Pet owners' definitive guide for house cleaning

Litter boxes, dander, and fur are common issues you have to deal with if you have pets. Being a pet lover, you get used with this. But it can add you a lot on your schedule when it’s coming the cleaning time. It is not impossible to keep your house with pets clean. All it takes is to respect some rules and add a bit of extra work. Cleaning up after your pets does not need to be complicated and you really need to create a healthy environment in your house. With the tips provided in this guide, you will be able to keep your home fresh, clean and healthy.

A few rules

1. Bath your pets

It is recommended to give your dogs a bath at least once a month or when needed. If they come inside dirty after a walk, they will carry it all over. A bath will also remove your dogs’ excess hair. If you have cats, even for short hair breeds, you need to brush them in order to remove the excess hair. A good brush for cats is FURminator, available at any major pet store. It is a bit expensive but it is worthwhile because is doing the job well and it will last a lifetime.

2. Remove hair from furniture

You will have to remove animal hair from furniture at least once a week. You may use a common lint roller or a standard vacuum cleaner with the side attachment.

3. Clean the floors

It is necessary to clean your floors at least once a week. For carpets you may use a vacuum cleaner with an empty vacuum bag. Pet owners need to vacuum longer than usually in order to remove as much hair and dirt as possible. For tile or laminated flooring you may sweep them then apply a bleach and mop. The bleach will disinfect and kill bacteria.

4. Change air filters in your AC

As a pet owner, you will have to change your AC air filters once per month. A good choice of filters is the electrostatic Filtrete or WEB Lifetime. You can find them at major home improvement stores and they will cost you around $10 to $20 dollars each.

5. Disinfect

It is recommended to disinfect daily in order to remove bacteria as well as lingering odors. With a good quality sanitizer solution you can kill over 99 percent of germs. You can use many of the available products on any type of surface in your home.

6. Air fresheners

Use air fresheners daily. A standard air freshener spray will only mask the odor. The best option is to use a spray that really removes odors instead of just covering them up. A high quality spray will also kill many of the airborne odor-causing bacteria.

7. Clean the urine

You will need to clean urine stains as often as needed. You may use the specialized odor cleaner and pet stain remover product from Bissell, called Pawsitively Clean Ewww Enzyme. This product is designed to remove all urine odors as well as the pet stains. It works well no matter what pet you have: cat, dogs, ferret, rabbit, or guinea pig.

8. Pet Bedding

It is recommended to clean your pet bedding at least two times a month. Wash it hot water and then use a spray for a clean and fresh scent.

Removing pet hair

The biggest challenge for the pet owners is the pet hair. Not all pets shed the same amount of hair. There are some dogs breeds such as Bichon Frises and Labradoodles that don’t shed at all. Other breeds, such as Schnauzers, shed very little hair. But there are dog breeds such as Siberian Huskies or Akitas and cat breeds such as the Persian that shed large furballs. With them, keeping your house clean will be a more of a challenge. However, you will minimize the cleaning necessities if you take care of proper grooming of your pets. Brushing your cat or dog a few times a week will ensure the hair is collected on the brush and not on your floors.

For cleaning pet hair you have more options. You may use dustpans, hand held vacuums, or Swiffers. On carpeting surfaces you may use a vacuum cleaner with a good brush roll or beater brush. On upholstery or fabrics you may use a tape roller, a velour brush, a brush with nylon bristles or a pet rake for speed removal of pet hair. You may also find at pet stores a kind of “pet sponges” for dry cleaning carpets and upholstery.

Here are some more tips for dealing with pet hair:

Brooms and vacuums: you may use a “squeegee-bristle” rubber broom to clean the pet hair off the carpet, then follow up with vacuuming.
Matching flooring: you may consider installing a type of flooring that matches your pet. For example, you may purchase carpets with a color that masks your pet fur.
Rubber soled shoe: A rubber soled shoe can work well at removing hair from carpets. Damp mopping: works well on tile floor.
Rubber Gloves: you may use Playtex gloves or rubber gloves in order to deal with the pet hair on furniture.
Dry Sponge: you may use a dry sponge on furniture to ball up the pet hair. It might be even more effective if the dry sponge is slightly dampened.
Blankets or slip covers: you may use different materials to cover your furniture. The blankets and slip covers can be easily washed weekly.
Cloths: you may use a dry or dampened micro fiber cloth to easily remove hair from furniture.
Velcro-type lint brushes: you also may use a velcro-type lint brush to remove pet hair from your clothes and furniture.

Read Related Topic: Best Vacuum For Cat Litter for 2020

Removing stains

In order to remove a pet urine stain you have to first dilute the spot by using a water dampened cloth. Then, you’ll have to clean the area with an acid solution consisting of one teaspoon white vinegar diluted in one quart water. You may also apply a pet bacteria/enzyme digester that can effectively counter both the odor and the stain and the odor. You can find these products at any pet store. The digesters work slowly, so you’ll need to leave the solution on for longer.

