Contrary to popular belief, keeping a clean home with pets is indeed possible. Some say you can have a clean home or pets, but this simply isn’t the case.
Pets will always bring a whole bunch of additional cleaning tasks into the equation. It’s a bit like attempting to keep a kid’s bedroom clean – the moment you tackle one job, something else needs doing. But with the right tools for the job (and quite a lot of patience), you can indeed have pets and a clean home.
With this in mind, here’s a roundup of the most indispensable tools out there for keeping a pet-friendly home clean and tidy:
- A Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
By far, this is the single most helpful cleaning tool you’ll ever add to your arsenal. A top-qualityrobot vacuum for dealing with pet hair can lighten your domestic load like you simply wouldn’t believe. Whether you’re in or out, your robot vac will happily run around the place and pick up all the dirt, debris and pet hair that’s doing a number on your floors. Just be sure to pick up a robot vacuum that’s designed with pet hair in mind – not a generic low-cost machine.
- A Lint Roller
Simple yet equally indispensable, a lint roller is just the thing for taking to couches, cushions and soft furnishings on a regular basis. A lint roller can also help lighten the load for your main vacuum cleaner, helping ensure it doesn’t get clogged with vast quantities of problematic pet hair. For obvious reasons, a lint roller is also absolutely essential for keeping yourself clean and pristine. Particularly if you have the kinds of super-friendly pets that enjoy crawling all over you.
- A Good De-Shedding Tool
A nice soft brush is all well and good but isn’t really up to the job. If you’re serious about getting all that loose and matted hair out of your dog’s coat (and away from your furniture), you need a good de-shedding tool. These are the somewhat scary-looking brushes you wouldn’t allow anywhere near your own skin, but nonetheless work wonders for pets. Particularly during the summer, you’ll wonder how on earth you ever got by without one.
- Pet Pedicures
If you have hard floors about the place, this is more about long-term maintenance than simple cleaning. Excessively long, sharp, and disheveled claws can and will take a toll on the surfaces around your home with time. They’re also just the thing for tearing into your soft furnishings. The solution – an occasional pet pedicure with a good set of specialist tools.
- Plenty of Cleaning Wipes
Two types of cleaning wipes are absolutely essential for pet-friendly households. First of all, you’ll need general antibacterial surface wipes to clean up after them. Secondly, you’ll also benefit from a stockpile of wipes designed for cleaning your actual pets. Muddy paws, drool-soaked mouths, less-than sanitary rear-ends – all taken care of with a quick and safe wipe. Letting all this nastiness accumulate until it’s time for his next bath really isn’t the way to go!
- Throws or Covers
If your every effort to keep your pets off your couch (and your furniture in general) has failed, you’ll benefit enormously from an investment in washable throws or covers. Any shape, size, and color you like, just as long as they can be tossed in the washing machine on a regular basis and kept clean.
- Air and Fabric Fresheners
Irrespective of how pristine your home looks, a dank and musty wet-do-like smell in the air will completely remove its luster. Precisely why a setup of safe air and fabric fresheners is an absolute must. None of which should be used instead of keeping the place clean and hygienic, but can nonetheless be great when Fido’s funk is doing its thing.
- Prevent Pest Problems Outright
Last but not least, it’s a common misconception that a clean, well-groomed, and fresh-smelling pet cannot possibly be harboring pests and parasites. In reality, general cleanliness and hygiene really have nothing to do with the likelihood of pest infestation. Irrespective of how clean you keep your home and your pet, you still need to make every possible effort to keep pests out of the picture. This means using the appropriate preventative treatments on your pets, their possessions, their furniture, and so on. It’s far easier to prevent pest problems outright than to attempt to deal with them at a later stage.