Best Vacuums for Pet Hair 2024: The easy way to tidy up after your pets

If you’re looking for a lightweight and versatile cordless vacuum with powerful suction, a decent battery life and a host of extra tools then look no further than the Shark IZ420UKT.

Weighing just over 4kg, the Shark IZ420UKT is easy to manoeuvre and thanks to its easily foldable body, it can reach under furniture with minimal hassle. 

Don’t let its lightness fool you as it may be small but it’s equally mighty and boasts impressive raw power that could easily handle our test cleaning modes, including picking up sprinkled flour, dropped rice grains and even pet hair combed into carpets.

With its CleanSense mode selected, the Shark automatically adjusts its cleaning power according to the level of mess which means the vacuum will only ever use as much power as it needs to reserve its battery life.

As with most Shark vacuums, the IZ420UKT comes equipped with extra attachments and tools, including an anti-allergen dusting brush and a mini motorised tool for upholstery and pet beds. Its DuoClean floor head features both a hard floor roller and carpet brush and was designed for better collection of debris whilst preventing hair from getting wrapped around inside.

We found the Shark also has a decent runtime, with a single battery lasting for around 27 minutes. As Shark conveniently includes two battery units, you can replace a depleted battery quickly, offering you a total run-time of just under an hour. 

Not only does the Shark IZ420UKT boast a long battery life and a huge amount of raw power that effortlessly cleans all surface types, but its pet-specific features make this particularly worth buying. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full Review: Shark Stratos Anti Hair Wrap Plus Pet Pro Cordless Vacuum IZ420UKT

We concluded that the Shark Stratos NZ860UKT is one of the best overall upright vacuum cleaners that you can buy right now. 

Not only does it boast impressively raw power but its DuoClean floor head with Anti Hair Wrap Plus makes light work of picking up pet hair and preventing tangles in the brush. In fact we found that the Shark NZ860UKT effortlessly vacuumed up all the mess we put it up against during our tests, from sprinkled flour to cat hair which was combed into carpets. 

You’ll also find Shark’s Anti-Odour pod included, which seamlessly slots into the floor head and guards against odours that are commonly caused by pet hair and dust. 

As the NZ860UKT weighs 6.7kg, it isn’t the lightest of vacuums but thanks to Shark’s Lift-Away mode the vacuum can be made easier to manoeuvre. Lift-Away allows the central cylinder to easily lift off the body and be carried around, making it lighter for cleaning under furniture and carrying up and down stairs. 

You’ll also find the same useful tools that most Shark vacuum cleaners come with, including a crevice tool and a dedicated mini pet tool. Another impressive feature that shouldn’t be overlooked is that this vacuum comes with on-board storage, which means tools are always at hand when necessary. 

Using the Shark NZ860UKT is easy too, with controls at the top of the handle that include an on/off button and a slider to select the desired mode. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full Review: Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum NZ860UKT

Boasting a powerful motor, impressive battery life and a handy integrated 2-in-1 crevice tool, Dyson’s Gen5detect is a cordless vacuum that we found to be just as powerful as a wire-powered model. 

Courtesy of a large LCD screen, the battery life and time remaining is clearly displayed while you clean. The screen also displays the live particle count, so you can even see how much dust is being collected in real-time. 

Included with the Gen5detect are two floor heads and multiple extra attachments that will easily see you through your entire home. The fluffy optic floor head, which is designed for hard floors, is particularly impressive as it uses a green laser which highlights dirt on the floor and makes it easy to spot any missed patches. 

Also included is a two-in-one dusting and crevice tool (which is integrated inside the main wand), a combination tool for detailing and even a hair screw tool for cleaning upholstery and pet beds. 

Not only is the Gen5detect easy to use, but we concluded that dust and dirt collection was one of the best we had ever seen on a cordless vacuum. There are multiple modes to choose from depending on the floor type or level of mess, however we’d recommend sticking with auto mode as it takes the guesswork out of deciding which mode to use. 

Otherwise there’s boost mode, which is a good option for powering through tougher messes, and eco mode which is ideal for when you need slightly less power, for example when vacuuming lightweight rugs. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Dyson Gen5detect

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.

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Hoover HL4 Pet

Have you considered investing in a robot vacuum but aren’t sure  whether it would be powerful enough to efficiently pick pet hair up? The Eufy Clean X8 Pro was built with this in mind. Designed for pet owners, the X8 Pro features powerful twin-turbine technology, a detangling brush and is accompanied by a helpful and feature-packed app. 

The X8 Pro is available as a standalone model or with a self-emptying station for an additional £150/$150. As the robot itself only has a 335ml bin and the self-emptying station can hold up to 2.5l of dust before needing to be replaced, we’d recommend the self-emptying station model.

On the robot itself, you’ll find both a single side-sweeper brush and a dual floor brush, which work simultaneously on carpets and hard floors. We found the side-sweeper brush particularly useful when cleaning against walls and corners, which are notoriously difficult spots to clean. 

There’s also a useful comb inside which prevents collected hair from becoming tangled around the brush head. 

The X8 Pro also has a simple mopping function, which is activated by attaching the mopping bracket and 270ml water tank to the robot. The mopping system only uses surface pressure, rather than a sonic scrubber found on some robot vacuum cleaners, and it’s worth pointing out that it doesn’t have an automatic lift to avoid wetting your carpets.

The X8 Pro is also easy to use thanks to the accompanying Eufy Clean app. With this app you can map your house out, set dedicated rooms and no-go zones and even schedule the vacuum to clean while you’re away. The app also allows you to spot clean, and even lets you run an extra brush clean to detangle any remaining hair. 

For effortless vacuuming and even a decent enough mop feature, the Eufy X8 Pro is a great choice for busy pet owners. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full review: Eufy Clean X8 Pro

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. 

Reviewer: David Ludlow

Full reviewer: Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal

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.

Full review: Henry Quick Pet

Reviewer: David Ludlow