While there are many joys to living with dogs, there are some extra chores and responsibilities that come with taking care of them. It’s challenging for dog owners to keep their homes tidy due to the additional messes that dogs can bring, including shedding, mud tracks, and drool.
Maintaining a clean house with dogs can be overwhelming, but if you approach it strategically, you can cut down the amount of time you spend on cleaning. Our tips and tricks will help make cleaning your house faster and easier.
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The 10 Tips to Keep a House Clean with Dogs
1. Have the Right Cleaning Supplies
Living with dogs means you have to clean more frequently. However, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on cleaning by investing in the right cleaning supplies. When it comes to cleaning up after your dog, you will want to invest in products that trap dog hair well and clean up stains quickly.
Using a fur removal tool will help you save a ton of time by enabling you to pick up and dispose of dog hair that gets stuck on your furniture and clothes. It is also important to keep a pet stain remover spray and deodorizer in your cleaning supply cabinet at all times. Drool, vomit, diarrhea, and mud tracks all come with the territory of living with dogs.
Having a reliable pet stain remover will help you scrub stains more quickly, and they’ll prevent your dog from urinating in the same spot repeatedly.
2. Bathe Your Dog Regularly
Bathing your dog can be tricky because overbathing can cause their skin and coat to dry out. Most dogs can be bathed every 3 to 4 weeks. Along with smelling fresh and clean, bathing your dog can help remove dirt and dead hairs from your dog’s coat.
Some dog shampoos have shed control formulas that strengthen their fur and reduce dander and the amount of shedding from their coat.
3. Brush Your Dog Regularly
Brushing your dog will help remove any loose or dead hair from their coat. This means more hair on your brush and less hair on your clothes and furniture. Since dogs have different coat types, it’s important to find the right type of brush for your dog. In general, dogs with short coats will benefit from getting brushed with a bristle brush.
Dogs with longer coats may need a set of different brushes, including a pin brush, slicker brush, and fine-tooth comb. Brushing your dog regularly can also help maintain their skin and coat health. A healthy skin and coat mean stronger hairs that are less prone to breakage, which can reduce shedding.
4. Set Up a Paw Washing Station
Set up a paw washing station near the entrance you use to take your dog out on walks. You can stock up the station with a set of paw wipes, microfiber towels, and a paw cleaner. Keeping a paw washing station by your door will enable you to clean your dog’s paws right away and prevent your dog from tracking mud into the house.
5. Double Down on Potty Training
Potty training can be one of the most challenging parts of puppyhood, but it’s important to stick with it. Dog urine and feces don’t just smell. They can cause respiratory issues due to ammonia fumes.
Sticking to a consistent potty schedule and using plenty of treats and other rewards can help dogs get potty trained faster. Doing crate training in tandem with potty training can help reduce the number of incidents and make potty training easier.
6. Keep Dogs Off Your Furniture
Most dogs like to sit and lay with their humans on their furniture. While it is nice to cuddle with dogs, the payoff is drool stains and pet hair getting left on your sofa, bed, and chairs. It’s often helpful to have certain pieces of furniture that are off-limits for your dog.
You can train your dog not to sit on certain types of furniture, such as the ones where you usually seat your guests. Sometimes, it helps to place dog beds and other pet furniture in a room and encourage your dog to use them instead of getting on your furniture.
7. Use Dog Blankets
Furniture protectors can help keep your furniture clean, but they’re often uncomfortable or cover up your furniture’s design. If your dog is adamant about lying on your furniture, consider using dog blankets. Lining your furniture with a dog blanket can prevent moisture from seeping into the fabric and cushions.
It traps dog hair and reduces the amount of time you spend picking up and removing hair from your furniture. It also makes cleaning up easy, as most dog blankets are machine-washable.
8. Clean and Maintain Dog Toys
Dog toys usually spread drool all over your floors and on your furniture. So, it’s helpful to have a designated spot, like a pet bed, where your dog can play with a plush toy. Make sure to pick up toys right after your dog has finished playing with them so that you don’t have any wet and slobbery toys sitting on your floors and carpets.
It’s also important to wash your dog’s toys regularly. They usually pick up dirt easily and will only spread more dirt around your house if they’re not cleaned, maintained, or replaced.
9. Vacuum Regularly
Vacuuming regularly becomes the norm for dog owners. No matter how little your dog sheds, you can still expect to spend more time vacuuming and cleaning your floors. It is common for dog owners to clean their floors at least once a week.
This will include vacuuming and wiping down any drool and dirty paw tracks. It’s also helpful to hire someone to deep-clean your floors every few months to ensure that every corner of your floors is kept clean.
10. Use High-Quality Air Fresheners
No matter how adorable our dogs are, we still have to acknowledge that living with them can get smelly. Most dog owners become nose-blind to their dog’s odors, but this certainly doesn’t mean that the smells have disappeared. So, make sure to invest in some high-quality air fresheners with deodorizing ingredients.
Deodorizing ingredients make sure that odors are actually getting neutralized or removed from a space. Cheaply-made air fresheners often use strong fragrances to simply mask or overpower smells, and these fragrances are usually irritating to dogs and can trigger allergies.
Final Thoughts
You can do several different things to keep your home clean while living with dogs. Use cleaning products specifically designed for pets to speed up clean-up and reduce odors. It’s also helpful to keep your dog well-groomed, as this will reduce the amount of time you spend cleaning up loose hair.
By making a few of these kinds of adjustments, you’ll establish an effective and efficient cleaning routine that will keep your house clean and odor-free.
Featured Image Credit: O_Lypa, Shutterstock
The 10 Tips to Keep a House Clean with Dogs
