of such is to use a washing machine. Let’s show you how. 

Getting Rid Of Dog Hair From Your Laundry

Step 1: Remove Dog Hair By Hand

Before you employ the use of a washing machine, try your reasonable best to get rid of some of the dog hair on your laundry by hand. 

  • Make use of a lint roller or scotch tape to achieve this. 
  • An improvised alternative is to wear rubber gloves, get them damp and run them through your clothes. 
  • Dog hair will naturally stick to the gloves as you run them through. This could be a painstaking process, but just do as much as you can. 
  • Afterwards, try to shake off the clothes to allow loose hair strands fall off. 

Step 2: Make Use Of The Dryer

  • The next step is really where the trick is. Put the dog hair infested clothes (don’t take the strong terms too seriously) into the dryer of the washing machine. 
  • Add some dryer sheets to the laundry load. Dryer sheets have an anti-static property, so they will repel dog hair as they come loose from your laundry fabric. 
  • Switch on the dryer and set it to low heat. In fact, you could set it to no heat at all. The tumbling action of the dryer is what sets the hair removal process in motion. 
  • As the fabrics tumble, they will loosen up, allowing the hair strands fall out. The dog hair strands will be caught by the lint trap. 
  • Switch on the dryer and allow it to tumble for some minutes. Check the clothes after and if you are not satisfied with the degree of hair removal, you could put the clothes through another cycle. 
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Step 3: Use The Washing Machine

  • Afterwards, put the clothes through a wash cycle. In the wash cycle, you will have to add fabric softeners. Fabric softeners help to loosen out clothes, allowing any pet hair to fall out. 
  • Measure the right amount of fabric softener and put into the fabric softener dispenser in the machine. 
  • Avoid adding the fabric softener directly into the wash tub. Only do this for older washers. And in doing so, follow the fabric softener instructions. 
  • For newer washing machines, fabric softeners are automatically dispensed by the washers. For some machines, the softener dispenser is a tall cylinder at the centre of the machine. 
  • Add mild laundry detergent and wash the clothes accordingly
  • Also add white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar contains acetic acid and acetic acid is a kind of fabric softener. This will free up any more dog hair stuck in the clothes during the rinse cycle. 
  • You will need about ½ cup of vinegar. Put the vinegar in the cup where the fabric softener is to be dispensed from. 
  • An alternative to white vinegar is apple cider vinegar. It will work exactly as white vinegar will. 

Step 4: Use The Dryer Again

  • Once again, you will have to send the laundry through the dryer. And as earlier done about 1 or 2 dryer sheets will help get rid of any leftover dog hair. 
  • Alternatively, you could use dryer balls. These work just like dryer sheets. They remove stray hair from your clothes by repelling them due to their anti-static properties. 
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Furthermore, these dryer balls are reusable and biodegradable. They are therefore environmentally friendly, more so since they don’t have any artificial ingredients. About 3 to 6 dryer balls will do for this task. 

  • Put in the dryer balls with the wet laundry and then proceed to dry the clothes. Unlike the first step with the dryer, this time, it has to be used in its normal settings. Heat is required obviously, since the clothes are wet. 
  • Periodically check that the lint trap is not clogged while drying. If it is, brush off any accumulated lint. 

If these steps are followed carefully your clothes should now be dog-hair free. 

Here’s how to get out pet hair from other surfaces:

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Cleaning The Washing Machine

Using the washing machine to get rid of dog hair from your clothes leaves the washer itself messed up with the dog hair. 

It then becomes your responsibility to get rid of the dog hair that will have accumulated in the washer. 

Don’t make the mistake of washing new clothes in the washer if all the dog hair strands stuck in have not been removed. Also, don’t fret! There are simple ways to go about it. 

Run An Empty Rinse Cycle 

One way to get rid of dog hair from the wash tub is to run an empty rinse cycle. 

  • Whilst using regular settings for the wash cycle, and with no clothes inside, allow the flow of water, due to the rotation of the wash drum, to get rid of the dog hair strands. 
  • For thorough cleaning, allow the cycle to last as long as necessary. Also, make use of hot water for the cycle. 
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This will require that you use extreme settings for most machines, i.e. the longest and hottest wash settings. 

Manual Cleaning

If the dog hair still proves too stubborn you could proceed to clean the washtub manually. You could even choose to clean the tub manually from the onset. 

  • To do this, use a damp washcloth or even a paper towel to wipe down the washtub. 
  • You could apply a little laundry detergent to the wash cloth for proper cleaning. And whilst cleaning, pay attention to corners in the washing machine, particularly the door of the washer. 

Use A Vacuum Cleaner

One way to get rid of dog hair in the washer is to use a vacuum cleaner. 

  • Firstly, you must ensure that the washtub is completely dry. You can leave the doors of the washing machine open to ensure it dries properly. 
  • Put a soft brush attachment on the mouth of the vacuum cleaner. This could easily be purchased from most cleaning stores. 
  • Run the vacuum cleaner carefully along the surfaces of the wash drum. Don’t forget to run it along the doors of the wash drum too. 

What To Do To Reduce Pet Hair From Getting To Your Laundry

Perhaps the best solution to this pet hair predicament is prevention. Of course, you can’t stop your pooch from shedding its hair, but maybe you can do something about the hair getting to your clothes, furniture and carpet. 

  • Firstly, give your dog a nice body grooming every day. Use a soft brush to brush your dog’s fur coat. This way you will get rid of loose undercoat hair. Brushing your dog removes dead hair strands that are just about to fall off. 

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So, rather than have the hair strands fall all over your home, you can be proactive and remove them yourself in a controlled manner through simple brushing. 

  • Secondly, vacuum clean your home and furniture often. It is not unlikely that dog hair stuck in your furniture or carpet will eventually make way to your clothes. Vacuum cleaning is a preventive measure to stop this from happening.

Also, use a vacuum cleaner on your dog’s bed often. Clean your dog’s bed weekly, at least, especially if you have a furry dog. 

By taking these measures, you should have a reduced dog hair problem at home. 

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