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    Best Vacuums for Pet Hair

    These top-rated models for picking up pet hair are also stellar at cleaning carpets and bare floors

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    A person using a Shark Vertex Ultralight HZ2002 to vacuum dog hair from a couch.
    We test upright, canister, stick, handheld, and robotic vacuums to find the best ones for cleaning pet hair.
    Photo: Shark

    One of the less enjoyable aspects of pet ownership is cleaning up the hair. Pet hair can pose a unique challenge for vacuums, and not every model is effective at picking up strands of hair that are embedded in your carpet or upholstery. That’s why, when we test vacuums in our lab, we put them through a specific test designed to gauge how well they’ll clean up after your cat or dog.

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    Upright and canister vacuums that perform well with pet hair tend to do well across general testing on carpet and bare floors, according to Susan Booth, who oversees CR’s vacuum testing.

    “We do see some exceptions,” Booth says, “but if you have a pet that sheds a lot, look for models that get our top score in that test.”

    Here are the vacuums—upright, canister, stick, handheld, and robotic—that excel in our pet hair test, listed by type and alphabetically.

    Looking for a vacuum that stands out in other ways? Check out our comprehensive ratings of over 150 vacuums. Or if you want one that offers the best of everything, take a look at our guide to the best vacuums overall. And if you want to know which vacuums to avoid buying, see our article on the worst-performing vacuums from our tests.

    Best Upright Vacuums for Pet Hair

    Upright vacuums are a good choice if you have a lot of carpet and area rugs in your home. They tend to be better than canisters at carpet cleaning.​​ These highly rated models earn top-level marks on vacuuming pet hair and bare floors.

    Best Canister Vacuums for Pet Hair

    If you have stairs in your home, a canister vacuum may be a good option. This configuration is easier to use on stairs than a traditional upright because its weight is distributed between the powerhead and the canister. In addition to earning an excellent score for cleaning up pet hair, these four models also have very good hose suction strength. 

    Best Stick Vacuums for Pet Hair

    Stick vacuums are great for quick messes, and their cleaning power has improved in recent years. They’re lightweight and easy to pull out of a closet. Some even ace our pet hair test. Here are some top picks from the corded and cordless stick vacuums we’ve tested that earn excellent scores for picking up pet hair.

    Best Handheld Vacuums for Pet Hair

    Handheld vacuums aren’t designed for heavy cleaning; they’re best for whisking up cereal from under a high chair or off the floor mats in your car. Few can tackle pet hair, but here are some notable exceptions. These models also earn very good marks in our bare floor and carpet tests. 

    CR doesn’t collect reliability or satisfaction data on this type of vacuum, because consumers tend to replace rather than repair handheld vacs, given their relatively modest price.

    Best Robotic Vacuums for Pet Hair

    Robovacs have gotten better and cheaper since we first began testing them several years ago. For pet parents, that means you can get your floors reasonably clean while walking the dog. The highly rated models below got top scores in our pet hair tests, they’re easy to use, and they’re especially good at cleaning bare floors.

    How CR Tests Vacuums for Pet Hair

    To rate vacuums on how well they pick up pet hair, we devised a pet hair lab test for full-sized upright and canister vacuums in which technicians take 5 grams of long, feathery fur from Maine Coon cats and scatter, stomp, and smash it into a medium-pile carpet.

    Then we make multiple passes with each vacuum to see how much it picks up. Vacuums that get top ratings collect all the fur in a bag or bin. Average vacuums leave behind visible patches, or the fur becomes entangled in the brush. 

    We also test smaller vacuums (robotic, stick, and handheld models) for pet hair pickup. Because we don’t expect them to clean as thoroughly as a full-sized vacuum, we use a bit less cat hair in our tests. In other words, we design our tests to challenge the cleaning capabilities of each type of vacuum we rate.

    How CR Picks the Best Vacuums for Pet Hair

    Given the fuzzy claims about a vacuum’s ability to whisk away what our furry friends leave behind, we filter vacuums down to models that get top marks in performance ratings across our pet hair and other key tests. If you’re sensitive to pet hair, we suggest a bagged vacuum over a bagless model because every time you empty a bagless bin, the fur can fly.


    Mary Farrell headshot

    Mary H.J. Farrell

    As a senior editor at Consumer Reports for more than 15 years, Mary H.J. Farrell reported on all manner of vacuums and cookware, as well as microwaves, mixers, freezers, and fans. Starting in the mid-1990s, she held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. One of her earliest jobs was at Good Housekeeping.