We love our pets but having pets can also extra work when it comes to keeping our homes clean and the air quality good. Not only can a dog or cat be smelly, but it can also contribute to dirty homes. It is simple and not exhausting to keep your home clean and fresh with a pet.
With furry friends like cats, dogs, and bunnies, you will need to deal with shedding and the best tools you have to remove pet fur is a good vacuum, routine pet grooming, and brushing and lint rollers. A good pet vacuum is one designed for pet-owning households and has strong suction and attachments that allow you to get stray hairs from corners and the furniture with upholstery attachments. A great pet vacuum is also quiet enough to not terrify your pet although it is to be expected that any pet will run from the vacuum. Excellent vacuum designs have HEPA filters and have a canister or bagless system that is simple to empty or replace filters on.
Grooming your pet reduces but not prevents shedding by removing all loose furs before they wind up on the couch or carpet. There are endless varieties of grooming tools and brushes for indoor pets and one of the best is a Furminator. Cats also enjoy self-brushing corner pieces on the wall that allow them to rub against the wall and get a good scratch and remove loose fur. Lint rollers are great for quick sweeps of not only your clothes but furnishings. There are also special rubber brushes that replace the sticky rolls of pet rollers. A vacuum and grooming go far in controlling the fur from flying and lowering air quality in your home.
Puppies are not the only pets that occasionally have accidents in the home. It is important to clean up poop, urine, or vomit as quickly as possible, to do it correctly to prevent a pet from reusing that spot, and to remove all odor from the carpet. If a pet accident has time to soak through to the carpet’s padding, it can linger and even sink into the subfloor – making the house smell forever of pet urine. Uric acid is persistent so enzyme and pro-bacterial cleaning products are most effective at breaking down the uric acid crystals that cause urine odors. Always follow the instructions for your specific carpet and pet stain cleanser and always blot and not press a stain into the carpet. If you are out of pet cleaner treatment, a vinegar, water, and baking soda solution works in a pinch but for a thorough removal, a specialized pet stain remover works best and they are designed to be carpet and pet-safe. If you can smell cat or dog urine but not see the offensive spot, an ultraviolet flashlight will cause urine stains to glow blue when the light is shown on them so you can be sure you got every spot treated and the odor is eliminated. To reduce spraying, always spay or neuter your pet.
Routine house cleaning ensures your house stays clean and pleasant for you and your pet. Dirty cages and cat boxes smell terrible and cause health risks for your pet. Regular daily cleaning of reptile, bird, and cat boxes as well as washing animal bedding refuses odors. Using the right housing or cat boxes for your companions will keep them happier and healthy. Coconut fiber is a popular and highly absorbent material suitable for many reptile vivaria. Keeping rodent substrates clean and changed regularly should never be neglected. Reptile cages and tanks need to keep clean due to their diets of veggies and bugs. Leftovers can become gross if allowed to remain and can grow bacteria and molds that can harm your lizard or snake. It also looks as bad as it potentially smells.
Birds are very delicate and without proper sanitation and home hygiene can develop respiratory system illnesses. Birds also have highly sensitive immune systems. Keeping your birdcage clean is a necessity for their health. It will prevent odors, stray feather accumulation, food particle buildup, and other undesirable things in their cages. A bird’s toys and food and water dishes also need to be cleaned regularly for preventing illness.
While many pet owners are opting to use DIY and natural cleaning products in their homes thinking they are safer for a pet because of natural ingredients, that is not the case. Many DIY solutions do not sanitize, and vinegar does not kill odor and disease-causing bacteria. Choose pet-safe cleaning products and avoid using caustic products such as bleach around pets.
Essential oil diffusers are popular to freshen and scent the air of a home, however, many essential oils are toxic or harmful to pets. Cats and birds are especially vulnerable to wheezing and breathing difficulty and allergic reactions to essential oils. Some lovely oils are dangerous to pets so never use a diffuser in your pet’s space. Save the diffuser for a pet-free space or use only briefly and never force a pet to remain in the space as a scented oil product. Instead, chose to keep up on routine cleaning and if the air does need a burst of freshness or if a scent is desired for mood or aromatherapeutic effects, choose pet-safe products such as Febreze Pet and other products such as supervised scented candles.
It is always easier to keep up with cleaning by doing it daily and not having to do weekly deep cleans to undo the aromas of the week. It is better for your home air quality and reduces dust, danger, and environmental irritants that affect the house and all of the creatures in your home, human and other.
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