How to clean pet hair from puzzles
As you may remember, I went full-out on doing puzzles this spring. Puzzles offered a calming effect while our world was going a little crazy.
Why I loved doing puzzles – read HERE
I really enjoyed the process! And ended up borrowing 3 free puzzles thanks to a generous local group online through Facebook! This train one was my first.
And then I landed a really cute 4th puzzle…
How to make a puzzle table – read HERE
… which I couldn’t bring myself to complete!
Did I lose interest? Maybe because the weather improved? Was in the puzzle itself? I’m not entirely sure. But I didn’t feel a need for the distraction I needed just a few short months ago… so I let the last borrowed puzzle sit.
And it sat for weeks, ultimately collecting cat hair, crumbs and dust and whatever else came into play.
Once the pieces started sprinkling all over the floor to the point of not being able to vacuum the floor any longer, I made the decision to just clean up the works. For now.
But I didn’t want to put the pieces away dirty. I started up a Facebook puzzle exchange group in my area and I wanted the pieces spotless if I was to hand off the puzzle to another!
So I needed to figure out how to remove pet hair from puzzles.
My first thought was to vacuum it up. But how in the world could that be accomplished without sucking up every piece?! Especially with a heavy duty Dyson Animal…
So I searched the house for some kind of fix… and kept searching, until I landed something that ultimately worked SO well!
Here’s how I now officially clean pet hair from puzzles…
How to clean pet hair from puzzles
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Supplies I used:
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Vacuum cleaner with hose attachment
Ravensburger Puzzles (LOVE this quality!)
How-to:
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1. Search for a loosely woven fabric or product that allows plenty of air movement without allowing a puzzle piece to fly through.
I decided to try a roll of drywall mesh tape (or known as fibreglass drywall tape) I had on hand. It has a sticky adhesive on one side, and feels like a cloth mesh on the other.
Other ideas to try:
2. Cover and curve your chosen substrate around an open vacuum cleaner tip, then attach it with masking tape around the perimeter.
A small square of the drywall mesh was cut, then positioned into place by leaving the top smooth while wrapping the rest.
Masking tape was then used around the outside to hold the mesh in place.
3. Prop up the vacuum hose somehow so you can work hands-free.
Masking tape was used to attach the vacuum hose to the puzzle board which offered adequate stability.
3. Clean out the puzzle box spotlessly, then place puzzle pieces into the lid so they are easy to gather up.
4. With vacuum running, dip the tip of the vacuum nozzle into the box to gather up some puzzle pieces.
Eventually I started scooping up a few pieces at a time by hand, then stuck them to the head. That works too!
5. With the vacuum running, remove the puzzle pieces one-by-one and place them into the clean puzzle box.
I held each piece and moved it around the suction to ultimately leave each piece spotlessly clean.
It was working!
6. Every so often, remove the pet hair from the mesh, then continue until the entire puzzle is completely cleaned.
Video
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Click above to watch a short video of this easy process!
Cool, huh? It worked so slick for collecting that cat hair!
Neat and tidy once again!
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After staring at a mess of puzzle pieces all over the place, it was a real treat to see them all stacked up neat and tidy for next time!
… not to mention that impeccably clean puzzle table top to boot!
I think next puzzle round, I’ll pick up another bulletin board to add a protective layer on top of the undone puzzle to better keep the puzzle clean! I’ll update you once I try that out…
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Are you a puzzle fanatic? Will you be pulling yours out come fall as well, or do you work on them all year long? How do you clean yours?
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Some other related projects you may enjoy:
DIY a puzzle table with a game board on the other side!
Make a Tic Tac Toe game tray with coasters
How to DIY a Buffalo Check checkers board with scrap wood checkers
Visit many other of my creative DIY projects HERE
Hi, I wondered if your puzzle pieces are too big to use an old onion bag?
put them in that and then vacuum? no stickies but might work. a
That sounds like something worth trying Ann! Thanks for the idea!
What a great idea!!! Wish I had thought of that. I like the bulletin board too. You do such good work! Keep it up!!
Thanks Jane! Yeah, that bulletin board puzzle board idea certainly is a keeper! Already keeping my eyes open for a new puzzle for fall once the weather turns!
Well, that’s really good to know, with four purr babies and four fur babies here at home, it’s a constant struggle keeping pet hair at bay 😀
Crazy hard isn’t it? I kinda lost hope… but out of desperation, I had to figure something out… especially after I borrowed another’s puzzle which was full of dog hair! hahahaha