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- Times
How Finn Russell and Ben Spencer's Bath partnership was forged
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Telegraph
4 hours ago
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The 11 best vacuums for pet hair, tried and tested
What is the best vacuum to buy for pet hair? It's a hotly contested market. Any vacuum that sucks up hair and dirt could call itself a pet vacuum in theory, but it won't deserve the name unless it has a smell-reducing filter, specialised hair-collecting attachments and decent suction power. There are pet versions of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, upright vacuum cleaners, cylinder vacuum cleaners and even robot vacuum cleaners (their sensors can identify pet mess and avoid it). We've tested them all and narrowed the field down to a top 11. You can read our reviews below, followed by the answers to some frequently asked questions, but if you're in a hurry, here's a quick look at our top five: Which are the best vacuum cleaners for pet hair? At a glance How to choose the best vacuum for pet hair A good filter is key. The 'pet smell' in houses comes from dander: microscopic particles of skin, saliva, sweat and other proteins, which can be as small as two microns (two thousandths of a millimetre) and can hang in the air for long periods of time, before settling into every fibre of your carpet and upholstery. You want to make sure that when you vacuum the dander up, it stays vacuumed. The acronym to look out for here is HEPA: a high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter will trap 99.95 per cent of particles down to 0.3 microns in size, which includes pet dander as well as pollen, dust and many microorganisms, bacteria and some viruses. 'HEPA filters provide the best method of filtration,' says Katerina Petrova of the Happy House cleaning company. 'You can find both bagged or bagless models and the prices range from cheap to considerably more expensive. Good examples of this type of vacuum come from Miele, Shark and Dyson.' How we test vacuums for pet hair With cats and dogs in residence, our houses are ideal test cases: you can see their hair floating in the air when the sun shines and we've never found a standard vacuum that can remove it all in one go. So we tested each of the current leading pet vacuums on carpet, rugs, upholstery, curtains and hard surfaces, getting down on our knees after each clean for a close look at how much hair and dust remained. We wanted a low weight, manoeuvrability and ease of use. It also mattered how noisy they were, whether the rooms smelled fresher after use and, naturally, what the vacuums cost. Pet owners may also be interested in our guides to the best cat food and best dog food. Why you can trust Telegraph Recommended Our thorough, real-world tests will always help you find the best product. No manufacturer ever sees Telegraph Recommended reviews before publication and we don't accept payment in exchange for favourable reviews, nor do we allow brands to pay for placement in our articles. All reviews are based on independent expert opinion and our hands-on testing. Visit our Who We Are page. 1. Best Buy Vacuum for Pet Hair: Henry Quick Pet £339, Currys Score: 9/10 We like: Big dust pods go straight in the bin with no mess We don't like: Fairly heavy for a cordless When we reviewed pet vacuums a few years ago, the best around were old-fashioned cylinder vacs. They're still the most powerful (see the Henry Pet below), but these days people want cordless ones. They're more portable, take up less space and don't make you spend ages winding cords. The downside is that they can get quite expensive. But, Henry's relatively affordable Quick Pet has what you want in a pet vacuum without putting you in the poorhouse. Solidly constructed, if a little heavy, it's manoeuvrable on carpet and easy to get into corners and under sofas. But the Quick Pet's main appeal is its disposable dust bags. You get one pre-installed and six more in the box. They hold a litre of dust (more than other cordless models) and the powerful suction compacts still more into the space. When it's full, you press one button to flip it into the bin with no mess. The pods are much more pleasant to deal with than a bin full of dusty pet hair and it comes with scent capsules which pop into the exhaust vent. They're not charcoal filters but the waxy, lemony-fresh rings cover up doggy smells pretty well. You get ten in a box for £9.99. There are two main motorised brush heads: a heavy-hitting nine-inch brush for use on carpets and hard floors and a five-inch mini tool with shorter, stiffer bristles for use in handheld configuration, on upholstery and stairs. The suction is great on the latter, but it's fairly inflexible and has straight, tough