Pledge Fabric Sweeper For Pet Hair: The Pros & Cons
I recently tried the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair for the first time. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised (...though not 100% sold on the product just yet).
I've written about my frustrations with pet hair before, so I really like having yet another tool in my arsenal of dog fur removal items.
I don't know if it's the end-all be-all to pet hair removal from furniture, but it's close.
Here's why I like this one...
If you're a pet owner, then you know that it's always nice when you have a quick & easy go-to method of removing pet hair from furniture.
It's especially handy to have a gadget like this when you're expecting guests to arrive soon.
My current method of pet hair removal from furniture is to use the same type of lint brushes you would typically use on clothes. I have a couple that I don't use on clothes... I only use them on the furniture to remove dog fur.
This is the same concept used with the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair.
So, here are the pros & cons, as I see it...
PROs
#1 It's lightweight and easy to use.
There's nothing to "learn" prior to using this pet hair remover. Even kids can do it!
The thing that makes this gadget work so well at removing pet hair is the way it grabs the fur on rollers, and traps the pet hair inside.
As you go in one direction, one roller picks up the pet hair from the surface. When you go in the other direction, the second roller cleans off the first and pushes the pet hair inside. -- Pledge
So, yes, they do recommend using short strokes in various directions, but that's pretty easy to remember.
#2 There's no motor, no sharp edges, no loud noises, no sticky residue, no chemicals.
'Nuff said.
#3 It's quick and easy.
Simply swipe and go!
The way the rollers are designed, it's pretty much self-cleaning.
#4 It removed my dog's fur from his pet bed after just a few swipes.
Pretty cool! I'll definitely be using this pet hair remover on the "people" furniture before guests arrive in the future.
NOTE: In these photos, it might appear that the Pledge Fabric Sweeper managed to remove all of the dog fur from the pet bed. But what's harder to see are a few of the smaller hairs that it left behind. No matter how many times I'd go over the same spot, the short thin hairs seemed to just get pushed around on the pet bed. Works great on long pet hair though!
CONs
#1 It looks, well... cheap.
This is kind of nit-picky, but the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair looks more like a "prototype" than an actual award-winning design, if you ask me.
While it's very lightweight and handy to grab and use in a jiffy, it's definitely not very "classy" looking.
I mean, compared to other cool pet gadgets, this one is rather cheap and plasticy looking. It's not impressive on first glance, but it's functional nonetheless.
My guess is they're waiting to see if this pet hair remover takes off or not before they invest in the design. Oh well, looks aren't everything!
#2 It's kind of expensive.
You can usually find the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair at stores like Walmart and Target between $5 to $10.
For a disposable item, that's slightly expensive in my mind; especially if you need to replace it sooner that I will. (We use the Furminator all the time, so our dog doesn't shed quite as much as he used to.)
#3 Mixed results on carpet.
Then again, it says "fabric sweeper", not "carpet sweeper"...
Still, it's worth mentioning that this pet hair remover won't work so well on carpet or pet items that are covered with carpet -- such as cat climbing towers and doggie steps or ramps.
On the flip side, I found that it works great on lamp shades! It removes the built-up dust and dog fur at the same time.
I know, I wondered that too... how in the world does pet hair land in high up places like lampshades? Best I can tell, dog fur is airborne -- much like a virus. Once you've got it, it's hard to get rid of it, and it ends up in places you'd never dream of! One quick glance around my house confirms this.
#4 It's disposable; not reusable.
On first glance, you might think this pet hair remover could last a lifetime, because the rollers only come in contact with your furniture and the rollers themselves. So it seems a rather clean and self-contained contraption.
In the end, the one thing that determines the life of this product is the amount of pet hair contained inside. Once it gets full (which for me, would be a long time), it's done.
For some reason, you can't open it up to clean off the rollers yourself or remove the pet hair inside. It "looks" like you can, but you can't; it's sealed tight. Bummer, I would prefer a reusable pet hair remover that you could add new rollers to, after they wore out.
[IMPORTANT: See the update at the very end of this article.]
A Few Honest Reviews...
Now The Fun Stuff...
Whether you have a Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair or not, you can enter the Pledge Fabric Sweeper Contest.
That's right, it's another fun dog photo contest!
Simply upload photos of your pet on their favorite pieces of furniture by March 21, 2009.
