6 Best Easy Clean Dog Crates
Shedding dogs mean messy crates. Discover our top 6 picks for easy-clean models featuring removable trays and seamless designs for a quick, hassle-free cleanup.
There’s a moment every owner of a shedding dog knows well: you clean the house, and five minutes later, a new tumbleweed of fur drifts across the floor. That fur collects everywhere, and your dog’s crate can quickly become ground zero for a hair explosion. Choosing a crate designed for easy cleaning isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic move to reclaim your time and sanity.
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Key Features for Easy-Clean Dog Crates for Shedders
When you’re dealing with a constant flurry of fur, the material and design of a crate matter immensely. Look for non-porous surfaces like smooth plastic, powder-coated metal, or rotomolded polyethylene. These materials don’t allow hair, dander, and dirt to embed themselves, making a quick wipe-down far more effective.
The single most important feature is a removable floor pan or tray. A tray that slides out without having to disassemble the crate is the gold standard. This allows you to dump out loose fur and give the pan a proper scrub-down daily, containing the mess before it gets out of hand.
Pay close attention to the small details. Fewer seams, crevices, and corners mean fewer places for hair to get trapped. A crate with rounded interior corners is a huge advantage over one with sharp 90-degree angles where fur loves to collect. The goal is a smooth, simple interior that you can wipe or hose clean in minutes, not hours.
Diggs Revol Crate: Modern Design for Simple Cleanup
The Diggs Revol looks different, and that’s intentional. Its design focuses on safety and convenience, which translates directly to easy cleaning. The entire crate is built with smooth, high-quality materials that don’t snag or trap fur.
The plastic tray slides out easily from the bottom, so you can quickly dump fur and debris without letting your dog out. The wire mesh has a diamond pattern that, combined with the smooth coating, seems to let hair fall straight to the tray rather than clinging to the sides. It’s a thoughtfully designed system.
The biggest tradeoff here is the price. The Revol is a significant investment compared to standard wire crates. However, for those who value aesthetics and a design that truly simplifies the daily chore of fur management, it’s a top contender that feels built to last.
MidWest iCrate: A Classic Wire Crate Made Easy
You’ve seen this crate everywhere for a reason. The MidWest iCrate is the workhorse of the dog world, offering a simple, effective design that gets the job done. For shedding dogs, its primary benefit is the full-size, leak-proof plastic pan that slides out effortlessly for cleaning.
You can pull the pan out, shake it off outside, and wipe it down in under a minute. The wire construction provides excellent ventilation, which helps dry out the crate quickly after cleaning. While fur can easily escape the open wire sides into the surrounding room, the crate itself remains incredibly simple to maintain.
This is a no-frills solution. It doesn’t have the containment of a plastic kennel or the indestructible build of a premium one. But if your main goal is a crate interior that you can clean with minimal fuss and on a tight budget, the iCrate is a proven and reliable choice.
Petmate Vari Kennel: Contains Fur, Wipes Down Fast
The classic plastic travel kennel is an unsung hero for owners of heavy shedders. The solid walls of the Petmate Vari Kennel act as a containment system, keeping the vast majority of shed fur inside the crate instead of blowing all over your living room. This alone can make a huge difference in overall home cleanliness.
Cleaning is straightforward. The hard plastic interior is smooth and non-porous, so it wipes down in seconds. For a deep clean, the kennel splits into two halves by undoing a few clips or bolts, giving you complete access to every corner. There are no wire grids for hair to get woven into.
The downside is reduced ventilation and visibility compared to a wire crate. Some dogs may feel too enclosed. However, if your primary battle is containing the "fur cloud," the Vari Kennel offers an excellent balance of containment and simple maintenance that wire crates can’t match.
Impact Collapsible Crate: For Heavy Shedders
For those with serious shedders or dogs that are tough on their equipment, the Impact Crate is a game-changer. Made from lightweight, powder-coated aluminum, its surfaces are completely non-porous and incredibly durable. Fur and dirt have nowhere to hide and nothing to cling to.
The real advantage for cleanup is its construction. You can take this crate outside and hit it with a pressure washer without a second thought. Many models include drain holes in the floor, so you can literally hose it out, let it dry, and be done. This is the ultimate solution for dealing with seasonal coat-blowing or muddy messes.
This is a premium product with a price tag to match. It’s an investment, but it’s likely the last crate you will ever buy. For anyone tired of dealing with fur-clogged, hard-to-clean crates, the ease of hosing out an Impact Crate is a massive quality-of-life improvement.
Gunner G1 Kennel: Indestructible and Easy to Hose Out
Gunner kennels are famous for their safety ratings and indestructible build, but those same features make them fantastic for shedding dogs. The G1 is double-wall rotomolded, creating a one-piece main shell that is incredibly strong and, crucially, has very few seams or crevices inside. It’s a smooth, continuous surface.
This seamless interior is a dream to clean. Better yet, the kennel features a large, oversized drain plug at the back. You don’t even need to take it apart; just open the door, tilt it back, pull the plug, and hose it out. All the water, fur, and grime drains right out the back.
Like the Impact crate, the Gunner is a heavy, expensive piece of gear. It’s not something you’ll move around casually. But for a permanent "home base" crate for a heavy shedder, its combination of durability and ridiculously easy deep-cleaning is unmatched. It’s built for the toughest conditions, and a little dog hair is no challenge at all.
Frisco Heavy Duty Wire Crate: Budget-Friendly Option
If you want the core function of an easy-clean wire crate without a high price, the Frisco Heavy Duty Wire Crate is a solid contender. It follows the same classic design as more expensive brands, prioritizing the most important feature for shedding: a removable plastic pan.
The pan slides out from the bottom, making daily de-furring a simple task. The wire construction is basic, but the coating is smooth enough to prevent hair from clinging excessively. It delivers the essential easy-clean functionality you need without any extra bells and whistles.
This is a value-oriented choice. It may not have the tightest tolerances or the most robust latches of premium brands, but it gets the fundamental job done. For hobby farmers managing multiple dogs or just starting out, the Frisco crate proves that keeping a clean space for your shedding dog doesn’t have to be expensive.
Choosing Your Crate: Plastic vs. Wire for Shedding
The choice between a plastic and wire crate for a shedding dog comes down to one key question: Do you want to contain the fur, or do you want maximum airflow and easier daily pan cleaning? There is no single right answer; it’s about your priority.
A plastic kennel like the Petmate Vari Kennel is a containment vessel. It keeps about 90% of the shed fur inside its walls, which significantly reduces the amount of sweeping and vacuuming you have to do in the room. The tradeoff is that deep cleaning requires taking it apart, and it offers less ventilation.
A wire crate like the MidWest iCrate or Frisco offers superior airflow and the unbeatable convenience of a slide-out pan for quick, daily tidying. However, it does absolutely nothing to stop fur from wafting out into your home. You’re trading household cleanliness for crate cleanliness.
Consider your dog and your home. If your dog runs hot or you live in a warm climate, the ventilation of a wire crate might be non-negotiable. If you’re fighting a losing battle against fur on your furniture and floors, the containment of a plastic kennel could be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Ultimately, the best crate is one that works for both your dog’s comfort and your tolerance for cleaning. By focusing on features like removable pans and non-porous surfaces, you can turn a daily chore into a simple task. Making a smart choice upfront saves you countless hours of wrestling with a vacuum, giving you more time to spend on the farm and with your furry companion.