sides which left some light scratches on the floor of my car boot. Like the Vax Air Stretch Pet Max below, there's a manually operated slider on the main floor head for adjusting the suction power: choose a smaller aperture for hard floors and a wider aperture for carpets. It's not high-tech, but it's perfectly effective. Overall, this is a tough little tool for frequently freshening up a home that's been cat- or dog-ified without putting bad smells in the air. Key specifications 2. Best Value Vacuum for Pet Hair: Vax Air Stretch Pet Max £89, Amazon Score: 9/10 We like: Best combination of suction, filtration, usability and price We don't like: The long cord takes an age to wind Reviewed by Simon Lewis Upright vacuum cleaners may be going out of style, but no cordless can match this for performance. The 820 Watt motor is up there with the most powerful, while the washable HEPA filtration is what's needed for trapping pet dander. The large bagless bin gives you a clear view of the contents and the extendable wand reaches tricky corners. There are a few other reasons to go old-school: the extra-long power cable and the long hose give it a combined reach of 55 feet, enough to clean several rooms at a time, and the special motorised turbo tool (which is what 'Pet Max' refers to) really whips up stubborn pet hairs. You also get a flat upholstery tool that's larger than most. The motorised brush heads are see-through, so you can see when there are tangles and remove them. That's not as clever as some top-of-the-range anti-tangle technology, but it's obviously cheaper and one reason why this is so affordable. Another reason would be its fairly plasticky construction. It's loud, including the turbo tool, and the method for adjusting suction power is an old-fashioned vent on the brush head. You widen it to decrease suction so that it's easier to use on deep carpets and narrow it for more force on hard floors. It works fine, but you have to bend down. You will also spend considerable time on your knees winding the stupendously long power cable back onto its hooks. This is not a lift-out model: go for the £129.99 Air Lift Steerable Pet Max if you want a vacuum that's easier to carry one-handed. With this one, you may sacrifice a bit of sophistication but you make up for that with raw power. That's probably why it's so popular with people who let dirty great animals romp all over their houses. Key specifications 3. Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for Tricky Areas: Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Currently £249.99, Shark Score: 9/10 We like: Light and cleverly designed to get into every corner We don't like: The dust bin is a little awkward to empty Recommended by Rebecca Astill When shopping for a cordless, your mind might automatically go to Dyson, but cheaper and more widely available American challenger Shark easily rivals it in popularity. Its USP is a flexible wand that bends in the middle, with a light on the end for cleaning under furniture more easily. It also means the cleaner folds in half for convenient storage. Another unique feature is Shark's DuoClean floor-head with two motorised brush rolls – one of stiff bristles, the other of rubber fins that dig deep into carpets to release more pet dirt. Most impressively, this model uses Shark's anti-hair wrap technology to remove strands from the rollers as it goes along. It's almost 100 per cent effective making it the best Shark vacuum for pet hair, and that's coming from someone with four long-haired cats and two Labradors. Removing the stick turns this into a handheld vacuum. It's somewhat bulky, but this lets you use the motorised pet tool which is motorised and gives visible results on dog beds and fur-covered sofas and stairs. The Clean Sense IQ also senses the level of dust as it goes and auto-adjusts the power of suction, meaning more attention is paid to particularly hairy patches of carpet. Finally, the Stratos model uses anti-odour technology via a replaceable cartridge which fits into the floor-head. It doesn't perfume the air, but rather neutralises any odours and keeps the surfaces in your house and the vacuum's dust bin both smelling clean. While not the most powerful pet vacuum there is, this hits the sweet spot for price, usability and fluff-removing tech. Key specifications 4. Best Lightweight Vacuum for Pet Hair: Dyson V12 Detect Slim Absolute Lightweight £499.99, Dyson Score: 9/10 We like: Surprisingly powerful for its weight We don't like: The bin capacity is really small Recommended by Rebecca Astill If you're after a really lightweight vacuum cleaner, this is the one I'd recommend. The V12 weighs just 2.4kg thanks to a slim frame and small bin capacity (half that of the Shark above) while its 545 Watt motor is powerful enough to suck up every bit of stubborn