Most pet hair is short enough to be suctioned up the vacuum in the usual way, but some pet hair – like hair from bearded collies or Irish setters – is long enough to wrap around the brush roll. This is why you want to look for a vacuum for pet hair with anti-hair-wrapping technology. Short hair, on the other hand, can get far more stubbornly lodged into carpets so it’s worth buying a vacuum with a turbo brush attachment, a rotating brush which reaches deeper into a carpet, best for deep cleans.

A good pet vacuum needs special attachments for removing pet hair, which can be finer than human hair, making it more likely to cling to fabrics due to static electricity. Hair can also easily clog the bristles of a standard vacuum cleaner head, reducing its ability to sweep up dirt.

Motorised rotating brush rolls, preferably with anti-tangle features, are a feature of most good pet vacuums but you should also check for accessories like turbo nozzles, crevice tools and dust brush tools designed for getting pet hair and dander out of upholstery, curtains and inaccessible corners.

Our guide to the best vacuum cleaners explains the complicated matter of measuring suction, but as a rough guide, look for a 600 Watt motor or higher. And, importantly, remember to empty the receptacle as regularly as possible: a bag or cyclone cylinder filled to the brim with pet hair will drastically reduce the vacuum’s suction power.

A cyclone has the advantage over a bag here, because the hair is visible, but its built-in filter will need to be cleaned regularly. “Pet hair is small, fine, almost invisible and can get everywhere,” says Fola George of home cleaning specialists WeCasa. “It’s important to get it all up, especially if anyone in the house has allergies. That’s why I prefer the cyclones for that job. Because it sucks it straight in, you can see it’s working and you get rid of it straight away.”