Getting Pet Hair Out of Your Carpet and Seats Without Losing Your Mind

Chuck out all the loose rubbish, kids' toys, and those half-empty water bottles from the footwells. Take the floor mats out, it's much easier to tackle them on a workbench or the driveway than cramped inside the car.

Give everything a quick once-over with the vacuum. You're not trying to get the stuck stuff yet, just the loose fur sitting on the surface. If you don't do this, you'll just be smearing loose hair around in the next steps.

If you've got a compressor or the 'blow' setting on your vac, blast the air into the tracks of the seats and under the cushions. You'd be amazed what flies out.

Mist your fabric softener solution lightly over the carpet. Don't soak it, you're not washing the car, just dampening the fibres. This breaks the static charge that holds hair to the fabric. Wait about 2 minutes.

Put on a nitrile glove and rub your hand in a circular motion. On some fabrics, the hair will just ball up immediately. If it does, grab the balls and chuck 'em. (I learned this one from a mate who does high-end concours detailing, works a treat on Porsche carpets).

Use your rubber tool (I reckon the Lily Brush is the best ten bucks you'll ever spend) and pull it towards you in short, sharp strokes. You'll see the hair start to pile up into a ridge.

If you're dealing with that coarse, needle-like hair in a Ranger or a Hilux, the rubber might not be enough. Lightly drag the pumice stone over the carpet. It 'catches' the hair and pulls it out of the weave. Be careful near the plastic door sills!

Keep the vacuum nozzle right next to your brush or stone. As you lift the hair, suck it up before it has a chance to settle back down or drift onto the clean sections.

I always work in a V-shaped pattern when brushing. It helps gather the hair into a central point rather than just pushing it to the sides where it gets stuck in the plastic trim gaps.

Use your stiff nylon interior brush to 'fluff' the carpet back up. This often reveals a second layer of hair you missed. Repeat the rubber brush process if needed.

Slide the seats all the way forward, then all the way back. Use your crevice tool and a thin screwdriver (wrapped in a cloth) to dig out the hair that gets jammed in the seat rails.

Don't forget to look up! Dog hair often floats up and sticks to the roof lining. Be very gentle here, use a lint roller or light duct tape dabbing. If you scrub a headliner, you'll make it go fuzzy or, worse, cause the glue to fail.

One last pass with the vac. By now, the carpet should look pretty much factory. If there are still a few stubborn ones, use tweezers. (Yeah, I've done it, on a black Commodore once, the owner was a stickler and I spent 20 minutes with tweezers. Never again.)