Martha Stewart's Best Tips For Removing Pet Hair From Your Home

Renowned businesswoman, television personality, and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart knows a thing or two about pet care. She even has an entire section on her website dedicated to pets. In a piece from April 2021, Stewart lists all of the pets she's brought home over the years, including "11 Chow Chows, four French bulldogs, [and] 18 cats (Persians, Himalayans, and one black shorthair barn cat)." She goes on to mention other outdoor animals like miniature donkeys, peacocks, and more than 150 chickens. (Imagine all of those fresh eggs!)

Apparently, Stewart's pets are living the high life, so much so that some of her friends are interested in swapping places. "Many of my friends want to come back as my pet," Stewart joked during a Today show interview in 2019. With so many pets (read: "hundreds and hundreds"), Stewart surely isn't a stranger to pet hair around the house. Needless to say, the homemaking queen has got us covered. 

As we channel Stewart in the kitchen, so we channel her as we lint roll away pesky pet hair with Stewart's best pet hair removal tricks.

What's one thing that's perhaps more entertaining than watching Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg make brownies on national television? Watching your dog blissfully roll around on a living room rug, of course! That being said, it's not very fun to see the wads of their fur that can build up over time on said living room rug.

While sucking up that fluff with a vacuum on a regular basis is somewhat effective when it comes to keeping rugs and carpets clean, Brian Sansoni of the American Cleaning Institute recommends deep cleaning your carpet multiple times a year (via Martha Stewart). It's up to you whether you decide to go with a professional cleaning service or rent your own steamer, but if you do it yourself, Sansoni suggests drying things out shortly thereafter to avoid mold or mildew.

Cat owners know that felines love to hide in hard-to-find places. For that reason, it's not uncommon for their fur and dander to get stuck in places you might not often look, like the corners of the kitchen or bathroom. To best clean those areas, Sansoni advises swiping the hair and dust from the edges of the room toward the center, presumably to avoid drawing more dirt into those tight spaces.

As far as upholstered furniture goes, per Martha Stewart's "Homekeeping Handbook" (via Martha Stewart), Stewart suggests buying a dry sponge, found at a local pet or home goods store, and brushing the dry sponge across the upholstery. While one can use a lightly dampened cloth to do the same, a dry sponge ensures that the upholstery will not sustain any water damage. Then, wash the sponge with soap and water and let it dry. Per Stewart's website, this sponge will get the job done.

If your pet loves to curl up with you in bed, Stewart's site encourages taking extra care of your bedding. To loosen hard to gather hair from your sheets, put them in a quick dryer cycle with a dryer sheet and find the lint collected in the dryer's lint trap. Should the lint simply refuse to separate, the site recommends a two-in-one lint brush that has both a fabric roller and rubber bristles that can help pull apart the fibers. As a bonus, there is no waste that comes with tearing off sticky roller paper!

Of course, the most effective way to minimize the amount of pet hair in your space is to brush your animals regularly. Stewart's site recommends another two-in-one product — this time, a brush that can be used both to brush your animals and your furniture. Stewart also sells her own line of pet products, like this deodorizing carpet powder, should you desire to live like Stewart and her pets. And let's be honest, who doesn't?