Vacuums: the heroes of household cleaning. There’s no denying they're an essential household tool – but let’s be honest, they’re not always perfect.
Case in point? Hair. Despite all the new ‘anti-hair wrap’ features and shiny modern upgrades, many vacuums (not all!) still struggle with the stuff. If you’ve ever spent more time detangling your vacuum’s roller brush than actually cleaning, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
And recently, my own trusty vacuum finally gave up. A tragic hairball-related incident, RIP. Faced with a carpet full of fluff, I went hunting for a quick fix before forking out the cash for a replacement. That’s when I stumbled across the carpet scraper. It's a humble £5 tool that looks like a cross between a metal squeegee and a coat hanger. Could this be the budget-friendly alternative I never knew I needed?
Curious (and slightly desperate), I decided to put it to the test. What I found was genuinely shocking.
What is a carpet scraper, and what are the benefits?
Designed to comb or rake through your carpets and rugs, carpet scrapers drag up a whole manner of despicable debris that vacuums can’t usually get at, or struggle to suck up. Specifically made with hair and pet fur in mind, you drag the scraper along your carpet or rug and the fine-toothed comb edge picks up any hair, fluff, lint or whatever else lies beneath the fibres, dragging them to the surface and collecting them in neat little piles.
While they're not going to replace your vacuum for speed and efficiency, they're an effective way to protect your much-loved Dyson or Shark from being clogged by long, tangled tresses. They can also be used to de-lint clothes, so they’re a very versatile bit of kit.
My honest thoughts on making the swap to a carpet scraper
From the very first swipe, the results were shocking. The scraper pulled up hair I didn’t even know existed — not just a few stray strands, but enough to knit a small jumper. I’ll admit, I hadn’t vacuumed in a while (purely for journalistic purposes, of course), so I expected a bit of buildup. But this was next level. Suddenly, I was eyeing up every rug and carpet in my home.
On my IKEA bedroom rug, I was weirdly delighted by the neat lines the scraper left behind — like a freshly mown lawn. And best of all? No faff. No cords, no charging, no setup — just swipe and go. It took under five minutes to clear my rug, using simple downward strokes, usually going over each area twice. The amount of hair it revealed? Humbling.
Even more humbling was the result on the living room rug. Combing a simple corner of the rug was enough to reveal that, yes, in fact, five girls with luscious long locks do inhabit this area. It's a wonder we're not all bald, judging by the amount of hair this scraper turned up. But an even more troubling discovery was the fact that my flatmate had vacuumed said rug that morning. Proving how much a regular vacuum could leave behind.
Given that one of the scraper’s biggest selling points is pet hair removal, I enlisted our Senior Homes Writer, Megan Geall, for backup testing. With fully carpeted floors and a black, medium-haired cat roaming freely over her beige carpets (a true colour contrast horror), her home was the perfect testing ground
‘I was both horrified and elated,’ Megan said, after trying it out. As a pet owner and having seen the scrapers all over her social media, she was excited to get her hands on one of these bad boys. The results were exactly as she’d both hoped and dreaded. If my rug produced enough fluff for a jumper, Megan had the hat, gloves, scarf and socks to match. ‘After doing the whole staircase, the difference was so visible!’
The scraper also pulls up hidden fluff and dander that can irritate allergies — especially helpful during pollen-heavy months. I found myself using it regularly because it was so easy. A quick sweep a couple of times a week drastically cut down my need to vacuum. It’s also perfect for panic-cleans before guests arrive: a fast brush instantly smartens up any rug and gives the illusion of a full vacuum session.
The final verdict
Of course, it’s not flawless. You need a bit of elbow grease to get satisfying results, and both Megan and I found that the combing head occasionally popped off mid-use. It snaps back on easily, but it breaks your rhythm. And while it’s brilliant at picking up hair, it struggles with heavier debris; crumbs, litter and general gunk tend to stay behind, as the comb teeth are too fine to grip anything weightier than fluff. Also be wary about which materials you use it on. For example, all it did on my flatmate’s sheepskin rug was rip off a bunch of the fur.
Still, for the price and performance, it’s hard to fault. A carpet scraper won’t fully replace your vacuum, as it turns out, but it comes surprisingly close. Especially true for in-between cleans, pet hair pick-ups and those ‘just spotted a hairball’ moments. In my opinion, it’s the ultimate partner in crime.
I like to think of it as a sort of vacuum cleaner insurance. It will spare you the hassle (and rage) of detangling your roller brush every week, or the expense of replacing it when it’s finally had enough – enough hair, that is. It’s the cleaning tool you didn’t know you needed, and now, I won’t be without it.
Score: 93/100
Hoover’s newest upright vacuum is a great all-rounder that lifts dust and dirt quickly. Pet hair vanished within two swipes, and the push and lift technology lets you take it up stairs easily.
Miele Boost CX1 Cat & Dog Powerline Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner
Score: 97/100
With a hard-to-fault performance on test, this cylinder would make a great buy, whatever your flooring. It also had an efficient, tangle-free pet tool and was seamless to use, from canister emptying to wheeling around the home.
Score: 98/100
Available with or without its docking station, this should speed up your cleaning routine as it’s designed to pick up dirt moving backwards (as well as on the usual forwards sweep). It automatically adjusts suction when it encounters dirty spots, too, earning it excellent scores on test, no matter the debris or floor type we tried.
Score: 95/100
This brightly coloured robot vacuum from Dyson is a powerful and effective cleaner. Testers liked the way it does an initial sweep before returning to trickier spots. It also notifies you of any patches you need to revisit and it self-charges. You do have to empty it manually, though.
Score: 94/100
With a pet-hair friendly design, this Shark barely dropped a mark for its performance, thanks to its outstanding pick-up on all surfaces, no matter the debris. Its battery life is short but we were still able to clean a small car.
Black + Decker Wet and Dry Cordless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
Score: 94/100
This is an affordable all-rounder with good pick-up on all floor types. It's also a good pick for cleaning out the car. It also sucked up liquids brilliantly, leaving surfaces dry. It’s best kept for quick cleans as you have to hold your finger on the button throughout use.
