Is It Possible To Have A Clean Home When You Live With Pets?

Having a pet is awesome, but if you are a pet owner, you know firsthand just how much of a mess they can make in your house! From kicking over their water bowl, accidents, tearing stuff up, and of course the absolute worst…. Hair!

No matter if you have a cat or a dog (or maybe even both) you know the pain of dealing with what feels like a never-ending extra coating of pet hair all over your home.

It can seem like a never-ending battle, cleaning up pet hair. However, there are some ways that you can have pets and not have a house that is covered from top to bottom with hair and that is what I am sharing with you today… the tips I mean, not my unwanted dog hair!

Brush Your Pets Once A Week

In the beginning, this can be tough and your dog or cat may fight you on it, one of my dogs certainly did. However, if you give them a nice brushing once a week, you are catching all that hair on the brush, and catching the hair on the brush means that it is not all over your house.

You can get all kinds of pet brushes on the market these days, so I would advise speaking to someone at your pet store or looking at reviews.

An extra pro tip that I want to give you here is if you can, do this outside. While pet brushes are great for getting most of the hair, you always get strands that float up into the air and land somewhere super annoying.

Also if your pet is a little resistant to being brushed, just stroke them and try to make it as relaxing as possible for them.

Bath Time Can Be Fun Time For Pets

One of our dogs is a husky and bath time, in the beginning, resulting in me getting wetter than the dog! However, I have made a monthly bath time part of his routine and I have certainly noticed it helps with the shedding.

The key here is not to overdo it as this can lead to the natural oils in your pet’s skin is stripped away. Once a month (or just when they are really dirty and stinky) is the way to go. Make sure you have treats on hand, use sensitive pet shampoo, and make bath time as much fun as possible.

One of the things that can really help is getting a non-slip mat. Part of what dogs hate about baths is when they are slipping all around. Also, make sure you dry them very well and do not let them out of the room or wherever until they have given themselves a good shake or they will do it in the living room!

Vacuum Regularly To Remove Pet Hair

We have all been here. You spend time vacuuming the whole house only for the next day it to be covered again! Well vacuuming at least once a week and very thoroughly is key to getting rid of dog and cat hair.

I know that no one wants to spend money, but having a vacuum that can transform into a hand vac or even one of those robot vacuums that can go around on a daily basis, is a great way to really get rid of a lot of dog hair. A cordless vacuum cleaner can be a good option for quick spot cleans.

If you have a couple of pets, you may be better, in the long run, getting a pet hair vacuum that offers you more options. We actually have a robot vacuum that goes around the living room floor each day and that works wonders in getting rid of pet hair before it all clumps up. You can get hand vacs that come with an actual pet tool which is great for getting up pet hair as well.

Clean Your Dogs Feet

In our house, freshly mopped floors are a magnet for dirty dog feet! I swear we could have a garden that is 99 percent paved and my dogs would find that one tiny bit of mud to dig their paws into. The way to combat pet prints all over your house, especially the carpets is by having an old towel at the front door.

No this is not a magical towel, but it can help you get into the habit of giving the dog’s feet a wipe down after they have been outside. Doing this each time they go out may sound like a pain, but it can save you the hassle of mopping and vacuuming more than you would like!

Clean Your Pets Bedding

No matter if you have a cat or a dog, they no doubt have their own little space where they like to sleep. Both of our dogs have their own dog beds and I will be honest and say that when we purchased these, we never thought of cleaning them.

However, after a while, these things can smell bad, like really, really bad! Not only that they attract all kinds of dirt, dust, and of course hair. So make sure you give your pet’s bedding a really good clean. Even if it does not smell, cleaning it is going to get rid of any hair or mess that is on there, a mess that they can drag all over the house.

Pick Your Furniture Carefully

If you are a pet lover, and if you are reading this I am assuming you are, try to keep your home as pet-friendly as possible. By this I mean pick furniture and items that are made of fabrics that are easy to clean when they are covered in dog hair.

For example leather is very easy to get dog hair off, you literally just take a wet cloth or a baby wipe to it and it all comes off. Any kind of microfiber material is also pretty easy to maintain. I am not saying that you need to go out and buy a whole new living room.

However when it comes time to replace the sofa, the rug, or whatever. Think about what is going to be easiest to maintain in terms of your pet making a mess of it.

I am not going to lie, keeping the house clean when you have a pet can be really tough. However, I do feel that it is possible to have a clean home when you live with pets if you take the proper precautions like brushing, bathing, and keeping on top of any mess that they make when it happens.

Resources

FourPaws PetMD ApartmentTherapy