Pets at home are great. They keep you company, provide plenty of entertainment, and give you something soft and fluffy to cuddle up with! Unfortunately, they can also have a big impact on your home, leaving fur everywhere, having unfortunate accidents on the floor (especially when they are young), and generally making their presence known in the form of ‘pet smell’.
Luckily, there are some easy and affordable ways to keep your house looking clean and stain free, and smelling fresh when you are a dog or cat owner. Here are three hacks for a more beautiful home when you love your pets:
Removing Fluff
Cats and dogs, regardless of their breed and hair type, shed fur. Some of them do it constantly, others only when they are changing between their summer and winter coats, but as a pet owner you are sure to have experienced those times where your clothes and furniture seem to have enough fur on them to make a whole new pet! While you can buy plenty of special brushes for lifting animal hair off of your furniture or clothing, one of the simplest and cheapest ways to pick up the fluff is to put on a pair of rubber gloves, lightly dampen them, and then just stroke over the area. The static will help attract the hair, and you can then just pick it up with your hand and throw it away! Even with this simple trick, you should get yourself the best vacuum for pet hair.
Getting Rid of Pet Smells
Pets, particularly dogs, have a natural smell of their own which is useful to them in the wild, but not so great when it is in your home. You may not even notice the pet odor yourself as people tend to become accustomed to smells that are always around them, but you may find it noticeable when you come in after being out for a while, and visitors are likely to know you have a pet even before they meet him because of the distinctive dog or cat smell. If you want to get rid of the odor, there are a couple of cheap, at home ways to do it. One is to sprinkle baking soda on the carpet or furniture affected, leave it for a while, then hoover it up. This neutralizes the smell. Vinegar is another good method for neutralizing pet smells naturally – just use it as you would a cleaning fluid.
Stains on Wood Floors
Puppies and kittens can have some toilet training accidents, and metals in urine can leave dark stains on wooden floors that can seem impossible to get out. The best way to remove these stains without actually bleaching the wood and creating even more discolored patches, is to use oxalic acid wood bleach such as that sold on the Real Milk Paint website. This is inexpensive and will lift these metal stains very effectively.
These are three great ways to keep your house looking and smelling great no matter how many four legged friends you happen to have!
