When you have pets, keeping your home clean and odor free can be a challenge. Dogs and cats both shed, leaving their fur everywhere. Those that go outside, track mud, sand, and grass inside. Even if your pets are housebroken or use a litter box or even a litter mat, accidents do still sometimes happen. Also, the odor of a pet can be a deterrent for visitors. Here are some tips for pet owners to keep your home clean.
Try to Keep Dirt at the Door
Dogs, and even outdoor cats, unintentionally track in a lot of dirt from outside. Unless you want it all over your house, on your furniture, and even in your bed, try to keep the dirt at the point of entry.
Keep a towel near the door and a shallow container of water, or a squirt bottle, to clean your pets paws off as soon as they come inside. Also, be sure to have floor mats outside and inside your door. It is very possible to train your dog to wipe his own feet before he comes back inside to reduce the amount of dirt that gets tracked through the house.
Lint Rollers and Hand-held Vacuums
Lint rollers or hand-held vacuums can be your best friends when combatting animal fur. Be sure to get a vacuum that has the pet hair attachment included. You will not regret it. While it is still important to use a traditional vacuum, a handheld vacuum is great for cleaning up quickly. If you are really in a hurry, like your guests have pulled into the driveway and you still haven’t vacuumed, a lint roller acts as a hair magnet and can remove fur from your couch cushions in one quick sweep.
Clean the Litter Boxes Often
Do you flush the toilet daily? Of course you do. Otherwise your bathrooms would smell horrible. The same goes for your cat’s litter box. Ideally, you want to clean the box at least twice a day so that odors don’t feaster. This is especially true in the summer months. On a weekly basis you should do a thorough cleaning of the box; use high level disinfectants and change the litter. If you are unable to maintain a daily scooping habit, be sure to purchase a kitty litter that has a non-toxic deodorizer in it. This will help to neutralize odors.
Deodorize Your Carpets
Even if your pets don’t have accidents on the floors, they can still create odors in your carpets when they come into the house damp from rain or from rolling around in the grass. You know that wet dog smell; it’s unpleasant. To remove the odor, sprinkle baking soda on your carpets and let it set for a few minutes. Then vacuum it up. If that does not do the trick, take a spray bottle and pour in white vinegar. Spritzed the carpets with the vinegar and let them air dry. Be sure if you used baking soda first, that you vacuumed it up completely. You don’t want to have a volcano science experience take place in your living room. Baking soda has so many uses.
Deep Clean Pet Toys, Bedding, and Collars
Be sure not to overlook the items that your pets use every day. Their toys, bedding, and even collars can accumulate dirt and odors. If you can, put the applicable items in the washer, doing so with hot water. You can even add vinegar to the wash cycle to help sanitize and deodorize. Dishwashers are great for food bowls and any plastic toys. For items that cannot be submerged in water, surface clean them with hot water and a pet shampoo, and spray with vinegar. Let them air dry.
Having pets doesn’t mean that you can live in a smelly home. Following these simple steps, you can make sure that you don’t have pet odors and that your animals are kept safe while doing so.