I am an "unofficial" home baker, but I have a question for all of you liscensed bakers and even those of you who aren't. What do you do about pet fur in the kitchen. I have a dog and a cat. I make sure they don't come in the kitchen while I bake/decorate and I wipe down the counters before, during and after baking/decorating frequently. Usually I vaccuum the kitchen before starting. But I still live in fear of pet fur getting into my cakes. I am constantly checking for it, and yes, have found it upon occasion, despite all of my precautions. Is there any trick for dealing with this issue besides getting rid of my beloved pets?

I would say have a Nice big long sleeve Dress shirt or chef's jacket and keep it in a top cupboard. After you change your clothes, right before working on a cake, put on the shirt. If you sit down or touch your pets with the shirt on you will have to put on a different one! The pet hair is probably transferring from furniture to your clothing and from your clothing to the cake supplies! EEEW

My poor doggie is in heaven now almost 2 years and I still find the occasional hair. I really have no advice, just do what you are doing. I always vacuum and mop before I start baking. Keep your pets out of the kitchen and keep your family out too Minimize traffic and keep your fingers crossed. Oh yeah make sure change your clothes before you start too. Good luck from one "unofficial" home baker to another

In most states, a home bakery is prohibited from having pets on the premisis for this very reason.

Always clean before baking, and change your clothes, wear an apron. and pray you don't get sued.

An air cleaner might help also. I use one in my home, although I do all the baking at a friends house and church kitchen, and it helps with the fur floaties that you tend to get in the air.
I also keep a change of clothes at my friend's house and change as soon as I get there. The clothes stay there and get washed there. Cuts down on any transference of pet hair from my home.

dh's cousin has an air purifier for her hair salon that takes all the dust out of the air... that might help some. i was worried about this issue when i was living with my mom last year, i was getting so many cake orders and she has two cats.

has anyone ever seen paula deen's shows where her dogs have walked through the kitchen while she's filming??? hmm... not very food safe

Luckily my dogs are outside. I think they would go nuts inside the house. Both are Heelers/Cattle Dogs

I am, however, thinking about cutting my hair shorter. I always pull it back in a tight ponytail but still have the fear of a hair getting in the cakes or cookies. Now wouldn't that be a turn-off when you bite into a piece of cake

Thank you for this string and the helpful comments.

I am worried about pet fur in my creations too. Like you, I wipe everything down, mop, dust, keep the pets out of the kitchen & still worry...

I live in an older house (35+ years) with dogs and it seems to be everywhere no matter what I do.

Thank you for the additional tips...As long as you are aware of the situation and do all you can do is what counts.

I take the same precautions...vacuum, mop, fresh clothes. My furry family members are locked away in their dungeons (bedrooms!) from baking day (Wed) until the last cake is picked up, usually Sat or Sun.

No matter what you do, there will always be pet hair. Even if you worked in a commercial kitchen, you'd bring the fur in with you. I don't stress about it.

Think about this -- what worries you more? An occasional stray dog hair that probably no one will see? Or those teenagers preparing your sandwiches at McDonalds? Ick. When my son worked as a server at IHOP and I realized HE made the salads, I stopped ordering salads from anywhere! LOL

thank you all for the great ideas. I hadn't thought of a special shirt or jacket to wear only when decorating. I think I will try that.

You know adven68, I am grossed out by the idea of pet fur making it's way into one of my cakes also - that's why I asked the question. I wanted advice from people in the same situation as me...

Since you don't know what kind of "business" I do, let me tell you that I do a pretty steady "business" of 2-3 cakes a week and I have been doing it for several years so far with no complaints of dog hair in a cake (all repeat customers and word of mouth new customers) so I must be doing something right.