pet hair. It's also Dyson's only vacuum with a single-button power switch, rather than a trigger control. This power switch is the reason I'd recommend the V12 above Dyson's other vacuums to people with pets. Not having to constantly hold down a button makes it easier to swap hands and navigate obstacles like sofas, dog toys and feeding bowls. This is especially effective with the hair screw attachment which comes included in the price. Standard cleaning heads are often defeated by long pet hairs. Another reason I love the power switch is because it makes the vacuum far easier to use alongside Dyson's Pet Grooming Kit (£55, available separately). It comes with an extension hose, an adaptor and a brush. To use it, you just hold down the button on the head, brush your dog, then release the button for the hair to be sucked into the vacuum. I've previously used the Grooming Kit with an old model, which had Dyson's standard trigger button. Because a hand is needed to hold down the trigger on the vacuum and another to press the button on the brush head, there were no hands-free to reassure the dog I was brushing. This was fine for one of my dogs, who loves attention and basked in the pampering, but my other dog is slightly more nervous and needs a hand of encouragement. Having the power switch instead of a trigger button on the vacuum means I have a hand free to tickle under her chin as I go. The obvious drawback to the V12 is the bin capacity, which has been slashed to 0.35 litres to bring down the size and weight. I don't find it a real issue because the bin is so easy to empty, it takes two seconds. But if you think the constant emptying will irritate you, perhaps consider the Dyson V15, which has more than double the bin capacity at 0.77 litres. Key specifications 5. Best Mid-range Pet Cordless Vacuum: Vax HomePro Pet-Design £319.99, Vax Score: 9/10 We like: Anti-hair wrap facility works brilliantly and it stands up unassisted We don't like: Dust-emptying button is easy to press accidentally Recommended by Kulwinder Rai The flagship of Vax's new HomePro range, the Pet-Design is more conventional than the model which it replaces. The battery sits under the handle and motor with the dust container ahead of them, making it feel well balanced. It also shows off a welcome new talent: the ability to stand upright, unassisted. It's a little precarious, and Vax advises it shouldn't be left unattended (a wall mount is supplied), but it's useful nonetheless. There's a large LED ring that gives a rough visual indication of remaining battery life and a suction Boost button at its centre. Battery life is about 30 minutes on a full charge, although you'll be lucky to see a third of that if you're heavy-handed with the boost switch. The standout features are HairWrap Resist and FlexiClean. The former ensures that collected hair reaches the dust container, rather than wrapping around the brush roll while the latter is a bendy section on the extension tube which lets the floorhead reach under sofas, bed frames and so on. Both worked fantastically well. After a week of cleaning carpets and hard floors of long human hair, none ended up around the brush roll, and I was able to reach about 50 cm underneath my sofa. When it comes to the actual cleaning, the Pet-Design does a stand-up job, happily tackling every speck of dirt and rice that I tasked it with collecting, usually within a couple of passes. Flour is one of the toughest tests and this Vax aced it, even if some of the white stuff lingered in the floorhead's nooks and crannies. Emptying the dust container is easy, although you'll still have to stick fingers (or a tool like a skewer) in to fully clear it. As for the supplied tools, they get a pretty clean score sheet too, with the Motorised Pet Tool proving adept on furniture, in the car and when collecting hair. Overall, the Pet-Design offers a useful step-up in utility over the cheaper Vax Air Stretch Pet Max (our Best Value cordless vacuum), is relatively lightweight, and with its newly acquired hair-gathering capability, should have pet owners making a bee-line for it. Key specifications 6. Most Reliable Pet Vacuum Cleaner: Henry Pet Currently £169, AO Score: 9/10 We like: Low price and solid construction We don't like: It's noisy and heavy Anyone who's used trusty old Henry cylinder vacuums knows the negatives: they're noisy, heavy, slightly annoying to pull around on their casters and, since you have to wind the cord in manually, not great if you have a bad back. The positives are that they're good value and robust to the point of being bombproof. They also hold a stupendous amount of dust in their nine-litre bags. To this basic package, Henry Pet adds a charcoal-activated mesh filter to neutralise odours and a HepaFlo filter, which is not quite the gold standard but still