[emaillocker]Pawprints all over the floor – from the kitchen door, through the dining room and into the lounge – might be cute at first but, after a while, it becomes hard work to keep your house clean, especially if you have white floors. Before you know it, dirt can accumulate everywhere and even ‘appear’ on the walls. But don’t fret – we have a few tips on how to keep your pet-friendly home clean…
Shiny floor
- Doormats at all the entrances to the house are one way to reduce muddy pawprints in your home. Another way is to rinse your dog’s paws at the door before he comes inside.
- Carpets are not the best idea if you have pets and want clean floors. Tiles, laminated flooring or concrete floors are much easier to clean – whether it is a wee accident or a sick puppy’s vomit.
- You can prevent wooden and laminated floors from lifting at the edges by cleaning up your puppy’s urine as soon as possible.
- By cleaning up accidents quickly, you will also prevent any odours from filling the house.
- Rugs are a great way to protect floors in high-traffic areas and to provide your puppy with a soft, warm place to rest.
- You can also protect your floors by regularly trimming your dog’s nails.
- A good vacuum every day, even in uncarpeted areas, helps a lot to clean up pet hair.
- Clean your vacuum cleaner after each use, and if it has a bag, throw the bag away. This will prevent flea eggs and larvae from hatching in the bag.
- Clean the cleaning equipment and leave it in the sun to dry.
Furniture
- While vacuuming the floors, also vacuum furniture that your dog has access to – like the lounge suite.
- A throw also helps prevent stains and pet hair from sticking to furniture. You can simply put it in the washing machine when it is dirty.
- Regularly brush your dog’s coat to get rid of loose hair, especially when he sheds, to reduce pet hair in your house.
- Do some research before buying furniture. Leather and pleather are much easier to keep clean than fabrics like velvet, velour and corduroy.
- Lint rollers are ideal for quickly getting rid of pet hair on furniture and clothing.
- Use bedding that can easily be removed and washed to get rid of pet hair and any stains.
- Choose bedding in a colour that will hide your dog’s hair – choose darker colours for dogs with dark-coloured coats.
Walls
- White might not be the best colour to paint your walls if you have a dog who enjoys rubbing up against the wall. Choose colours that won’t show marks easily.
- As a dog owner, you might want to consider a paint that is easily washable. Satin or eggshell finishes are elegant and easy to clean.
- Depending on the paint type, you should use cleaning materials suited to that kind of paint. For instance, a flat finish paint is fragile and needs gentle soap.
- Wallpaper in high-traffic areas is probably not a good idea if you have a dog, especially if the wallpaper is embossed.
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