How to Keep a Clean House When You Have Pets
When you add a furry member to your household, you gain a faithful companion that will be there for you when you need them most. But, you also inherit fur, slobber, and dirt brought in from their time outside. It’s a bit of extra work, but it’s worth it. Today on Bay Area Housing Trends, we offer up advice on how to keep a clean and healthy house despite fur and muddy paws.
Automate – If you’ve never had a pet before, be ready for hair to get everywhere. Ideally, you’ll vacuum every day when you have a pet in the home. Fortunately, a robot vacuum cleaner makes this chore less of a hassle. CNN offers suggestions on budget-friendly and effective automatic vacuums.
Invest in lint rollers – Hair doesn’t just get on your floors, it can get all over your other surfaces as well. Keep a few lint rollers handy in each room. Not only can you use these to clean up animal hair in the house, but they are also great in the car and for picking up other small messes, like broken glass or spilt sugar.
Add a paw washing station – Muddy pawprints can’t always be avoided. Because of that, it can help to add a paw washing station to your most common entrance. The My Brown Newfies blog explains that a simple storage container works beautifully. If possible, train your dog to step into a shallow container of water and then onto a towel before entering the main part of your home. This is also a great spot to teach the kids to take off their own dirty shoes before coming into the main living areas.
Keep a cleaning caddy – You probably already have a cabinet full of cleaning products. Streamline your cleaning process by keeping like products together. You also want to make sure that you have complementary tools, such as a washcloth or roll of paper towels, in your caddie as well. This makes it easy to grab and go when you have a mess.
Open the windows – Unless you have a dog, cat, or kids that will tear through a window screen, opening the windows is an excellent way to purge your house of hair, dust, dander, and other allergens. This has other benefits as well, according to Renewal by Andersen. These include saving money on your electric bill and reduced reliance on air fresheners.
Install a cat door – The litter box can get pretty stinky, plus if you leave it in areas like a bathroom or entryway, your cat is liable to track litter. To avoid the smell, store your litter box in a safe area in your basement or garage, then install a flap door so your cat has easy access to their box. When looking at cat doors, be sure to consider ease of installation as well as whether you can buy replacement parts. And to avoid tracking, start your cat out with pine litter or the Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System.
Cover the couch – Dogs are especially prone to finding one spot that they love and sticking to it. If your pampered pooch likes to sleep on a specific spot, cover it up. According to HDTV, a nonslip protective couch cover works like a charm. These come in many different colors and styles and are fully washable so you spend less time cleaning the upholstery.
Divide and conquer – Taking care of an animal and a house should be a family activity. Don’t take on all of the household chores all by yourself. Give everyone in the family a job. This might be brushing your dog daily, doing laundry, wiping down baseboards, or folding blankets in the living room.
Having an animal enhances your life exponentially. But, it does take work. To keep your house clean, follow the tips above, don’t be afraid to ask your veterinarian or groomer for additional advice.
Bay Area Housing Trends is operated by Margaret Barton, a licensed realtor that’s lived in the area since 1978.