removes 85 per cent of 0.3-micron particles. I used the hair-capturing EcoBrush head on my carpets, which deploys the vacuum's suction to spin the brush, scooping pet hairs into an aperture that's narrower than on the standard Henry head, so that the power is more focused. It's noisy and not quite as good as the motorised brushes on costlier pet vacuums, but did a decent job of lifting hairs and was easy to push around. The upholstery head is even smaller, for terrific suction, and has a lint brush ahead of the aperture. It's best used in repeated, pulling-towards-you motions and took quite a bit of elbow grease, but achieved proper deep-clean results. Best of all, I detected no doggy smell when I changed the bag. This is a great improvement on my dog-loving great aunt's vacuum, rarely emptied, which I can testify smells worse than anything on earth. Key specifications 7. Best Lift-away Pet Vacuum: Hoover HL5 Pet £269, Hoover Score: 9/10 We like: Impressive power for something you can carry around one-handed We don't like: At 6kg it gets tiring after a while Having just used one to do a whole-house clean, I can testify that Hoover's upright is the best you can get for stair and furniture cleaning; this extremely powerful vacuum lifts away from the base so you can wander around using the wand in your other hand. Weighing nearly 6kg and with a cord trailing behind, it's obviously not quite as portable as a cordless and unlike the Miele below, the 10-metre power cord doesn't retract automatically. So if you unwind it completely, it takes a while to manually rewind. But the power and the huge bin capacity more than makeup for that. The Hoover is also equipped with a HEPA 13 filter, which is a big selling point, helping to catch those microscopic particles of dander. It's more powerful than the discontinued Hoover HU500 we previously recommended, and better on long hairs thanks to the H5's anti-twist comb inside the brush head. It definitely makes for a smoother experience. When buying, it might be worth checking the prices: the H5 also comes in a 'Home Edition' which is usually less expensive. However, discounts in the sales sometimes make this model cheaper. It comes with a turbo brush, making it much better for digging clingy pet hair out of carpets and furniture. A bit of a no-brainer, really. Key specifications 8. Best Pet Vacuum Cleaner for Older Users: Gtech AirRAM MK2 K9 £279.99, Gtech Score: 8/10 We like: Super light and simple to use We don't like: Not exactly sophisticated Reviewed by Simon Lewis The Gtech AirRAM comes with a clear instruction manual delivered in actual words (a rarity). The vacuum arrives in three parts which snap together in seconds. The battery takes four hours to charge, then slots into the cleaning head. For that, you get 40 minutes of run-time. There's only one setting. Although the AirRAM K9 is far less powerful than the other vacuums we tried, the suction is actually pretty great. The large, rectangular head leaves clear, broad stripes where it's been, like a proper floor cleaner should. Unlike some cordless vacs, it doesn't fail to lift bigger, pebble-sized bits of dirt, thanks to a feature called AirLOC that stops them falling back down. And because it's light, it moves fast. The bin compartment is small and sits down inside the cleaning head. You will have to empty it after each use and that's a three-step process that requires instructions written on the vacuum itself, but I was absolutely fine with that. I also liked the extra handle halfway down the shaft that makes it easier to slide under sofas. The Gtech doesn't have anti-tangle technology. You have to remove the brush bar and use a neat little bladed tool to sever any strands and then brush them off. It seems like the solution your dad would come up with. You have to hope you never lose the tool, but again I like the simplicity of it. However, you do get modern anti-hair-wrap tech with the £349.99 AirRAM Platinum. The K9 comes with two filters, so that you can wash one while using the other. You can slot a little scent capsule inside it, like the Henry Quick Pet, but the fragrance is synthetic and rather overpowering. If that was all the K9 model got you, it would be a bit of a swizz, but this model is also strengthened with aluminium, making it more durable – although all Gtechs come with two-year warranties. The K9 is undeniably basic, but it is light, moves easily and picks up pet hairs like a boss. My 75-year-old mum loves it. One thing to note, however, is that you can't collapse the AirRAM down into a small, handheld configuration for cleaning the car and sofa. There's a separate model for that. Reader review: Reader Dennis Sheen owns a Gtech AirRAM K9. 'It's noisy and feels fragile, but performs excellently,' he says. 