How to Get Dog Hair (and Smell) Out of Your Car

Dog hair works itself into car seats like it has been sewn in. Hoovering barely touches it, because the fur is wound around the fibres rather than sitting on top. The fix is to loosen it first and vacuum second — and the tools that do it best cost almost nothing.

The four things that actually work

One more worth knowing: a spray bottle with a little fabric conditioner in water, misted lightly over the seat before you start, relaxes the fibres and helps the hair let go. Test a hidden patch first, keep it damp rather than wet, and never use it on leather.

Loosen it, gather it, then vacuum. Doing those in the wrong order is why it never seems to work.

Getting the smell out

Dog smell in a car is almost never the air. It is the fabric, and usually it is damp fur that dried slowly.

1. Take everything out — mats, blankets, the bed. Most of the smell leaves with them. Wash them.
2. Do the hair first. Fur holds odour, so removing it removes a good part of the problem.
3. Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over the seats and carpets. Leave it for a few hours, ideally overnight, then vacuum it up. It is cheap and it genuinely absorbs smell rather than covering it.
4. Air it properly. An hour with the doors open on a dry day does more than any air freshener.
5. Check the boot seal and under the mats for damp. A musty car is often a wet car, and the dog is getting the blame.

Stopping it happening again

Cleaning is the slow way round. Not getting hair into the car in the first place takes about two minutes.

Brush them outside, before the journey. Two minutes with a deshedding brush pulls out the loose undercoat that was going to end up on your seats. It is the single highest-value thing on this page. Our guide on why dogs shed so much covers the rest of it.

Line the boot. A waterproof dog boot liner covers the floor and up the sides, so hair, mud and water land on something you can lift out and hose down. It turns a two-hour job into a two-minute one.

Keep them in one place. A dog that roams the car spreads hair over every seat. A dog seat belt keeps them in one spot — and under Rule 57 of the Highway Code they are supposed to be restrained anyway. We covered the law in is it illegal to drive with a dog in the car.

Quick answers

What is the quickest method if I have five minutes? Damp rubber glove on the seats, narrow nozzle vacuum after. Nothing else comes close for the time spent.

Does it work on leather? Leather is easy — the hair sits on the surface. A damp microfibre cloth takes it off. Do not use the squeegee or pumice stone on leather.

Do those sticky rollers work? On a light dusting, yes. On a proper coating of hair you will use half a roll and still be there. Glove first, roller for the finish.

Should I just get the car valeted? Once, to reset it, is money well spent if it has built up for years. After that a boot liner stops you needing to do it again.

My dog only travels in the boot and it still gets everywhere. Air moves through the cabin constantly. A boot liner with raised sides contains far more of it than a flat blanket.

Test any cleaning method on a hidden patch of your own car’s upholstery first. Materials vary and we cannot see yours.