With pets comes hair, odour, and a lot of mess. They’re part of the family, but you wouldn’t tolerate this much mess from your child! If you’re an animal-lover but want to keep your house clean and tidy at all times what can you do to reduce the amount of odour, residue and hair that pets leave all over your home….without getting rid of the pet? Here are some top home cleaning tips specifically for pet owners, whether you’re a cat person, dog person, bird person or even a hamster person!
Got odour? Try baking soda
Baking soda is a cleaning miracle and is used in loads of cleaning life hacks, but it is particularly good as an odour removal agent. A lot of car cleaning advice will tell people to leave a small amount of baking soda under the seat if their car has developed a strong odour or a spill of something like milk has occurred.
You can add baking soda to litter boxes, sprinkle it on an area where animals have urinated (after wiping up the urine) or leave a box of it open in areas with bad odours. If you do sprinkle it on floors or furniture, remember to vacuum it up later.
Try an air purifier
Particularly for people who are allergic but still can’t resist the draw of an animal, air-purifiers can be useful for keeping the air clean and dander-free. Because they’re airborne and very small and lightweight, the air purifiers can do a useful job of catching them when a vacuum might not. Remember to change the filter regularly for the best protection and keep one in rooms where the pets are freely allowed – we do recommend having the bedrooms off limits to pets!
Bath and groom your pets regularly
Of course, if you own a bird or hamster, this may not be applicable. However, if you have a dog or a cat, they can benefit from regular grooming to keep their fur clean and reduce pet residue. You can use special brushes (remember to do this outside!) and buy pet shampoo, or just stick to cheap and cheerful baby shampoo which is gentle enough for pets but effective at removing residue and neutralising dander. You should do this at least once a month, but preferably every one or two weeks for maximum effect.
Some pets really enjoy being groomed, so you might even find they want you to do it regularly for them! Yes, even cats!
Keep on top of things
Pets can’t help sweating, shedding and having their unique smell, so it’s up to us as owners to make sure we keep on top of the household chores. Regularly wash your linen, towels, curtains and rugs as well as any pet blankets. You’ll also need to vacuum your whole house once a week, as well as washing your floors with a disinfectant cleaning solution. Regularly doing all of these will help to minimise odour and dander, and are also good habits to get into for germ protection.