Why I ran this test
Uproot is one of the better-known names in pet hair. Its Washing Machine Cleaner Pro is $19.99 for 24 tablets, holds 4.9 stars across 632 reviews, and the box promises "FurGuard" and 4-in-1 washer care. I bought a box.
Its FAQ's first question is "Does it dissolve pet hair?" and the answer opens with "No." The tabs "don't completely dissolve pet hair," Uproot says, though they help loosen it, and it intentionally did not make them strong so the machine takes zero damage. A friend who grooms dogs told me about K9Clean, a laundry powder that goes in with the bedding and is built to break down keratin, the protein hair is made of. That is a different job. I wanted to know whether it would make a difference I could see.
So I split 12 weeks in one washer: six on Uproot on its every-2-weeks schedule, six on K9Clean once a week. One dog, the same bed, the same towels.
At a glance: K9Clean vs. Uproot
The facts side by side before I get into what happened in my laundry room.
| Spec | K9Clean | Uproot Pro |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Pet hair dissolver, laundry powder | Washing machine cleaner, tablet |
| Goes in with laundry | Yes, with pet bedding or alone | No, washer must be empty |
| Dissolves pet hair | Built to dissolve and release it | FAQ: "don't completely dissolve." It loosens hair |
| Protease | Yes, K9Clean calls it a protease enzyme formula | Yes, "not made strong," says its FAQ |
| Washer cleaning claims | Keeps pump and parts clear of hair | Odor, mold, residue, 99.9% of bacteria |
| Cost per use | $4.33 to $8.17 a wash | $0.83 a tablet |
| Cost per year | ~$225 to $425, used weekly | ~$22, used every 2 weeks |
| Septic-safe, HE-safe | Yes | Yes |
| Fabric limits | No wool, silk, leather, cashmere, down or color-sensitive prints | None, nothing else is in the drum |
| Refund on a used product | Yes, with a written account | No, items must be unused |
| Reputation | 4.58 / 5 across 10,456 reviews | 4.9 / 5 across 632 reviews |
Green marks the better pick by that row's measure. No green means a tie or your call.
What each one does to the hair
This is the whole reason I ran the test. Moose drops hair on everything, so I wanted to know which of these gets rid of it. I read what each brand says about hair first, then watched what came out of my washer.
- Built around one job: protease breaks down keratin, the protein pet hair is made of, so the hair lets go during the wash
- K9Clean calls it dissolving and releasing. I can't watch a hair dissolve, but I did see far less of it stuck to Moose's bedding from the first wash
- Works on hair already woven into fabric, because the powder goes in the drum with the bedding
- K9Clean says to add a third scoop the first time on a heavily haired item. I did, and the bed came out clearly better
- The hair rinses away with the water, so less of it ends up packed inside the machine
- It doesn't catch every hair. K9Clean itself says results vary by fabric and load, and my fleece throw still needed a lint roller after the first wash
- Uproot's FAQ asks "Does it dissolve pet hair?" and the answer starts with "No." The tabs "don't completely dissolve pet hair"
- They do help: the same answer says they loosen hair stuck in the washer, and my drum gasket came out with less hair clinging to it
- Protease is on the ingredient list, but Uproot says it has "intentionally not made them strong" so there is zero damage to the washer
- The washer has to be completely empty, so the tablet never touches the hair in your bedding, towels or clothes
- The product page promises to "Reduce Pet Hair," which is a fair description of what I saw in the drum
- Uproot points large-pet and multi-pet homes to its stronger $29.99 Ultra tablet. The FAQ answer says "our tabs" and makes no exception for it
Uproot cleans around the hair. K9Clean goes after the hair. You can check Uproot's side yourself: its FAQ says the tabs "don't completely dissolve pet hair." To its credit, Uproot is upfront about why: it chose not to make the tabs strong, so there is zero damage to the machine. That is a reasonable choice for a washer cleaner. It also means that if hair is your real problem, you are buying a product that was never asked to finish the job.
What's actually in each one
Both labels list protease, the enzyme that breaks down protein. Neither brand publishes how much is in there, but Uproot does say it held back on strength.
