We have three huskies and a lab.....the hair issue is real. Currently, I have a Shark stick vac that works great on the wood floors but I need one for the upstairs carpet and steps. We have a Shark Vortex and it cannot stand up to the shed......I have replaced the filters, cleaned and checked the hose.....all to no avail. Does anyone have any solid recommendations on which vacuum is best for pet hair on the carpet? Thanks!

Ugh. Vacuums. I have had a lifelong antipathy to vacuuming. Starting as a teenager and my job was to vacuum the very large, very plush, wool wall to wall living room carpet. In a house where Mom raised Old English Sheepdogs. And Persian cats.

Now 55 years later, I have 2 huskies and a house also with abundant carpeting as well as oriental rugs...

House has central vac without beater brush. I use that about once a month. In between, I have roomba. And swiffer for wood floors. Long handled carpet brush ( came with resolve carpet cleaner kit.) With my first roomba, the bristle brushers were a bear to remove the hair and not much better with the central vac. So I would use the carpet brush to pick up the hair - which turned out to be surprisingly quick, effortless and efficient. Just short, quick light strokes pulling the brush back towards me. Remove the ball of hair. Usual have to clear the brush after 3-4 passes but it comes out easily,I wear an apron with pockets and stick the hair balls in there then run the vacuum. My new roomba, bought specifically because it has rubber rollers instead of bristle brushes and empties itself. Good news is the mapping works well, it's quieter and I control it with my smart phone. Bad news, it still has trouble with the hair. BUT. It gets it all up, then randomly drops walnut sized hair balls around the room. I find these very easy and quick to pick up by hand and dispose in the trash.

So. In your shoes, I would get a roomba with the clean base with self emptying for the upstairs, a Resolve category brush for the stairs. If you're a stickler for perfectly vacuumed floors, once a week/month run your shark around the edges...

But then. I did mention, I hate vacuuming

Thank you for replying so quickly!! I do not like vacuuming much either.....especially since this crew has come together! I am forever picking up fluffs of hair and no matter when I vacuum, there is always a spot I missed......I think it lies in wait and then blows out from wherever fluffs of hair hide

I dont think a Roomba would last very long in my house......I think my Akira would be likely to assume it was a small animal and try to kill it. She loves to play with cat toys that make noises.......

Thanks again for your input.....and have a beautiful evening!

I like my Bissell bolt but i also just ripped out all the downstairs carpet. I would recommend a carpet rake.

I have an old Eureka vacuum that works well enough as well as a Neato robot vacuum that actually works great. Once the Eureka dies though I'm going for broke and getting a rainbow. Have used my grandma's and it is amazing. We too got rid of carpet in the majority of the house. Only carpet left is in the bedrooms.

My housekeeper swears by kirby and my uncle uses a dyson in his office. I swear by no carpet. Ive been thinking about a robot vac for the random hair on the vinyl. It builds in corners ridiculously fast. I had no idea how much hair was frapped in the carpet.

I desperately would love to eradicate carpet here. Except maybe the bedroom. And replaced wood in kitchen with porcelain tile. But. As I watch the dogs get older, it appears the carpet is easier walking for the them. And, the thick pads underneath along with the carpets does provide a bit of insulation/draft protection. Since winter is a major part of life here, I need to think carefully before I willy billy to things out.

I do love James, my robot vacuum cleaner. He may leave fur walnuts around but they are a whole lot easier to pick up then scraping hair from everywhere.

Our current house was a hodgepodge of carpet and pure oak (not engineered) hardwood when we moved in. We ripped it all out to put in laminate (the good stuff, not the cheap $1/sqft stuff) like we had at the other house. It had an insulated underlayment and the floors stayed so nice and warm in the winter. Don't skimp on underlayment when ripping out carpet and putting down any kind of floating floor. The underlayment will stop any drafting and insulating issues and keep the noise under control. I have area rugs that give the dogs islands to live on. They slip around the house when they are racing for the kitchen but they have rugs for general laying on and play and if the rug gets dirty it goes to the cleaners or gets pitched if something catastrophic. Dog shoes did solve traction issues. When shoes are on they can buzz around like nobodies business, which is why I don't put them on too often. A little sliding keeps them from getting too rowdy.

Spider has mastered the slide on the vinyl. Its funny but she knows exactly when to stop and turn to keep herself from sliding into the walls.

TwisterII wrote:

I have an old Eureka vacuum that works well enough as well as a Neato robot vacuum that actually works great. Once the Eureka dies though I'm going for broke and getting a rainbow. Have used my grandma's and it is amazing. We too got rid of carpet in the majority of the house. Only carpet left is in the bedrooms.

Which version of the Neato do you have? I'm considering a roomba or neato and probably an older model to be a bit more cost effective at the moment, if I can

It's a D80. I've had it since 2018. Still works good.

We have dogs, why do we need a vacuum cleaner???

@aljones so we dont step on the prickly pear spines they seem drag in. But im my house we vacuum up more sand than anything else, followed by fur followed by cactus parts.