You love your four-legged family members fiercely, but you don’t love how they make your home smell. Not to worry! We’re sharing some simple steps to help stop pet odors from permeating your humble abode:
Groom your pet.
If your furry friends are bathed and brushed often, they will be less likely to smell and therefore, so will your home. To help ensure freshness, wipe your pet down with a grooming wipe between baths.
Clean your hard-surface floors.
Start by gently sweeping your linoleum, tile, hardwood or other hard-surface floors. This helps eliminate foul-smelling fur and dander as well as any stinky dirt and debris your pets may have tracked inside your home. Next, mop the floor surfaces thoroughly to remove any particulates you may have missed while sweeping.
Vacuum your carpets and furniture.
If you thought your hard-surface floors had significant fur, dust and dander buildup, just wait until you see the accumulation in your carpets! Be sure to vacuum all the carpeting in your home, including area rugs, and sprinkle an odor eliminator as needed. Then, use those handy vacuum cleaner attachments to remove putrid pet debris from your furniture as well. Although any vacuum cleaner should suffice, you may want to consider one that’s specially designed for pets.
Steam clean your carpets.
If your home is especially smelly, you may choose to take the odor elimination a step further by steam cleaning your carpets. This process can help dislodge any odor-causing debris that is trapped in their fibers. Be sure to keep pets away from the treated area until it is completely dry.
Wash your linens.
Nearly every fabric in your home can develop pet odors, so take advantage of your washing machine. Use it and with a natural laundry detergent to clean bed linens, throw pillows, couch cushion covers and any other textiles in your home that are machine washable. Remember, your clothes can carry unpleasant pet odors, too, so be sure to clean them regularly rather than letting them pile up before washing them.
Clean pet beds.
Caked in dirt, fur, dander, saliva and even urine, pet beds are probably among the stinkiest items in your home. Fortunately, most pet beds are machine washable, so simply remove the covers, run them through the wash and replace them once they’re dry. It’s also a good idea to treat pet beds with a stain repellant, which can help alleviate unpleasant odors in the future.
Air out and purify your home.
Open all the (screened) windows and doors in your home to let the fresh air in. Then turn on any fans to help circulate it while pushing the foul-smelling air outside. And speaking of fresh air, you may also want to invest in an air purifier, which can help trap malodourous pet debris and dander. Just be sure to choose one that’s designed to eliminate pet odors.
Stay ahead of messes.
The longer messes linger, the more difficult it may be to eliminate corresponding odors. If your dog has an accident, clean it up right away using an enzymatic cleaner, designed to tackle tough stains and smells. And don’t forget to scoop and toss cat litter and pick up after your pup in the yard immediately—this decreases the chance that someone will accidentally track the mess into your home.
Enjoy some aromatherapy.
Odor-neutralizing sprays don’t typically mask pet scents completely, but they can help combat minor smells. You can also cover up unpleasant pet odors with scented candles, potpourri or essential oils. Just be sure to keep these fragrant solutions out of reach of your pet.
Sniff, sniff...still smelling the stink? Try adding these natural products to your cleaning routine:
