Being in the cleaning business, a lot of people ask us how to keep their homes clean when they have pets. Our pets can be our best friends and even family members, but they’re not good at picking up after themselves or even keeping their smells confined to themselves. At Maid Right, we know one of the best things pet owners can do is hire a reputable cleaning service to keep their home clean, but that is only one piece of the puzzle. When our cleaning team leaves, pets still live and play in the home and continue to shed hair and create new odors. Here are some tips to keep your home clean between your scheduled cleanings.
Stay on top of it – a little bit of attention every other day will ensure the home stays tidy, without a lot of effort. If you have several pets, you might need to have a daily maintenance routine. The longer you go without addressing the issue, the larger the problem becomes and the more daunting the cleanup task will be.
Tame the hair – brushing your pet, preferably outdoors, a few minutes per day will greatly reduce the amount of hair that gets shed inside the home. This is especially important during the warm parts of the year.
Wipe the upholstery – use rubber gloves to help pick up hair from your upholstered couches and chairs, by rubbing in one direction to gather the hair. You’ll de-fur your couch in no time and your guests won’t be covered in hair when they leave.
Maintain the litter box – scoop feces and urine clumps at least once per day and completely clean in out and replace the litter once per week. Using a good odor eliminating cat litter is important as well, and studies have shown the unscented varieties tend to do a better job of controlling the smell.
Address the accidents immediately – the longer pet accidents sit on a porous floor surface, like wood or carpet, the more it becomes a permanent part of the home. For urine, a vinegar and water solution (50/50) is ideal as the vinegar breaks down the organic enzymes and helps to remove the odor. Be sure to soak up as much of the urine with cloths or paper towels first, then apply the vinegar solution. For feces, you may need to scrub the surface and use a stain remover in addition to the vinegar solution.
Keep their feeding area tidy – one of the easiest ways to keep their food areas clean is to ensure the bowls aren’t pushed all over the home. Place their food and water dishes on a mat with a lot of grip. This will prevent the bowls from moving and it will also help contain spills. Be sure to wipe and clean any spills regularly and clean their dishes.
We all love our pets, but don’t need to see and smell little reminders of them all over the home. Creating a routine to maintain your home will make you a happier pet owner and your guests will appreciate it as well. If you have children, many of these tips would be appropriate tasks for them; it will teach them what it means to be a responsible pet owner and take some ownership in keeping the home clean.
