For people that are already busy, there are never enough hours in the day. And maintaining the upkeep of the house can be a challenge. For dog owners, it provides an additional challenge for maintaining cleanliness within the home. For as much love that they provide, their presence inside the home requires extra work to maintain a clean and healthy home.
The professional housekeeping team from Pure House Cleaning has shared some cleaning tips that can make it easier to maintain a clean home with your dog.
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7 Top Ways to Minimize Dog Odor and Keep Your Home Clean with a Dog
One of the first things that will affect your home is the odor that comes from your dog or your dog’s living area. You can easily minimize the accumulation of unpleasant dog odors by doing the following:
- Keep your home well ventilated
- Add in fresh scents
- Remove stinky items
- Purify the air
- Keep floors clean
- Remove pet hair
- Prevent dirt from entering your home
To Keep Your Home Fresh with a Dog, Make Sure You Have Good Ventilation
You will want to maintain a constant airflow throughout your home. Open windows and doors to let the breeze consistently remove odors from inside your home. If you don’t want to leave the windows or doors open all day, at least keep them open three times a day for 5-10 minutes so that the airflow in your home changes.
Image credit: Iza Lyson Arts
Add Lavender Scents into Your Home
Dogs enjoy the scent of lavender for its calming properties. This will provide a fresh smell inside your home. You can invest in lavender diffusers or scented lavender candles, which will provide a pleasant smell inside your home.
Also, use lavender when washing or cleaning other items, so that there is a consistently “fresh” lavender smell inside the home.
Move Smelly Dog Items to a Well-Ventilated Area
Another common issue when it comes to keeping your home clean with a dog is your dog’s living area, toys, or blankets causing unpleasant smells within your home. It is important that you make sure:
- Dog items are washed regularly
- Pet items are placed in a well-ventilated area
- Dog items aren’t permanently placed in the living or socializing areas in the home
- You place charcoal in the areas to help to absorb bad odors
Invest in an Air Purifier Tower to Help Keep Your Home Clean with a Dog
This will help keep your dog-friendly home clean, especially if your home relies on using an HVAC to circulate air. The air purifier tower can catch unpleasant odors and materials in the air, which will help create fresher air inside your home. This is also useful for homes that are limited with opening doors or windows for air circulation.
Keep Your Floor Spaces Clean
Minimizing the clutter around your home will make it look clean, as well as minimize your dog spreading dirt and fur around your home. One way to do this is to train your dogs to keep their items in a designated area.
This will require patience, but it will be helpful to you over the long-term if the dogs learn to keep their toys and belongings in a designated area. This might be a designated space for the dog or a basket where they can keep their belongings.
Remove Your Dog’s Excess Shedding
Your dog will always shed its fur. However, different breeds will shed different amounts, which will impact the frequency of your cleaning. There are some things you can do to manage the excess fur around the house:
Have a lint roller on hand – A lint roller will make it easy for you to get your dog’s shed fur off upholstery and clothing. Simply keep the lint roller nearby and commit to using it a couple of times a day if your dog sheds frequently. This will prevent the build-up of fur in your home.
Use an electrostatic mop to collect hair on hard-floor surfaces – If your floor is made of wood, tile, or any type of hard flooring, then you will want to consider using an electro-static mop or a microfiber cloth to collect dog hair that accumulates on your flooring.
Use a portable vacuum cleaner – To quickly clean your areas such as upholstery, you can use a hand-held vacuum cleaner to get rid of fur quickly. This can help you get rid of most of the hair in just a few minutes and keep your home clean with a dog.
Use a robotic vacuum cleaner – If you have the budget, try to invest in a robotic vacuum cleaner such as a Roomba, which can continually vacuum around your home to minimize the amount of fur building up.
Use rubber gloves to collect the bulk of shed fur – You can simply wear rubber gloves and wipe them along items where fur from your dog may accumulate. This will help you to get rid of most of the fur on the item, which you can then easily dispose. Wipe down upholstery, coffee tables, kitchen tables, and more in just a few minutes for a clean, dog-friendly home.
Wipe down areas with a damp cloth – Another option to keep your home clean and fur-free with a dog is to use a damp cloth to wipe down areas such as benchtops and tabletops, which can collect fur.
Stop Pet Dirt from Coming into Your Home
You can also stop doggy dirt from coming into your home by taking preventative actions. One way to do this is to train your dog to wait at the door before coming into your home. This will allow you to help them clean their paws on a mat or in a bucket before they come back inside the house.
Another option is investing in a set of shoes for your dog. This way, they can walk, run, and play outside, but they won’t take dirt caught in their paws inside your home.
Keep your home clean, but beware of chemicals that are dangerous for your dogs.
We know that you want to keep your home as clean as possible with your dog. However, you should also be aware of cleaning materials and chemicals that are dangerous for your dogs.
You don’t want to use a cleaning product and then have your dog get ill from making contact with or licking the surface. Use this list as a reference:
- Ammonia
- Bleach
- Phthalates
- Glycol Ethers
- Formaldehyde
- Dioxane
Ammonia is commonly found in:
- Oven cleaners
- Window cleaners
- Stainless steel cleaners
- Wax for hardwood floor
Bleach is commonly found in:
- Scouring powders
- Toilet bowl cleaners
- Mildew removers
- Basic bleach
- Laundry detergent
- Dishwashing detergent
- All-purpose cleansers
Phthalates are commonly found in:
- Deodorizers
- All-purpose cleaners
Glycol ethers are commonly found in:
- All-purpose cleaners
- Spot removers
- Carpet cleaners
- Glass cleaners
- Liquid soaps
Formaldehyde is commonly found in:
- General household cleaners
- Plug-in fragrances
- Paper towels
- Hand soap
- Pet shampoo
Dioxane is commonly found in:
- Laundry detergent
- Dryer sheets
- Cosmetics
- Paint and varnishes
Use these tips provided to keep your home clean and fresh with your dogs, without risking your dog’s health.
If you are interested in hiring professional cleaners, whether for weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or deep cleaning services, get in touch with the Pure House Cleaning team. We can provide regular cleaning for your home in the Seattle area. And we’ll match you with a high-quality cleaner who’s comfortable with pets, so you won’t have to worry about your dog while your home is being cleaned.
Reach out for a quote for our green cleaning services!