How to Get Cat Hair Off Clothes (Before You Leave the House)

You've got a meeting in twenty minutes and your black trousers look like they've been hugged by a sheepdog. Sound familiar? Cat hair in particular is fine, light and staticky, so it clings to clothes and drifts onto anything you've left lying around. Here's how to get it off fast, how to stop the wash making it worse, and a few habits that mean you're not de-furring every single morning.

Quick fixes for the morning rush

• Lint roller. The classic for a reason: perfect for a quick once-over on trousers and jackets. Roll in one direction and peel a fresh sheet when it stops picking up.
• Pet hair mitt. A reusable mitt like the PawStatic Mitt lets you go over a coat or jumper in a few strokes, with no sticky sheets to throw away. Use short back-and-forth strokes, then a quick little shimmy to roll the hair up into a strip you can pick off.
• Slightly damp rubber glove. Run your gloved hand down the fabric; the hair balls up and you can pick it off. Great in an emergency.
• Packing tape. Wrap it sticky-side-out around your hand and dab. Works, but it's fiddly and you'll get through a lot of tape.

Tip: on delicate fabrics such as silk, fine knits or anything with a raised finish, test any tool on an inside seam first and use a light touch.

Get the hair off before it goes in the wash

It's tempting to think the washing machine will sort it out. It usually won't: water just moves loose hair from one garment onto everything else in the drum, and it collects in your machine's filter. Instead:

1. Shake each item outside, or over the bath.
2. Do a quick sweep with a mitt or lint roller to take off the worst.
3. If you have a tumble dryer, give hairy items 10 minutes on a no-heat or low-heat setting before washing. The tumbling loosens a surprising amount of hair, which ends up in the lint trap. Wool dryer balls help.
4. Wash pet bedding and throws separately from your clothes.
5. Clean the lint trap and the washing machine filter regularly. Check your manual for where the filter is, as fur builds up there quickly in a pet household.

Which fabrics attract pet hair most?

Fur magnets	Easier to keep clean
Fleece	Denim
Velvet and velour	Leather and faux leather
Chunky or fluffy knits	Tightly woven cotton
Corduroy	Satin-finish and smooth synthetics
Felted wool coats	Waxed or coated jackets

Colour matters too. Hair that contrasts with the fabric (a white cat on navy, a black dog on cream) shows up the most, so you're not imagining it if one outfit always looks worse.

Stop the hair getting on your clothes in the first place

• Keep the wardrobe door shut and the bedroom door too if you can. Cats love a pile of clean laundry.
• Don't leave clothes on the bed or chair. If your cat naps there, that's where the fur lands.
• Brush your pet regularly, especially in spring and autumn moulting season. Every hair in the brush is one that isn't on your coat.
• Get dressed last. Feed the cat, do the morning cuddles, then put on the work clothes.
• Keep a mitt or lint roller by the front door for the final check on your way out.
• De-fur the sofa and bed regularly so there's less loose hair around to pick up. See our guide to getting pet hair off a sofa.

FAQ

What's the quickest way to get cat hair off clothes?

A lint roller or a pet hair mitt. For a whole coat or jumper, a mitt is faster and doesn't use up sticky sheets.

Does the washing machine get rid of pet hair?

Not reliably. It tends to spread loose hair around the load. Remove as much as you can first, and a short no-heat tumble before washing loosens much of the rest.

Why does cat hair stick to clothes so much?

Cat hair is very fine and light, and static helps it cling to fabric, especially fleece, velvet and fluffy knits.

Keep one by the door. The PawStatic Mitt is reusable: sweep, shimmy, pick off the fur, rinse, done. The 2-pack has free UK delivery, so one can live by the front door and one by the sofa.