I have struggled with the never ending issue of cleaning up bunny hay on carpet. My poor vacuum is always getting clogged and trying to use a broom first never seems to help. Does anyone have any tips that I can try? I have very short utility carpets down on the floor in my bunny room. I also end up with both normal hay and pieces of grass mat and other woven grass toys. It’s been too many years of me just unclogging my vacuum every time I try to clean up. (I also love my vacuum for the amazing job it does getting bunny fur and other stuff up!) Picture is one of the hay spreading culprits!
by Curvy_Chaotic
16 Comments
Put a mat under the area where the hay is kept. Then you can lift up the whole mat and dump it out in the trashcan.
I usually use a dust pan as a broom and just hull it into one giant pile, maybe takes 5 mins for the whole room
Broom
Use a broom over the carpet, get the big strands, then vacuum
If you have the money get a vacuum with a carpet option. We have a pet vacuum that has a rotating silicone brush that gets rid of all the hay it can get to. * not effective if the carpet clings on hard to the hay is stuck on like velcro
I get down and scrape up as much of the big pieces as I can with garden gloves on so I don’t get stabbed under my nails. Then I sweep whatever else I can off the rugs and onto the tile and pick it up with a dust pan. THEN I vacuum the rugs, but even then, the tornado of hay bits and bunny fluff sometimes still stops up the vacuum. I don’t have one that’s specifically designed to handle pet hair so idk if those would do better but I feel like the battle is just part of having a bunny friend:)
Bunny is sooooooo cute! Not to be contrary, but what’s a little hay?! You’ve a lovely rabbit!
I think maybe if you could get a silicone mat to put the grass on it would cut down on the stray bits but I’ve found that one of those giant lint rollers from Home Depot or Lowe’s work pretty well for getting every last piece. I no longer use a big vacuum because all the grass obliterated my first one I just use a hand held one for reasonable sized pieces and the rest I scoop up sometimes by hand
Bissel perfect sweep turbo.
A decent shop vacuum should help pick up the hay without getting damaged in the process. (I learned my lesson after going through 3 vacuums in quick succession.)
I also like what the other commenter suggested — a big mat that you pick up and point at a garbage can. If you have something like a beach mat the hay should just slide ride off into a garbage can or bag.
I bought a rubber brush with a built in squeegee, and the brush does a good job with the larger pieces and the squeegee gets smaller pieces and the fur. After that I vacuum to get the last dust. The brush is really good for brushing and keeping up with the hay between vacuums as well, I brush once every or every other day and vacuum once a week or so.
You could try getting a shop vacuum (like one of the big red ones). They have bigger hoses that are better for vacuuming hay.
I use a handheld vacuum first to pick up the bunny berries then a broom and dust pan. The broom does a pretty good job on carpet if you sweep hard.
Of course we want carpet so our little sweethearts can get traction. It’s not always perfect but they are So worth a little hay.
And by “a little hay” I mean that I’ve seen my girls pull big mouthfuls of hay and string it around.
Grab w rubber glove
Vacuums are easily clogged with hay. We have a Shark that is quick to clog, but easily unclogged with a flexible grabby device. It has a plunger that pushes out a four
Fingered claw that retracts when you release the plunger. Works great at removing hay clumps.
I use a ShopVac first, then my Miele.