For older stains it might be difficult to remove them. You’ll need to leave the bacteria digester on for about 4 hours, and then rinse the spot with a solution made up of a gallon of warm water and one cup of vinegar. In the end, apply a fresh batch of bacteria digester solution.

Health risks

If you are a pet owner, you need to carefully select your household cleaning products. Some of them are loaded with chemicals that can be harmful to your pets. Studies have shown that today the rates of canine cancer are increasing. Canine cancer rates are following the same trend as human cancer rates, which shows that the cause may be some shared environmental pathogenesis. Researches have studied more in-depth the toxins that lead to this increase of cancer rates and they found that more than half of indoor pollution comes from the household cleaning products. Both humans and pets are vulnerable to the effects of continual exposure to the chemicals found in these cleaning products. Pets are even more exposed because due to their faster breathing they absorb more of these chemicals into their bloodstreams. Pets also process these toxins at a faster rate, due to their faster metabolisms.

In order to protect your health as well as the health of your pets you need to select organic cleaning products. There are available at most grocery stores many affordable lines of such organic household cleaning products. You may also home make your own household cleaners at a much cheaper cost than the price of conventional cleaning products. By making your own household cleaning products or by using the organic cleaning products you will ensure that both you and your pet will live healthier lives.

Here are some of my recommendations of the best pet supplies:

1. Bounty paper towels
You need the bounty paper towels as the first defense against pet urine, feces and vomit. You can use a paper towel to pick up firm feces or use a couple of these bounty paper towels over the pile and then press gently with your shoe. The towels will absorb most of the mess. In the end you can use a odor and stain remover.

2. Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odor Remover
This product is designed to use natural enzymes in order to break down the odors and natural stains left by pet urine, feces, or vomit. The product is made of natural ingredients and is safer than those products that use harsher chemicals. The manufacturer is guaranteeing that the product is safe on colors, it’s non flammable and non-toxic. You can use it for removing pet stains and odors from furniture, clothes, and from carpets. , non-flammable and safe on colors and all water-safe surfaces. For removing stains from carpets, clothes and furniture, Nature’s Miracle products comes in detergent, spray, and forms.

3. Urine Finder UV Fluorescent Tube
With this item you can add a high-tech flair to your pet cleaning. The device is battery operated and features an UV Fluorescent Tube that helps you find the locations of dried urine. This way it becomes easier to eliminate the old urine odors directly at their source.

4. Vinegar
Vinegar is a natural cleaning solution, especially for those pet owners who are the do-it-yourself type. You can remove new pet stains with a solution made of half a cup of white vinegar and a quart of warm water.

5. Incense
You can remove pet odors after your pet used the litter box by burning some scented incense. It only takes a couple of minutes to eliminate the odor with the burning scented incense.

6. Lemons
Lemons are another good natural solution for eliminated pet odors. Their scent will neutralize any foul odors if you cut a couple of lemons in half and place them with the cut-side-up in the room with the litter box. Of course, the best way to deal with pet mess is to prevent accidents happening in the first place. Provide your cat a clean litter box and take your dog out in time.

Here are some other essential pet cleanup supplies that you need to keep in your closet:

1. Lint Remover

A clothes lint remover that features a refillable sticky tape will help you to easily pick up pet hair. You can find this kind of lint removers or similar brushes in pet care sections of drugstores or discount stores or in specialized pet stores.

2. Enzymatic Cleaner

An enzymatic cleaner such as the ones presented above, Bissell Pawsitively Clean Ewww Enzyme or Nature’s Miracle, can help you neutralize odors and stains made by pets on floors or carpets, in order to avoid repeat visits. Because animals have a better sense of smell than people, they may detect a prior mess even if you do not feel the odor anymore. They may try to use the same spot over again if you do not clean it with a good odor and stain remover. In order to avoid carpet or wood damage, you will need to dampen the spots and then wipe away excess quickly. When cleaning, take care to not saturate or allow the liquid to pool.

3. Stiff-Bristled Brush

You may use a stiff-bristled brush in order to remove the pet hair when it accumulates on a rug. Brush the carpet or the rug vigorously with a utility brush or a stiff clothes brush until hair and dirt cease to come out.

4. Old Cloth Towels or Paper Towels

You may use old cloth towels or paper towels to remove liquid messes made by your pets.

I hope this guide will help you in your cleaning endeavors, I tried to compile everything there is to know in this article. Did you notice that something is missing? Do you have a question, or are you just simply trying to share something with me and the readers of this blog? Have you used other supplies that you consider better? Please drop a line bellow, I would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks, and happy cleaning!

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Jason Roberts

Founder and executive reviewer at Vacuums Guide

I'm Jason Moe Roberts, an appliances expert and blogger. I've worked at Walmart for more than 15 years, in the house appliance department. I love to use home equipment and I spend a lot of time testing the best products and reviewing them. My family and friends also recommend me as a caring person, a great dad and a loving husband.