Our pets are often what make our homes feel complete, but there can be no denying – no matter how much we love them – that they can make the place a little smelly, too. Since we love our dogs so much, we often allow them to sleep on the furniture, even when they have a perfectly comfortable bed of their own to snooze in! Sharing your home with a pet can be a wonderful thing, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t allow them to sleep on your furniture or in your bed, but for the sake of keeping your home smelling fresh and clean, you need to know how to combat the doggy odours.
It’s easy to eliminate pet smells from your home, and requires minimal effort, so here’s how in two simple steps:
Vacuum furniture frequently:
Try to be as thorough as possible when you do this, by taking all the furniture apart and vacuuming whatever you can. If your furniture has removable covers that can be washed, then try to do so weekly, if not monthly, depending on how often your pet lies on them. Remember to vacuum in the cracks and creases of the furniture, and underneath, too.
Keep your carpets odour free with baking soda and cider vinegar:
Baking soda, cider vinegar and strong laundry detergents are all you need to help eliminate doggy pongs from your carpets, and both are affordable and easy to find in the store. Wash sheets, blankets, cushion covers and anything else that your dog often sleeps on, with a mixture of a strong detergent and a quarter of a cup of apple cider vinegar.
For carpets and furniture, grab your tub of baking soda and sprinkle it liberally all over; you can use a cleaning brush to help spread it over everything. If possible, leave this on overnight so that it can really absorb and neutralise all the odours, then simply vacuum it off the next day.
You may want to hire a professional carpet cleaning machine if you have heavy duty odours from not cleaning often, or of course you can call in a carpet cleaning company to do the work for you. It’s important that if you do shampoo your carpets though, that you try to eliminate as much of the odour by other means (such as with baking soda and a vacuum cleaner) first, otherwise the sweet-smelling shampoo will be tainted with the doggy smells left behind. Using a non-toxic cleaner on your carpets and upholstery is important, as some dogs can have bad reactions to certain products.
If you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the smelliness of your home, and perhaps you have several pets, it might just be easier all round to call in the professionals and have them get the whole place smelling clean and hygienic again in next to no time. This will also save you time, and you’ll be confident that their techniques will work, otherwise you can usually request a full refund.