Let’s Talk Best Pet Vacuum Cleaners

Never in all my years owning pets have I ever managed to find the vacuum cleaner that actually survives long enough to make a difference in cleaning up pet hair and dust. And lord knows as dog-mums we need a strong one.

I also must admit that the thought of buying one of those top of the range that cost upwards of R8k is just not appealing to me. At best these things have like 3 good months of suction usually, and there is no way I’m spending R8k on something that I may have to inevitably replace.

Genesis Hydrovac Plus

I’ve bought this one twice. I think I get pulled in by the Verimark promises, and always think well, for the price, it surely has to be the best for pet hair. Those Verimark ads always make it seems like it will do the trick!

Costs between R2-R3k.

But I’m over it. Twice I have been pulled in by good marketing, and twice I have been let down. Plus cleaning up the water gunk post vacuum is awful.

I needed something new.

So recently I spent some time researching vacuum cleaners for pet hair as the situation needed some urgent assistance. With the days being less warm, the garden stays damp longer, which means all the dirt gets trampled inside to dry and become dust cakes. Cleaning up seems a never-ending task these days. So I finally bit the bullet and decided to buy a new vacuum cleaner – hence all the research.

The top names kept coming up of course, but again, I’m nowhere near being desperate enough to pay R8k yet, but I’m also NOT buying the same brand as before.

My research took me far and wide, and I decided to heed some of the advice from one of those Facebook Groups about “best ever”. This name came up a lot and I thought, well it can’t be worse than what I had previously. The price range is good and all the online reviews that I found of this product came up tops, especially for pet hair removal! So I bought it.

Hoover Power 5 Pet

It arrived today. I am almost ashamed of how excited I was for a new vacuum cleaner. With a name that includes “pet” one would hope that they have got this one nailed, right? I immediately put it to the bedroom test. Our bedroom is about 4mx5m and carpeted. It’s also in one of those colours that you don’t see dirt easy 🙂 Pros and cons. I know.

Costs: Around R2k. (So this is actually cheaper than the one I bought before.)

First feelings: I am super happy. I didn’t even have it on a high setting and my carpet has never looked better. The amount of sand, dust and pet hair that came out of it is disgusting amazing.

My experience of the vacuum:

Super easy to manoeuvre, light weight and suction is really good.

It started leaving some clumps of bundled hair on the carpet that was easy enough for me to pick up by hand and throw away. All in all, it wasn’t that much – about a handful. Considering I have long hair collies, this is not a lot. The rest it seemed to have sucked in to the cavity.

Once done it amounted to about a quarter of dirt in the container itself, easily dispensed in the bin.

It wasn’t loud, so the dogs didn’t mind it. The vacuum itself was easy to clean – and considering the prev one had a water cavity, there was no water to throw away either.

I also like that it stores nicely.

The “little touches” sometimes make a big difference. There is a little hook on the vacuum where you can attach the “hose and the floorhead” so it doesn’t “snake” all over the place.

*Let’s see how long it lasts.

Please share in the comments if you have a vacuum cleaner that you cannot live without!

PS: In no way was this post endorsed or sponsored 🙂

*UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2019

Sadly, I may have jinxed my own purchase! The Hoover Power 5 Pet only lasted 3 months. Quite literally. The bottom exploded! As it comes with a guarantee (thankfully!) I sent it back to where I purchased it. That process is worth an entire new blog post btw. So now I was at my wits end. And still not in the mood to buy a R8k vacuum! I chatted to someone from Husky Rescue SA and she actually recommended the one that she uses at home. She has 8 huskies. 8! (have you ever seen how much huskies shed?!!) She said she had this particular vacuum for a few years at least, and so very happy with it. Uses it daily and that it was quite robust. So I thought why not give that a bash. She had the Kärcher WD 6 Premium. I searched far and wide, but could only find the Karcher WD4 Premium, online anyway.

Karcher WD4 Premium 1000W Heavy Duty Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner

So here I go again.

Costs: A little more expensive than the Hoover, but not by much. Around R2.5k. Some places a little more, or a little less. (Both YuppieChef & Takealot have them.)

First feelings: Even though it is two models below what was recommended, my first thoughts of it was that it was super robust. The quality of it just feels so much more durable.

There is only one power setting: on or off. ie it is always at maximum suction. It’s a little louder than the Hoover, but prob because it’s always at max power.

Now mind you, it’s a wet & dry vacuum. It comes with a bag – which apparently lasts longer than normal bags. So let’s see. I don’t really need it for wet vacuuming, so for now, just using the dry part.

Usage: I’ve had it now for only about 3/4 weeks (at time of update). So far so good. Even at this (lower tiered) model it cleans amazingly. It comes with a lot of fittings and stores quite nicely too. Nooks on the vacuum to store its various pipes and fittings. I like how neat that is 🙂 Some fittings are super great getting into all the nooks, behind desks, under beds and even vacuums the dog bed awesomely.