There are so many wonderful things about owning a furry friend, from the love and affection to the endless entertainment. The problem is that they don’t always mix well with a clean house - but, fortunately, it is possible to have both! All you need is a bit of patience and a handful of efficient, effective cleaning tips like these:
Wash and groom your pet regularly
Why not tackle the dirt and smells at the source? Cats are generally good at self-grooming and may not need regular baths, but if you have an “outdoors” pet, particularly a dog, a simple wash is one of the best things you can do. You can even use a specially-formulated wash to tackle odors, or take your dog to a professional dog wash service. Regular grooming will also help curb the accumulation of unwanted pet hair around the house, as most pet brushes are designed to remove loose hairs.
Give the carpets the professional treatment
Carpets require regular cleaning at the best of times to keep them free from stains and smells, but for pet owners, the situation is often more than a regular vacuum or carpet-cleaning spray can handle. This is especially true for new pet owners in the toilet-training phase or those with large animals in the home. If you or visitors to your home are noticing an unusual, unpleasant odour inside, it’s likely that the carpets need a more intense clean to get the situation under control. As a general rule, the average household should hire a professional cleaning service once every 12 to 18 months, although pet owners may want to book in on a more regular basis.
Treat your furniture with baking soda
Pet owners who appreciate a clean home train their animals from an early age not to sit on the furniture, but in some cases, contact is unavoidable. Although it might seem like a nice cozy thing to have your pets sit with you on the sofa or even in your bed, you’re inviting dirt and smells into your living space and may even be creating health issues for yourself. As a first resort, try using the prickly side of the carpet protector to deter your pets from using the furniture - and if that doesn’t work, you can always use a sprinkling of baking soda and a lot of elbow grease to remove stains and smells from the fabric.
Be prepared for stains
Let’s be honest: owning a pet can be a messy business, and some of those messes are unavoidable. For those instances, a good stain remover is exactly what you need. When you’re dealing with stains and odors caused by your pet, enzyme products are your best option for removal. They contain bacteria that eat the odor-causing organic matter and waste away once there is no more matter to consume. How’s that for an efficient, stain-eliminating treatment?
Get a lint roller
One of the most common complaints amongst all owners of shedding animals is the endless avalanche of hair covering furniture, carpets, and clothing. This problem is particularly troublesome in hot climates, where shedding is heavier and more frequent, and especially for those with a thick-haired dog or cat. The good news is that there’s an easy solution - one that doesn’t require endless hair removal by hand: buy a lint roller! Not only do lint rollers have many uses, but they’ll also last you many, many hairy days. If you don’t have a lint roller and need a quick solution, a piece of duct tape wrapped inside-out around your fingers is a great makeshift hair-removal option.
Invest in a rug
When you walk into someone’s home, it’s only good manners to wipe your feet on their welcome mat to remove any dirt from the bottom of your shoes - and if you put the right measures in place, your pets will do the same. Place an inexpensive rug near their entrance to the front door, and each time they walk over it, much of the dirt and debris on their paws will be left behind. That way, they can have more time outside and you can do less vacuuming!
Keeping the home tidy is a chore in any household, and having a pet only makes the process more involved, but as every loving pet owner knows, the unconditional love they give makes up for just about any mess. If you’re struggling with the mess, these tips will help you keep some of the pet-borne problems at bay and enjoy their company that much more.