'It's very lightweight, manoeuvrable and efficient. Our Jack Russell leaves hairs everywhere but we have no problem picking them up. It also has LED headlights. We bought it in 2017 for around £150, since then we have had to buy one replacement battery for £70.' Key specifications 9. Best Vacuum for Pet Hair on Carpet: Sebo Automatic X7 Pet £457.99, Amazon Score: 8/10 We like: High power and old-fashioned simplicity We don't like: It's a bulky piece of kit Reviewed by Simon Lewis Corded upright vacuums are often considered best for pet hair removal because of their strong suction and Sebo – which originally manufactured industrial-strength vacuums for German hotels – has a high reputation among those in the know. The Sebo Automatic X7 Pet is heavy and won't win any beauty prizes, but its old-fashioned design holds a powerful 890 Watt motor and a foot-wide brush head, sucking up more hair and dust in one pass than the other vacuums we tried. Though it looks unwieldy, with the carpet-cleaning motors turned on it whizzes around easily and lies completely flat to fit under sofas and beds, with a bright light to find the dust bunnies. Like the Henry, it uses activated charcoal to neutralise pet smells. The filter is rated as S-class (S for schwebstoff – airborne particles), a European rating that's even more demanding than HEPA since it traps 99.9 per cent of particles down to 0.03 microns. Despite the turbo brush accessory and its long hose and power cable, it's not the vacuum I'd choose for going up and down stairs or for cleaning upholstery and crevices. The operations are a little basic, too; you'll likely have to kneel down to press the performance boost button (for ground-in dirt) or to turn the headlights on. But a lot of people will see that simplicity as a plus. In a house with wide areas of carpet, where speed and power across the floor are key, this is the one to choose. Key specifications 10. Best Vacuum for Cat Hair: Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Pro £378.99, Amazon Score: 8/10 We like: Very strong suction and a few neat tricks I was recommended Miele's pet-focused cylinder vac by a professional cleaner who's used one for decades. Like the Sebo, it packs a very powerful 890 Watt German motor and better-than-HEPA filter (rated to trap 99.99 per cent of particles), with additional charcoal layers for neutralising pet smells. But it's a bit more sophisticated than the Sebo, with settings for curtains, upholstery, carpets, rugs, hard floors and a low-power quiet mode that you can cycle through using the + and - foot buttons. The only thing it lacks is a motorised brush head: instead, the Turbo head's rotating brush is powered by suction, as on the Henry. It also doesn't have anti-tangle tech, but it worked better than any of the other vacuums at getting cat hair – which is fine and stubbornly clingy – out of cushions, upholstery and beds. The Miele is twice the price of the Henry, but for me (and my bad back) that's almost justified by a single pedal that whips the entire cord back into the body of the vacuum in a second. Another big plus is that the dusting, crevice and upholstery attachments are all housed under a flap on top of the machine, which to my mind beats Dyson's shelf-full of attachments hands down. I'm more of a lightweight cordless fan myself, but if it's power you're after, this is a serious contender. Key specifications And if you need to do a deep clean... 11. Best Carpet Cleaner for Pet Stains: Vax Platinum SmartWash Pet-Design Carpet Cleaner £199.99, Argos Score: 8/10 We like: The pre-treatment wand makes targeting stains easier We don't like: It marks the carpet if you leave it to stand (though this can be cleaned up) Recommended by Rebecca Astill Pet owners, especially puppy and kitten owners, sometimes need more than just a vacuum cleaner to keep their homes respectable. Vax dominates the world of carpet cleaners and there's now a pet version of its top of the range model. This one comes with a pre-treatment wand, to tackle tougher stains and smells. You fill the small compartment on the wand with the provided Pet Stain and Odour Solution and spray particularly stained areas of carpet before going in with the full body of the carpet cleaner. As the owner of two dogs, four cats and several predecessors, the carpets in my house aren't as dazzlingly white as they could be. I didn't expect the carpet cleaner to make too much of a difference. How wrong I was. The Vax SmartWash uses Motion Sense Technology, meaning it wets and cleans as you push the carpet cleaner forward and dries as you pull back. The cleaning fluid (which is contained in its own dispenser) automatically mixes with the water to provide the optimum ratio. I have a few small gripes with the carpet cleaner. Firstly, it leaked dirty water if I left it stood upright for a few minutes (though this was easy