Face it, animal lover: pets are cute, but they’re not that clean. In fact, they’re downright dirty.
If you’re like most pet owners, your house is constantly covered in a thin layer of hair, fur, and other pet-related filth. Don’t feel bad — we know how challenging it can be to keep your home clean when you’ve got animals running around, shedding and urinating, and just generally making a mess. But believe it or not, it can be done.
Here are our top nine pet cleaning tips to help you keep Spot from making spots on your furniture and floors:
1. Groom your pet regularly
If your dog or cat seems to be shedding excessively, you might not be grooming it frequently enough. Brush your pet at least a few times a month, and be sure to do it outside so you’re not tracking the hair into your house. As far as bathing, cats can clean themselves, but dogs should be bathed about once a month.
2. Maintain clean countertops and floors
Think about it: If your pet is walking around on dirty surfaces, they’ll track that soil everywhere they go. Avoid the domino effect by wiping your counters and floors every day. You can also wash your pet’s paws with water when leaving and returning to the house.
3. Take vacuuming seriously
Vacuum your carpets a few times a week, using full suction and a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter if possible. If you’ve got hard floors, use an electrostatic mop instead.
4. Clean clothing and upholstery
If you let your pet on the furniture–or on your lap–you’ll want to make sure you’re paying attention to your clothing and upholstery. Use a lint brush or tape roller on your clothes, and use a hand vacuum with a motorized beater-bar attachment or your vacuum’s upholstery tool on your furniture.
5. Take care of accidents ASAP
Pet waste can permanently stain your carpet, so you’ll want to get to it immediately. Blot it dry with a clean cloth, then apply a safe cleaning agent with another towel. Repeat this process until the stain is gone. If it’s still there, call a cleaning company to get your carpet cleaned professionally.
6. Use towels strategically
Place old towels or sheets on areas where your pet likes to rest. Wash them often, taking care to shake them out before you put them in the machine.
7. Change your air filters
Check your air filters once or twice a month. The more your pet sheds, the more often your filters need to be changed. (Bonus: Keeping your filters clean also helps you save on your heating and cooling bills!)
8. Keep an eye on the litter box
Cat owners, you can never clean your litter box too much. Some professionals suggest scooping your litter box at least twice a day, changing it every ten days, and replacing it entirely once a year to avoid yucky buildup. When you clean your litter box, be sure to use a dishwashing detergent rather than an ammonia product, which can smell a little like urine.
9. Set some boundaries
If necessary, you might just need to restrict your pet from entering certain areas of your home. Use a pet gate or simply close doors to rooms you want to keep pristine.
Need professional pet cleaning help?
When all else fails, call a cleaning company like INTEK to take your pet cleaning to the next level.
While we may not be able to remove every last vestige of pet hair from your carpet, our professional tools and products can do far more for your home than your bare hands alone. Our special hot water extraction process removes soil from carpets and upholstery without leaving any residue. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been consistently voted the best carpet cleaning company in Sioux Falls.
So if you have pet cleaning needs, check out our carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning services. To make an appointment, just contact us!
