The Best Products and Tools to Clean Up After a Pet

When you're cleaning your home, you fall into one of two categories: Someone who's cleaning up after people and someone who's cleaning up after people and pets. There is little reasoning to be done with a dog or cat, and accidents happen more than we'd like—so it's helpful to have the best products and tools on hand to combat them when they do.

Best products for pet cleanup

These are the best products for battling fur, odors, and stains:

• First, you need a vacuum that's equipped to deal with pet hair—and not all of them are. Pet-loving TikTokkers recommend the Bissell CleanView Swivel ($106.44) for its ability to suck up long hairs without getting clogged like a stick vacuum, and the Hoover Powerdash Pet ($109.99) is popular on pet care sites.

• For smaller areas, rugs, and upholstery, try a pet hair rake. These are also wildly popular on TikTok and there are a ton of very similar ones on Amazon, like this well-rated two-pack for $8.99.

• Arm & Hammer Pet Fresh odor eliminator ($18.29 for a pack of three) comes recommended by the pet experts at Rover, who say it truly does mask bad odors in your carpet. Just sprinkle it on before you vacuum.

• Before you mask smells, of course, you do have to get that pee out of the carpet. Try the Resolve Ultra Pet Odor and Stain Remover spray ($9.46), which is formulated for this exact task. When dealing with bodily fluids, animal or otherwise, it's best to get a real cleaner than try any homemade hacks.

Best tools to combat shedding

Because the best defense is a good offense:

• To stay on top of hair and shedding, don't just stop at periodically brushing your pet and bringing them to the groomer. Take matters into your own hands with tech designed to groom and dry your dog. Try the Airrobo dog hair vacuum ($89.99), which has brushing attachments you can use while you literally suck the loose fur off your pet, or the Shelandy Groomer Partner dryer ($75.00) that is safe to use on your animal after a bath.

• Get the right brush. According to Rover, a slicker brush ($9.99) works well for maintenance of any kind of fur, while a Furminator ($35.25) is especially good for dogs with double coats. You can also try a shedding glove ($6.99) if your pet is afraid of the brushes or you simply want to get in some extra petting and scratching time.