- Active ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Sodium Methyl Fatty Acid Sulfonate, Carboxymethyl Cellulose, Talc, Protease
- K9Clean credits the protease with breaking down keratin. The surfactants on its label are ordinary cleaning agents, which is how one powder can claim to dissolve and clean
- A powder, measured by the scoop: 2 per load, and one tub gives you 6 washes
- Made in the USA and crafted by pet owners, according to K9Clean
- It needs heat. K9Clean asks for a Self-Clean or Tub Clean mode, or your hottest, longest cycle, and says high heat is required for it to work
- Wear gloves. K9Clean's own caution says to avoid contact with skin and eyes during use
- Pre-measured tablet, 11 grams each, so there is nothing to scoop or spill
- Lists Fatty alcohol polyoxythylene, Sodium Percarbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Silicate, Citric Acid, Sodium Polyacrylate, Alkali Protease, Tea Polyphenols, Lipase, Protease and Alpha-Amylase
- A longer enzyme list than K9Clean's: lipase goes after fats and amylase after starches, alongside the protease
- No fragrance in the Pro tablet, if you are sensitive to that
- Uproot says the blend is patent-pending and "designed to tackle pet odors and help dissolve pet hair"
- Strength is capped on purpose to protect the washer, and the hair is what survives that trade-off
Uproot has the longer ingredient list and the tidier format, and I like a tablet I can't spill. It also tells you how hard those enzymes work on hair: it has "intentionally not made them strong." K9Clean's list is shorter, the protease is there for keratin, and it asks more from you in return: gloves, a scoop and a hot cycle. I'll take that trade in a house with a shedding dog.
What came out of the wash
I wanted a dog bed I could put back on the floor without picking it over by hand, so I washed the same bed, the same two towels and the same blanket every week and checked them before they went in the dryer.
- Moose's bed came out with far less hair on it after the first wash, and by the third I was barely finding any
- Towels were the surprise. They stopped shedding hair onto everything else in the next load
- Bedding goes in with the powder, so the hair gets dealt with in the same cycle it came in on
- Dark clothes washed afterward picked up noticeably less stray hair from the drum
- One tub goes fast if you wash bedding weekly: 6 washes, then you need another
- The washer smelled better after the first cycle, which is what this tablet is really good at
- The drum and gasket had less visible hair stuck to them, and a quick wipe took care of most of it
- My laundry never met the tablet. Uproot's directions start with a completely empty washer
- So Moose's bed came out of its normal wash looking the way it always had, with hair still in the weave
- I still spent the same five minutes with the lint roller after every dog-bed wash
If your only complaint is a musty washer, Uproot solves it and you can stop reading. My complaint was hair on the things we use every day, and the tablet can't reach those because it runs in an empty machine. K9Clean is the one that changed what came out of the drum, and it was the easiest round to call.
What each one does for the washer
This is Uproot's home turf, and it deserves the credit. A washing machine cleaner should do well here. K9Clean still claims a job in this round, because hair packed into a pump is a machine problem too.
- K9Clean says regular use keeps the drain pump and internal parts clear, so the machine drains faster and runs quieter
- The directions list it for weekly washing machine maintenance as well as pet bedding, at the same 2 scoops
- It can run alone on Self-Clean or Tub Clean, so you can treat the machine without a load
- K9Clean says most customers notice a quieter machine within 1 to 3 cycles. Mine sounded calmer by the end of my six weeks, though I have no meter to prove it
- Less residue and lingering odor are on its list, and the laundry did smell cleaner
- No bacteria, mold or mildew figure anywhere in its product copy, so I can't credit it with any
- Uproot claims to kill 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria in the washer, the one hard number in this round
- Mold, mildew, dirt, pet odor and years of detergent residue are all on its target list
- My washer smelled fresh for about two weeks after each tablet, which lines up with its schedule
- Simple routine: one tablet in the drum (never the detergent tray), empty washer, every 2 weeks, on Normal/Hot or Clean Washer
- You wipe away any leftover residue after the cycle, which is a small job
- Uproot says it helps extend the life of the machine
Uproot wins this round on what it publishes: more targets, a bacteria figure and a routine that takes ten seconds. K9Clean's case is narrower. It keeps hair from collecting in the pump and the drum, and the same powder can run on its own at the weekly dose, though its disclaimer says it "is not a substitute for regular machine maintenance." So K9Clean dissolves the hair and cleans too. Uproot covers more of the cleaning list and leaves more of the hair to you. Your house decides which of those matters more. Mine has Moose in it.
Fabrics, septic tanks and what can go wrong
Anything strong enough to break down hair raises a fair question: what else can it hurt? I read the warnings on both.
- Septic-safe and fine in standard and HE washers, top-load or front-load
- K9Clean says the enzyme targets keratin and has no effect on rubber seals, drum coatings, pipes or drain lines
- Never use it on wool, silk, leather, cashmere, down or color-sensitive printed fabrics
- That list matters because wool is made of keratin too, so read your care labels before you wash
- K9Clean asks for a cycle that can reach 194°F. Not every home washer gets there, so check yours first
- Gloves on, and keep the tub away from kids and pets
- Septic safe and compatible with every washer type Uproot lists: HE, front-load, top-load, stainless and white interiors
- No fabric risk in normal use, because nothing else is in the drum when it runs
- Uproot's stated priority is "ZERO damage" to the machine
- No special cycle to hunt for: Normal/Hot works, or Clean Washer if you have it
- The box carries its own caution: eye irritant, may be harmful if swallowed, keep out of reach of children
- Uproot gives one reason for both results: it says it did not make the tablets strong, so the washer takes zero damage and the hair doesn't completely dissolve
Uproot is the easier product to live with and I won't pretend otherwise. It runs in an empty drum, so it can't ruin a sweater. K9Clean comes with a list of fabrics to keep clear of and it needs real heat. Neither brand shows a lab report on machine safety that I could find, so this round rests on their own instructions, and on those Uproot is lower risk. Wool and silk households should look elsewhere. Dog beds, towels and cotton blankets are barely touched by that list.