The winner will be announced on April 8th.
- One grand prize winner will receive $5,000 cash and a year’s supply of the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair.
- 2 first prize winners will receive a 1-year supply of the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair.
Even more good news!...
Click to print a $2.00 coupon for the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair. (I did!)
UPDATE: After seeing JW's comment below, I went searching for the video that shows how to remove the rollers in order to remove the pet hair that's collected. This way, you can re-use the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair again and again! Here's the video:
I have also recently just bought this item.... but I do reuse mine. The rollers don't wear out, I just pried the rollers of one side out with a fork, emptied it and popped them back in.
Easy Peasy!!
But I do agree that the old fashioned red lint rollers are the best for their money. Easier to clean and only a dollar at the Dollar Stores.
I just bought the easy fabric sweeper for pet hair. What a waste of money. First, it isn't really "easy", second, uh . . . it doesn't work. Maybe if you had the rollers actually TURN . . . I don't know. It's a peice of shit, and yes: I did read the instructions. So what. I was so lookinhg for someting like this only good. You know, something that actually works. Well who cares, right? It's a money maker!
I just used this product and it worked great on all our fabric furniture cleaning up after our four cats. However I was put off after a $4.62 at WALMART it is a throw away item. It filled up very quickly as we have many chairs and sofas they like to lay about on.
So I cut a 1/2 inch diameter hole in the flat spot on the front with the paper label on it. A vacuum cleaner hose put up to the hole immediately cleaned out the accumulated fur and a quick wipe over the rollers cleaned out any residual fur.
All set fot he next cleaning. I assume the rollers will wear out some day but then I will get a replacement.
I tried this pet hair removal for the 1st time and was very dissatisfied. It only pick up very little of my dogs hair from my microfiber chair. I did not like that it was disposable and it was alitte pricey.
That is smart! That is what i am going to do also!
If all you people really are mad at Pledge than don't buy the product. Even if you write a complaint letter and then buy it and find away to reuse it you are still supporting them...it's that simple. There are a few other products on the market, Fur-Zoff for one, That work better and are not made by a greedy corporation. Why don't you give something else a try. You'll thank yourself for it.
I saw a video on YouTube that demonstrates how to easily remove the rollers and empy the hair from the product. Then I wrote a nasty letter to the company to tell them what money hungry liars they are. You guys should do that too! Don't forget to tell them the name of the product and how you have figured out what they were too scared to tell you. :-)
http://www.scjbrands.com/contact/index.asp
AMEN!!!!!
Okay guys listen up. I have 13 Persian cats--all inside. This product needs to be reuseable--this product is not going to make it unless it can be reuseable and perhaps the rollers could be replaceable. I took a vote around here and 54 paws agree with me.
can"t find this fabric sweeper in my area, the chillicothe area. please let me know where i can find one. excuse me thats chillicothe,ohio thank you kathy sheese
I use a plain ole yellow Playtex rubber glove. Put it on, and wipe up all the pet hair from furniture, carpet, where ever you want. The rubber acts as a magnet and draws the pet hair. It's cheap too! I paid .97 cents for a 2 pair pack. Chances are you already have rubber gloves on hand.
Ironically, this product that is not intended to be reused the packaged instructs the consumer to recycle the box. Hmmmmm.
You can reuse this product. Take a razor blade and cut a flap in the clear cover. when it gets full pry open the flap and empty. Im sure pledge did not want you to know about that little diddy
Where can i find the Pledge Fabric Sweeper?
Just used this product for the first time and I'm thrilled! Nothing has come close to cleaning up the cat hair like this does -couches, carpets, chairs are all quickly cat hair free. I get that people don't like that it's disposable but as we can see here, there are ways to make it reusable which seems to fix the problem. I understand the desire to minimize one's impact on the environment but seeing as I drive a car powered by petrol, I have to choose my battles. With the handy tips here, I'll make my Pledge Pet Hair remover reusable and no more sticky sheets and lint rollers for me.
I received two of these and the first one broke on me, so I wasn't to excited about that. The second one I decided to give to someone else to try and she didn't like it either.
This is reusable - each roller pops out on one end only and opposite ends at that so you can reach in and remove hair. It works really well!
