Tips for Cleaning Up After Your Pet

No matter how much we may love our furry friends, cleaning up after them can become a nightmare if you don’t know how to do it properly. From rogue dog hair to cats marking their territory, being a pet owner can be hard work. Pet waste that hasn’t been cleaned up can also become a potential health risk for your pets themselves and your family.

Cleaning up Pet Hair

If you own a cat or dog, shedding hair is an inevitable reality. This problem can be twice as bad if your pet has a long coat. Brushing your animal regularly will cut down on shedding, and will protect your cat from hairballs. But even with the most rigorous grooming routine, your home is still likely to have hair scattered around it from time to time.

Hair on Furniture

Because animal hair is static and holds an electrical charge, it is able to stick to any and all surfaces. While a little dog hair never hurts anyone, having your favorite chair covered in it is not the best way to entertain guests. One of the best solutions to this tricky problem is a portable vacuum cleaner. The device makes you clean up hair quickly without having to drag around a huge vacuum.

If you want to remove pet hair from wooden furniture, using a soft cotton cloth with some furniture polish will remove the static so that the hair won’t re-stick, making it a breeze to clean away.

Hair on Carpets and Floors

Pet hair can become a nightmare when it starts building up on your carpets and floors. It’s not only ugly, but can also hold allergens and dust that can be harmful to your family. When vacuuming up after your pet, you’ll find that often normal vacuums are not that effective because they don’t have enough lift. Try to find a vacuum that is specially designed to pick up hair either through a brush roll or beater brush. It’s also important to use one that has a filter to catch all of the dust mites, pollen and pet dander.

Hair on Clothes

One of the biggest frustrations for pet owners who love to give their animals hugs is the leftover pet hair left on their clothing post-cuddle. The hair can actually get embedded into the clothing fiber, which is why normal lint brushes aren’t very good at removing it. Sticky lint rollers are usually your best bet when tackling hair and they’re usually available in most supermarkets or pet stores.

But, if you’re looking to save some money or don’t have time to go out and buy one, you can wrap masking tape or transparent adhesive tape to your palm and dab it on your clothing. Be careful not to use duct tape, though, as it will leave a sticky residue.

Getting Rid of Stains and Odor Urine and Feces

The most important thing to remember when cleaning up urine is to do it as quickly as possible when it’s still damp. While leaving the mess for another time may be tempting, this will give the stain and odor time to be absorbed, which you really don’t want. The first thing you need to do is dab the area with a paper towel to absorb as much of the urine as possible. Do not rub the carpet.

It’s also important to use a cleaning product that is formulated for removing ammonia. The ammonia in urine is what causes animals to keep going back to the same place. This is because they are effectively ‘marking their territory’. By using a product that gets rid of this smell while at the same time deodorizing makes it difficult for them to track the scent. Once your carpet is dry, you can vacuum the area to restore the texture of the carpet.

Most people don’t know that a lot of cleaning detergents like bleach actually contain ammonia in them, which will attract your pet as much as their own markings. This is why you need to make sure you use a product that is specially designed to remove underlying odors, even if we can’t smell them.

For your own sake, investing in an electric air purifier can help to make your home smell better, while also getting rid of potential bacteria and allergens.

Vomit

If your dog or cat is sick, you probably have a lot on your mind without having to worry about the mess from them throwing up. If your pet gets sick on your carpet, this can cause you a number of problems. The acidity of vomit can permanently damage the carpet by moving the dye. The dye in many pet foods mixed with stomach acid can also stain your floor, so it’s important to neutralize the mess as soon as you can.

To do this you need to treat the area with professional pet stain and odor remover, and rinse with water. However, avoid using a steam cleaner to clean up messes. The heat will set the stain and the smell in the carpet.

Preventing the Mess Before It Happens

Taking some time out to house train your pet properly can go a long way in keeping your home mess-free. Dogs can even be trained to have scheduled bathroom breaks to prevent accidents from happening. While training your pet, you can also use training pads which act as nappies that lock in the odor and reduce messy cleanups.

Also make sure that your kitty’s litter box is kept clean and is big enough for her to move around in so that she doesn’t decide to use your floor as her bathroom instead. Getting your cat neutered or spayed will also help stop them from spraying.

While there are measures you can take to help your pet stay clean, we have to remember that accidents are inevitable. Mess is part of having an animal and it doesn’t mean that you love them any less. Luckily now there are ways of cleaning up after pets so that both you and your loving friend are kept happy and healthy.