Best Vacuums for Pet Hair 2026: Remove dog and cat hair quickly

With its optional self-empty station which releases a pleasant fragrance whenever the bin is emptied, built-in clever technologies and some of the best vacuuming performance we’ve ever seen, it’s easy to see why the Shark PowerDetect Clean and Empty (IP3251UKT) has taken the title of best vacuum for pet hair.

At just 3.71kg, the vacuum is reasonably lightweight and easy to manoeuvre. Plus, as it sports a hinge in the wand, the IP3251UKT can reach under low-lying furniture without requiring you to bend down.

The IP3251UKT is fitted with multiple technologies that help make cleaning that bit easier. There’s Shark’s Floor Detection which determines whether the vacuum is on carpet or hard floor and adjusts the roller speeds accordingly and Edge Detection to increase suction when the floor head is close to the edge of a room. There’s also Direction Detection, which enables the IP3251UKT to pick up dirt when it’s pulled back, just as well as it’s pushed forward.

Shark includes a handful of genuinely useful tools, which we think should be enough to see you through most cleaning tasks, including the main DuoClean floorhead which consists of a brush for carpets and a soft roller for hard floors, a mini motorised pet tool for upholstery, a two-in-one crevice and brush and, finally, a stiff bristle brush too.

Overall we found the IP3251UKT boasted the best cleaning we’ve ever seen in a vacuum, collecting between 95-100% of dirt across all our tests, while making light work of collecting pet and human hair without getting tangled too.

Although we’re big fans of cordless options like the Dyson V16 Piston Animal for how easy they are to use in a pinch, for more involved cleans that require some heavy-duty features, the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design is a great option to buy.

When putting the Vax cleaner to the test, we picked up on an impressive 151AW suction power which, despite being slightly less than certain competitors like the Hoover HL4 Pet, is able to achieve that suction at a more economical rate, using just 600W.

In our dust test, the cleaner was able to scoop up roughly 97% of the debris when moving it forwards and backwards, and it performed to a similar degree when dust was scattered right up against the skirting board. Pet hair and human hair didn’t stand a chance either, and thanks to the design of the brush, it was all funnelled automatically into the onboard bin.

As great as the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design is for the more open areas of your floors, where the appliance really comes into its own is when you need to tackle the parts that are tucked away under furniture. With the included LiftOut mechanism, you can separate the bin and motor from the floor head, making it simple to vacuum under the sofa, or on smaller surfaces such as the stairs.

If you have a large household to clean then you’ll be glad to know of the massive two-litre bin that’s included. With that much space in tow, you have the freedom to clean for longer in a single session, instead of having to stop things mid-way through and empty the bin before tackling whatever’s left.

If you live with quite a few pets and need a heavy-duty cordless solution to stay on top of all the hair-related mess involved then look no further than the Dyson V16 Piston Animal. This won’t be an option for most folks given its price tag of £749.99, but if you can stretch your budget to meet it then the V16 Piston Animal is well worth the investment.

The highlight of this vacuum is that it comes with an all-new motor that cranks up the degree of suction available. In our tests, we picked up on a whopping 401AW when running the vacuum on Boost mode, which is practically unheard of for a cordless vacuum and leaves the competition in the dust.

To save you from using the vacuum with that much power too often and completely draining the battery as a result, the V16 has an ingenious auto detect mode that works brilliantly, taking out the guesswork from your cleaning by intelligently analysing the floor as you go.

When testing out this suction power on both carpet and hard floors, we were massively impressed by what the V16 could achieve. For example, when spreading 10g of flour on our test carpet, the V16 had no issue with collecting practically all of the mess in just a few swipes, even right up to the skirting board.

For collecting hair, the conical nature of the brush allows pet hair to shuffle off at the ends and be stored in the dust bin, saving you from needing to manually extract any hair after the fact. You can even use a compacting tool to push down on the contents of the bin and create more space as you go.

If you’re looking for a vacuum that delivers consistently powerful cleaning performance, is easy to manoeuvre and makes light work of tricky jobs like picking up pet hair or cleaning hard-to-reach spaces, then the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor is a great choice.