Guarantee and returns
Both brands advertise 30 days. The written policies are where they split, so I read both in full.
- The 30-Day Results Guarantee pays a full refund after you have used the product as directed
- Covers up to 5 tubs per household, one refund per customer
- You have to earn it. The product page says "no questions asked," and the written policy asks for the full 30 days of use plus a written account of your usage before the window closes
- On a subscription the guarantee applies to the first order only. Shipping fees aren't refunded on any order
- A 30 day money back guarantee and easy returns are advertised right on the product page
- The written policy says items must be unused and in their original condition to qualify
- The refund is the order amount minus the return shipping cost
- You have to request the return first, because packages sent back without asking won't be accepted
K9Clean takes this one, with paperwork attached. Both product pages sound looser than the written policies. A cleaning product you can only return unused is hard to test, and that is how Uproot's policy reads. K9Clean lets you use the tub for 30 days and still get your money back, as long as you write up what you did and send it in before the deadline. Annoying, yes. But the guarantee covers the thing you are trying to find out, which is whether it works. At $19.99 a box, Uproot is also a much smaller bet.
What each one costs you in a year
Uproot wins this round by a mile, and you should see the numbers before you decide anything. K9Clean costs far more per use, and you use it twice as often.
K9Clean's cheapest price is the Buy 2 + Get 1 Free subscription: $78 for 3 tubs, or $26 a tub. Each tub gives 6 washes, so that is $4.33 a wash, and weekly use lands at about $225 a year. That plan ships 3 tubs every 3 months, which bills $312 a year unless you space out deliveries, and K9Clean lets you change the frequency. Buy single tubs one at a time at $49 and the year runs closer to $425. Uproot Pro is $19.99 for 24 tablets, or $0.83 each, so one every 2 weeks is about $22 a year. Its 4-pack was $39.99 when I wrote this, which Uproot lists at $0.41 a tablet and takes the year to about $11. So K9Clean costs at least ten times as much. The difference works out to about $4 a week at the low end, and that $4 buys the one thing the tablet leaves alone: the hair in your dog's bed.
Price and value
Here is what you get at checkout, including the catches on both sides. Prices are what each store showed when I wrote this.
- ✅ Breaks down keratin to release pet hair during the wash
- ✅ Goes in the drum with your pet bedding, or runs alone
- ✅ 6 washes per tub at 2 scoops a load
- ✅ $39 a tub on a single-tub subscription, $78 for 3 tubs on the best plan
- ✅ Septic-safe, for standard and HE washers, top-load or front-load
- ✅ Keeps the drain pump and internal parts clear of hair with regular use
- ✅ Made in the USA
- ✅ Free shipping on a first order, plus a pet hair guide and mystery gift with the 3-tub bundle
- ✅ 30-Day Results Guarantee that still applies after you have used it (written account required)
- ❌ At least ten times Uproot's yearly running cost
- ❌ Not for wool, silk, leather, cashmere, down or color-sensitive prints, and it needs a hot cycle
- ❌ FAQ says the tabs "don't completely dissolve pet hair"
- ✅ Loosens hair stuck in the washer so it can flush out
- ❌ Runs in an empty washer, so it never touches the hair on your laundry
- ✅ Claims to kill 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria, and targets mold, mildew, dirt, pet odor and detergent residue
- ✅ Free mystery gift with purchase
- ✅ One tablet every 2 weeks, about $22 a year on a 1-pack, about $11 on the $39.99 4-pack
- ✅ Septic safe and works in every washer type it lists, HE included
- ✅ Rated 4.9 across 632 reviews on its product page
- ❌ Returns must be unused, and return shipping comes off the refund
- ✅ 30 day money back guarantee advertised on the product page
- ❌ Free shipping only on orders over $49
These two are priced for different jobs, so the sticker comparison only goes so far. $19.99 buys you most of a year of washer cleaning. $26 to $49 buys you 6 washes of a product that goes after the hair itself. Pick Uproot for a washer that smells. Pick K9Clean for hair on clean laundry, and accept that you will pay at least $4 more a week for it.