What is the best vacuum for picking up dog hair?

I have hardwood floor downstairs and carpet upstairs. I have three chow mixes and the hair comes out in clumps rather than single hairs like a short-haired dog.

VacuumWizard replies...

We suggest that at first every once-in-a-while grab a dust pan and broom, and just sweep the hair up. For more serious work, a specialized pet hair cleaning vacuum like the Bissell 3920 Pet Hair Eraser would be a good choice.

Our friends with carpeting business have experimented with a number of different vacuums, including the Dyson. Through trial and error, the growing consensus is that the canister-style vacuums do a better job.

They have a separate motor to run the beater brush, rather than a belt, and this makes the brushing action more powerful and less susceptible to a problem with hair wraparound.

Unfortunately, there probably is no one single best vacuum for the job. A vacuum that works on the carpeting will be overkill for hardwood floors, but it will work there. A vacuum that works just fine on hardwood floors may do an absolutely horrible job on carpeting.

A canister unit with a separately powered beater brush, like the Hoover S3765-040 will work well in your situation.