Weighing 7.6kg, the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor is heavier than most of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, however the large ball at its base ensures the vacuum is easy to push around. In fact, we hailed this as the “most manoeuvrable plug-in vacuum cleaner” we’ve tested.

Its anti-tangle floor head is fitted with cleverly arranged bristles which prevent hair from wrapping around and becoming tangled, making this a great choice for pet owners and those with long hair. Also included is a two-in-one crevice tool, dusting brush, stair tool and an anti-tangle turbine tool that’s specifically designed for tackling embedded pet hair. The latter was particularly impressive and even picked up longer hair without becoming tangled.

All tools work via the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor’s extendable wand which we found makes it easy to vacuum higher up, particularly where the wall meets the ceiling.

Overall we found the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor to be a powerful vacuum, able to collect between 92-94.35% of dirt across our carpet tests and 100% of mess on our hard floor tests. Most impressively, it showed no difficulty in picking up pet hair either.

The Hoover HL4 Pet takes the key features of the larger HL5 and fits them into a smaller, lighter and cheaper package.

Featuring an anti-twist floor head and a lift-out cylinder for easy manoeuvrability, the HL4 Pet promises to make light work of removing all the hidden dust and pet hair lurking on your floors.

In addition to the anti-twist floor head, which uses its bristles arranged in a V-shape to prevent hair from wrapping and becoming tangled, also included are two additional attachments: a pet tool for pet beds and upholstery, and a crevice tool for harder to reach areas.

At just 5kg the HL4 Pet is fairly lightweight and is easy to move around the house. In addition, the cylinder can be lifted out and removed via the foot switch at the bottom, making it perfect for cleaning tricky areas such as the stairs or in the car.

For spot cleaning and detailing, the hose and wand can also be removed for up to two metres of cleaning range. You can even fit the hose and wand with either the pet or crevice tool to further enhance your clean.

We found that despite its budget-friendly price tag, the HL4 Pet offers powerful suction and makes light work of anything from cleaning up dropped flour and rice to tackling combed in pet hair with minimal hassle.

We also tested the anti-twist capability of the floor head by dropping strands of long hair onto the floor. This impressed us greatly, as we found that the vacuum was able to pick all the hairs up without causing any dreaded tangles.

The HL4 Pet boasts the prowess of the larger and more expensive HL5 but in a smaller, more lightweight and cheaper package. Although you are limited with the extra tools included, the HL4 Pet offers you everything you realistically need for a whole house clean.

A robot vacuum may not be your first choice for dealing with pet hair, however the five-star Dream X50 Ultra Complete is a fantastic choice. Not only does it clean brilliantly, but the X50 Ultra Complete boasts the highest suction of any robot we’ve reviewed and, with ProLeap technology, can climb over 6cm high thresholds with ease.

The robot comes equipped with a self-clean, self-empty base station which also sports a built-in scale inhibitor to prevent limescale build up and a cleaning deck for scrubbing the mopping pads.

Controlling the robot is simple and done via the Dreamehome iOS or Android smartphone app. Here you can create maps of your home, set no-go zones and boundaries for your robot to avoid and start or stop a clean. You can either manually operate the robot or take advantage of CleanGenius mode.

CleanGenius enables your X50 Ultra Complete to use its sensors and cameras to determine the best way your home should be cleaned. We found this mode to be nothing short of fantastic, with dirtier areas carefully targeted and cleaned efficiently by the X50 Ultra Complete. However, it’s worth noting that when mopping, we did find that manually changing the settings worked better for tougher stains.

We also found that the X50 Ultra Complete was able to pick up long hair without the strands getting tangled in the brush, thanks to its dual brushes that contra-rotate.

Finally, ProLeap technology is undoubtedly a standout feature, which enables the robot to lift its front up and climb either a single threshold of up to 4.2cm or a multi-step threshold of up to 6cm.

If you need a vacuum cleaner that’s both powerful enough to make light work of cleaning up pet hair across all household surfaces but is considerably cheaper than a premium option then the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal is a great choice.