to clean up). Secondly, despite repeated passes, some stains were too deep-rooted to lift – although the SpinScrub hand tool attachment was the most effective. It didn't struggle with the more recent stains, so I suppose I shouldn't expect miracles. Thirdly, I found if I sprayed too much from the pre-treatment wand, then ran the floor head over the same spot, it became extremely soapy and hard to rinse. Other than that it's simple to use, looks smart and is easy to clean. The pitch black contents of the dirty water tank were evidence of how effective it was at pulling dirt out of my carpets. Despite a couple of minor faults, I'd 100 per cent recommend it to a house with pets. Key specifications Vacuums for pet hair FAQ What suction power should a vacuum for pet hair have? Our buyer's guide to the best vacuum cleaners explains the complicated matter of measuring suction, but as a rough guide, look for a 600 Watt motor or higher. And, importantly, remember to empty the receptacle as regularly as possible: a bag or cyclone cylinder filled to the brim with pet hair will drastically reduce the vacuum's suction power. A cyclone has the advantage over a bag here, because the hair is visible, but its built-in filter will need to be cleaned regularly. 'Pet hair is small, fine, almost invisible and can get everywhere,' says Fola George of home cleaning specialists WeCasa. 'It's important to get it all up, especially if anyone in the house has allergies. That's why I prefer the cyclones for that job. Because it sucks it straight in, you can see it's working and you get rid of it straight away.' Do you need a special vacuum for pet hair? A good pet vacuum needs special attachments for removing pet hair, which can be finer than human hair, making it more likely to cling to fabrics due to static electricity. Hair can also easily clog the bristles of a standard vacuum cleaner head, reducing its ability to sweep up dirt. Motorised rotating brush rolls, ideally with anti-tangle features, are a feature of most good pet vacuums but you should also check for accessories like turbo nozzles, crevice tools and dust brush tools designed for getting pet hair and dander out of upholstery, curtains and inaccessible corners. Is there a difference in how vacuums handle long pet hair versus short pet hair? Most pet hair is short enough to be suctioned up the vacuum in the usual way, but some pet hair – like hair from bearded collies or Irish setters – is long enough to wrap around the brush roll. This is why you want to look for a vacuum for pet hair with anti-hair-wrapping technology. Short hair, on the other hand, can get far more stubbornly lodged into carpets so it's worth buying a vacuum with a turbo brush attachment, a rotating brush which reaches deeper into a carpet, best for deep cleans. Are robot vacuums or traditional vacuums better for pet hair? Traditional vacuums are better than robot vacuums for pet hair, as robot vacuums lack the suction to pull hair out of carpets. That said, robot vacuums can whizz under lots of furniture where a traditional vacuum would struggle to fit: underneath chests of drawers, cupboards and sofas for example, which may be useful for cat owners. But traditional vacuums still give you the best overall clean for pet hair, which is why that's what we've focused on in this article. View the latest Shark and Dyson deals
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
JetBlue flight from Chicago rolls off runway and into grass in Boston
A JetBlue flight landing at Boston's Logan International Airport rolled off the runway and into the grass on Thursday, an airport spokesperson said. No one on JetBlue flight 312 was injured, but the runway remained closed Thursday afternoon and a ground stop on all flights was in effect. Meanwhile, crews assessed the aircraft and passengers were bussed to the terminal, said Samantha Decker, with Massachusetts Port Authority, in an email. Passengers could be seen descending from the plane using stairs provided by emergency vehicles surrounded by dozens of emergency crews, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. The plane was coming from Chicago. 'JetBlue flight 312 from Chicago to Boston veered off the runway and onto the grass after landing,' JetBlue said in an email. 'We will conduct a full investigation of the incident and will work closely with the relevant authorities to understand the cause.' Thursday's incident came FAA officials have acknowledged they weren't doing enough to ensure air safety. Recent polling by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying this year. Additionally, an Air India passenger plane bound for London crashed into a medical college in Ahmedabad after takeoff Thursday, killing at least 240 people in one of India's worst airline disasters in decades, officials said.