I TRIED THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND I DIDNOT LIKE IT AT ALL. I USED IT FOR COLLIE DOG HAIR. THE HAIR JUST STUCK TO THE ROLLERS AND VERY LITTLE WENT INSIDE. I HAD TO KEEP PICKING IT OFF THE ROLLERS. MAYBE IT WOULD BE BETTER ON SHORTER HAIR ?. I PAYED $5.00 FOR IT AT MY DISCOUNT STORE. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE. A DAMP RAG WORKS MUCH BETTER FOR ME.
I used it and as the lady said it appeared to be unopenable. But not for me. Grant you I had to use my letter opener to open it. Getting it back was a b---- but I finally got it back on. Don't think I would venture to buy another one at these prices. This one will do :)
Just some quick, fun math to show you how wasteful this product is:
If 200 pet owners each used 2 Pledge Fabric Sweepers a month (and disposed of them as Pledge wants you to), then stacked them up on top of each other, you would have a structure nearly as tall as the Sears Tower (about 1450 ft.). That's just 200 pet owners, imagine how many people actually use this product (1000's at least) and how many Sears Towers worth of Pledge Fabric Sweepers we would have. Maybe we should start making buildings out of the used ones. After all, they would be insulated with pet hair!
People, you are missing the point. Pledge designed this product so consumers would use it, throw it out, and then buy a new one, then repeat the process over and over. Even if you found a way to make it reusable why would you support a company that purposely makes it disposable so that consumers would consume more and that reason only. There are many other options that work just as well, cost less, and are less wasteful. I'm not trying to push the whole green thing either, just don't want to support a company that sets up comsumers to buy as much as possible...THEY ARE NOT HELPING YOU! Trust me.
It is reusable. The rollers pop out easily.
Just printed the coupon & can't wait to get one! A friend cut a small slit in the top--when it get about 1/2 full she VACUUMS it out & is good to go again! :)
Completely agree John. Seriously people, try a Fur-Zoff instead (furzoff.net). Not only is it better for the environment, but you will save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. Don't support a company that doesn't support you (Pledge).
I know most people won't care about this, but the fact that this product is disposable is pretty disgusting. What a huge of amount of manufacturing and material that goes into a product that will accept about 20 cubic inches of pet hair, and then goes in the trash. A lid could have easily been put on the top to allow this thing to be emptied. If you care at all about the environment, please think about this.
MY CAT LIKES IT SOOOOOOO MUCH SHE LET'S ME MASSAGE HER WITH IT, AND THAT REMOVES SOME OF THE HAIR BEFORE IT GETS TO THE FURNITURE.....I LOVE IT AND IT CAN BE USED AGAIN.....
I own two cats who shed enough fur each month that I could knit a new cat. I bought the Pledge Fabric Sweeper and I must say it's the best product I've ever owned for getting rid of pet hair. Quick and easy to use and fur free furniture in no time. Unfortunately I filled it up in one week. Too expensive for the amount of use I got from it. My husband and I did manage to open it and empty the container, but the rollers don't work as well as before. I probably won't buy this product again but I would be willing to pay more for a reusable one.
It is reusable. All you have to do is reach between the rollers and pull the hair out. So the $4 I spent on it was so worth it! I think they're going to lose a lot of money on this one though. I really don't know how they missed that in development...
this was on sale at a grocery near me for $2.50, so with the $2 coupon i got it for .50...and i love it! i use it for the "dog" area of my jeep cherokee and i can't believe how much better it is than a vacuum. it also works great on my dog's bed (a german shepherd) and a piece of upolstered furniture my black lab sleeps on.
also, i used a boxcutter to cut a rectangular piece out of the top, emptied it, and covered the hole with a piece of packaging tape.
still works like a charm, and i just empty it when it's full!
They should market it as reusable then. But, they want people to throw them away and buy more. One more reason why I think Pledge is not a socially responsible company. Seriously, try a Fur-Zoff instead. You'll help out a small business and you will support eco-friendly products, rather than corporate-friendly Pledge.
just a heads up, this thing is TOTALLY reusable, some light pressure on the plastic lip at the top of the roller pops it out, just remove the hair and pop back in place...sheesh!
Too bad it's not reusable! I actually recommend the Fur-Zoff. It does the same thing and it's reusable, so it will save you a lot of money. They sell them at http://www.furzoff.net