We found the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal has enough suction power for everyday household tasks, which is made even easier with the included tools and accessories, although we did conclude that it doesn’t have quite the same reach as more powerful models. As it’s a mid-range option, this perhaps isn’t too surprising but still worth keeping in mind.

Even so, the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal is able to clean up notoriously difficult pet hair combed into carpet, and even long strands of human hair, without issue.

Bosch includes a selection of tools and accessories to assist in a whole house clean. The main tool, and probably the one you’ll use the most, is the ProAnimal floor head which is fitted with Bosch’s anti-tangle technology, designed to pick up hair without it getting caught in the brush, resulting in fewer troublesome blockages.

Also provided is a mini motorised tool for stairs and upholstery (which is especially useful for removing hair from pet beds), a long and flexible crevice tool to help you reach tricky areas, and even a keyboard and drawer nozzle which is made up of multiple tubes for removing dust from tricky areas.

With an impressive battery life of over 30-minutes on its lowest power mode and nearly 17-minutes on automatic mode, the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal should last long enough to comfortably clean your entire home. The vacuum is also compatible with the Power For All 18V battery range which means you can swap out batteries with other compatible devices for uninterrupted use.

For households with allergy sufferers, the Henry Quick Pet cordless vacuum uses a clever pod system that keeps dust and pollutants secure and makes emptying the vacuum that much easier.

Included with the Henry Quick Pet are six pods which are essentially dust bags. Simply slot a pod into the front of the vacuum and, when full, push the eject button to have the pod deposit itself cleanly and efficiently into the bin, ensuring no dust or debris is spilled.

The Henry Quick Pet boasts the majority of features found in its sibling, the Henry Quick, including a long battery life that can last over an hour on low power mode and the same range of accessories: a crevice tool, a two-in-one brush and a motorised main floor head.

The difference is that the Henry Quick Pet comes equipped with a motorised mini tool for pet beds and upholstery.

Overall we found the Henry Quick Pet has a slightly lower than average air watt rate in standard mode, at just 23AW, although this increases significantly to a more powerful 192AW when Boost mode is enabled.

This means for everyday vacuuming the Henry Quick Pet should suffice in standard power mode, however for more difficult cleaning such as against edges, Boost mode will need to be enabled.

We also found that while the main floor head picked up shorter pet hair with ease, any longer human hair tended to get wrapped around the brush and needed to be cut out, which is a particularly unpleasant job. An anti-tangle floor head would have been better suited.

There’s also a scent stick that can be inserted into the back of the vacuum which freshens the exhaust air, much like the Shark Stratos IZ420UKT. Although this doesn’t actually help in cleaning the floor, it does ensure the room smells fresh.

If you or members of your household suffer from allergies then the Henry Quick Pet is a great way to collect pesky dust and debris and eventually dispose of it without risking any spillage.

Dyson has put out some pretty inventive vacuums in its time, but very few have had the head-turning quality of the Dyson PencilVac. This is a vacuum so thin that it’ll have you questioning how it all works the moment you lay eyes on it – it’s a marvel of engineering, but all you need to know is that it works as intended, and brilliantly at that.

At just 38mm across and weighing only 1.8kg, the PencilVac is the easiest vacuum to manoeuvre on this entire list, and that in turn makes the process of cleaning up the leftover hair from your pets far less of a workout. With the unique conical brush head, the PencilVac can glide across your floors like no one’s business.

That same brush head, thanks to its design, is able to pick up hair and let it slide off at the sides where it can then be swooped up into the bin – there’s no need to get the scissors out and remove hair manually. In spite of its slimline stature, the PencilVac still does a great job with picking up dust, even at the edges of your floors.

Of course, because this is such a light vacuum, you don’t have to worry about carving out a decent amount of space to store the PencilVac when it’s not in use. You can easily stow it away in a cupboard where it won’t take up much space at all.

The only place where the PencilVac does struggle is in vacuuming carpets to a degree that we’re happy with. You can find much better carpet-ready vacuums like the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty IP3251UKT, so that’s worth bearing in mind before deciding on which vacuum to buy. If you only have hard floors however then this won’t be an issue, and you’ll get on just fine with the Dyson PencilVac.