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If you have pets, you understand first hand how hard it can be to keep your home clean and tidy. Between the hair, accidents and funky smells it can be a real challenge.
Pet odors, shedding and mishaps and messes can be cleaned up quickly and efficiently when you use these cleaning tools and tips.
Table of Contents
Simple But Effective Pet Cleaning Tips
Hair Everywhere
With three cats I know first hand how hard it can be to keep pet hair under control. It seems like you clean it up and within hours, there’s more there.
The best way to keep pet hair to a minimum starts with regular brushing. Regular brushing of your dog or cat’s coat can help to decrease the amount of shedding that occurs.
During shedding season, you’ll want to increase the frequency of brushing.
Once the fur lands on furniture and other surfaces, there are a few things that can help remove it.
1. Hand Held Vacuum
A small handheld vacuum can be a real life saver when you want to get fur removed quickly without hauling out a full-size vacuum. My favorite is the Dirt Devil Handheld Vacuum. I’ve owned this little vac for years, and it definitely does the trick.
2. Lint Roller
I go through so many lint rollers I should own stock in the company. A lint roller is a great quick alternative when you want to remove a small area of fur quickly. They do an excellent job and are easy to use. Of course it can get costly using these, but they do do the trick.
Another alternative to the lint roller is a pet sponge-like Four Paws Magic Coat Hair Remover. These sponges are a wonderful alternative to the lint roller as they are reusable.
3. For Floors
When it comes to removing pet fur from hard surfaces nothing works better than the Swiffer system. I use the Swiffer Vac with the dry cloths. The dry cloths trap the pet hair, and anything that’s missed is picked up with the vacuum. I use it every day to get the hair off the floor.
For rugs, make sure you have a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. A HEPA filter ensures dust and hair gets trapped in the bag and doesn’t escape and float back into the air and onto surfaces.
Accident and Messes
Dogs and cats can have accidents and create messes for all sorts of reasons. I know anytime I introduce a new food to my pets, they are sure to get sick unless I gradually introduce the new food. Some foods never make the cut because they just don’t agree with their sensitive stomachs.
When this happens, I clean up the mess with a paper towel first. If the accident occurred on a hard surface like tile, hardwood or linoleum, I would mix about a tablespoon of liquid detergent like Dawn with 2 cups of water to remove the stain.
If it’s on upholstered furniture I use the same solution but I blot until the stain comes out.
Carpets are a bit trickier particularly if it’s a urine mess. They require the use of an enzymatic cleaner.
I can tell you first hand I have tried them all and the only one that I had any luck whatsoever was Unique. It was the only product that removed the stain and odor completely. It took time, in fact, it took several weeks before the smell was gone completely. During that time, I couldn’t use the basement at all because of the strong odor of ammonia, but it was an indication that the product was working, and so I kept at it until the smell was completely gone.
Just make sure to follow the directions and eventually the stain will be gone.
3. Funky Smells
Cat Boxes
Often our house can have a weird smell from our pets. I know I strive to make sure you can’t even tell I own cats. I must be doing something right because people often say they’d never know I had one cat let alone three.
Cat boxes typically give off an odor. But they don’t if you keep them cleaned. You must be diligent and clean box a few times a week and make sure you have enough boxes for all your animals. You should have one box per cat.
Keeping a gel canister container with your favorite scent near the box is also a very good idea to mask any odors.
Rugs
Sprinkling a bit of baking soda on rugs and leaving overnight is an excellent way to give your carpeting a boost. Just vacuum up the next morning and those stale doggie smells will be gone.
Having pets means having to deal with everything they leave behind for us to clean up. They can wreck havoc on your home, but if you’re consistent with cleaning up after them and use the tools and tips I’ve suggested, it will make the clean up easier.
Fido and Garfield will thank you for it too!
