Pets bring joy to their owners’ lives, but they also contribute plenty of messes to the household. Whatever kind of chaos your cat or dog brings to your home, there are budget-friendly and efficient ways to address the aftermath. These tips from Dog Sparkling will show you how to handle fur, dander, drool, and odor issues without breaking your budget.
Top Tip for Tackling Pet Messes
When it comes to cleaning up after your pet, timeliness is vital. Keeping up with odors and messes as you stumble upon (or into) them helps avoid set-in stains. Preventing ground-in dirt and dander means you won’t need to hire a professional for a deep clean. Instead, pick up some reputable cleaning products that address pet stains and odors—and use them promptly when you encounter messes. This tip is particularly vital when you’re selling a home; not only can these messes cause people to develop a negative impression of your home, but the lingering smells and odors could trigger allergic reactions in potential buyers.
Handle Pet Fur Problems with DIY Solutions
When you have furry family members, they tend to shed all over the house. But with simple DIY solutions, you can start removing hair from your furniture and carpet in a snap.
Using a squeegee can scrape embedded hair out of rugs and carpeting. An alternative that helps grab pet hair is a mixture of three parts water and one part liquid fabric softener—the combination helps loosen the hair from its static connection to your carpet fibers.
To prevent damage to your washing machine due to pet hair accumulation, Consumer Reports advises removing as much hair as possible before you run the washer. Using a lint roller or masking tape to remove stuck-on hair is a smart first step.
But the best tip is this: Run bedding and clothing through the dryer on a no-heat cycle before washing. Using the drying first helps draw the pet hair into the lint trap of your dryer, getting it off the fabric and out of your washer’s drum and drain.
Cut Down on Dander
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, around three in 10 people with allergies struggle with allergic reactions to pet dander. While cat dander allergies are more common, pet parents know there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic pet.
The good news is that there are ways to cut down on dander in your home and reduce allergy flare-ups. First, vacuum frequently, covering your face while you do. Many vacuums circulate dust and other materials into the air, so an effective vacuum filter is also crucial.
The next step is swapping your home’s heating and air conditioning system filters for ones that trap pet dander. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters remove 99.97 percent of airborne particles, effectively reducing the amount of stuff circulating in the air of your home. With these filtration methods, you can enjoy cleaner air—and hopefully less sneezing.
Use Vinegar to Clean Doggy Drool
While most pet owners love wet kisses from their furry friends, both dogs and cats harbor many harmful bacteria in their mouths, National Geographic cautions. To combat these germs on surfaces, you need potent cleaning agents. But bleach can be toxic to pets, even in limited concentrations.
Vinegar is a widely effective cleaner for killing germs. The Nest explains, because it’s a natural disinfectant. You can safely apply diluted vinegar to all pet surfaces, plus many types of flooring, including carpet. Vinegar is also helpful in fighting fleas and ticks—dilute a small amount into your pet’s water bowl.
Eliminate Smells by Using Vinegar (and Other Household Products)
Vinegar is also a means of cutting pet odors, whether on fabrics or your carpet. It neutralizes the ammonia in pet urine (and covers up other yucky smells). The trick is addressing the mess when it happens before anything sets into your furniture or floor.
Using a diluted vinegar solution, you can dab at potty spots to get the smell out and reduce stains. Once that dries, apply a sprinkling of baking soda to absorb the odor further. Vacuum it up in about 15 minutes, and the smell should be gone.
An Ounce of Prevention
While pet messes are inevitable, there are ways to help your animal companion avoid mistakes within their control or to limit those messes yourself. If your pet has problems eliminating inside your home, find ways to make it easier to access the litter box or teach them how to lead you to the door to go out. Note, pet treats for positive reinforcement can go a long way toward curbing certain behaviors. Other options include hiring a dog walker or pet sitter to check in while you’re away at work, washable slipcovers, and even plastic barriers you can put over your doors.
Cleaning up after your pet may not be fun, but you can avoid long-term odors and stains when you do it properly. All it takes is a little elbow grease and some of your time.
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Photo courtesy Unsplash
Article contributed by Annabelle Harris