my tips for a clean home even with pets!

This forum is for discussing all topics related to the challenges (and joys!) of keeping your house clean while living with dogs. Here you can share tips, recommendations for products and techniques, and more!

(Page 1 of 2: Viewing entries 1 to 10)
Page Links: 1 2

Bama AKA- "Buddybear'

'Just as cuddly- as i look!'

Barked: Sat Oct 23, '10 6:05pm PST


	Ok so when my hubby first wanted a dog I was like "no way" I have always loved animals but once we got out on our own I became a clean fanatic. I think I get it from my Grandmother and Aunt Linda. But, once we got Bama I fell back in love with the idea of having pets and now we have 3 dogs as well as a snake and lizard. I think preventing your house from getting smelly and nasty is the best thing you can do. In my opinion that consists of several things: -having house-trained dogs that do not have accidents (or at least very rarely) even if potty mat trained like my dogs are, the dogs should know where they are to go potty and this means consistency in training and for the life of the dog -limiting access to the whole house. my dogs do not go in our master bedroom or office/game room without us in there to watch them. we keep all rooms upstairs closed so they are downstairs with us or playing on the stairs. -if you have multiple dogs, I would suggest crating or keeping confined to one room if you work long hours. we work 8 hr days. Bama is left out, but he has his potty mats to use. Allee and Brodie are crated. I don't have to worry about accidents or messes that might go un-noticed until the odor begins -keeping bedding and kennels cleaned, I add white vinegar to the washing machine when cleaning their blankets and/or beds. -for us we don't allow the dogs in the bed, a rule the hubby made! if it were just me they'd probably at least sleep in the bedroom floor on beds or blankets. but he says once we go to bed for the night, no dogs allowed in there! i think it does help keep our bedroom dog hair and odor free! -keeping rugs and furniture clean and fresh -covering sofas with throw, sheets, etc if the dogs are allowed on them. this keeps doggie odor and hair off as well as slobber if you have a dog like my bulldog that has slimey drool when chewing on toys. -keeping dogs clean and well groomed..bathed when needed and using a waterless bath in between helps. -dogs on a good proper diet helps keep the dog from having bad odor as well as a healthy dog -proper cleaning tools and supplies. we love swiffer sweeper vac for hard floors and hoover windtunnel for carpet Some added extras that keep the home smelling good are: -fabric refreshers for rugs, carpet, softs, curtains, etc such as febreeze or renuzit for pet odor -candles like pet odor eliminator candles and other yummy ones that we like are swan creek, our own candle company, and woodwick -garbage bags for odor -plug ins, we prefer wallflowers from bath and body works, they smell wondeful and are longlasting. Keeping ahead of the problem and keeping your house clean is the best thing to prevent unwanted odors. And if something does happen and you have an odor such as a sick dog, you can't beat opening the windows to air out your home. Edited by author Sat Oct 23, '10 6:06pm PST

[notify]

Jasmine,- Chase,- Maggie

1118641

Barked: Sun Oct 24, '10 6:19am PST


	Good post Bama. My dogs don't shed and don't get the doggy smell, but I still do a pretty thorough cleaning every week. I'm somewhat of a clean freak too. I've been in a couple houses that are so dirty they make me want to leave right away. One was just gross, and I never visited their house again. And they didn't have pets. I hate going into someone's house and getting smacked in the face with the dog smell when I walk in the door. 2 of my guys have bad environmental allergies and keeping the house clean really helps them. The pups get bathed weekly. The floors get swept daily and mopped weekly and as needed in between. Puppy pads get thrown away in a garbage can on the back porch as soon as they're used. Throw rugs are vacuumed every week and cleaned when needed. Furniture is vacuumed and Febreezed every week. All wood furniture is dusted with Pledge weekly. All dog and human bedding is washed once a week. Curtains are washed a couple times a year. Walls are wiped down at least once a week. My house has the old plaster and lathe walls covered with paneling. Dust builds up fast. I burn scented candles a lot too. I'm pretty sensitive to smells, so I can be caught sniffing the furniture to make sure there's no odor, LOL.

my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals

[notify]

Bama AKA- "Buddybear'

'Just as cuddly- as i look!'

Barked: Sun Oct 24, '10 7:58am PST


	I am super sensitive to smells too! That's a good idea for the potty pads. I have a separate trash can for mine, but geez when I open the lid to throw one away that smell will about knock me out! We use swiffer dust and shine with febreze on the wood furniture too, smells so good. Oooh, one more tip that I just discovered. Anyone with pets will notice the vacuum cleaner over time will accumulate an odor when it's being ran. I found vacuum bags with febreze. I love them. Everytime I vacuum now it smells nice! (except for now since i loaned my vacuum to my mom, ugh, smells like smoke when we vacuumed today) Edited by author Sun Oct 24, '10 8:00am PST

[notify]

Bama AKA- "Buddybear'

'Just as cuddly- as i look!'

Barked: Mon Oct 25, '10 2:44pm PST

[notify]

Bunny

Black dogs rock!

Barked: Mon Oct 25, '10 3:07pm PST


	I am not a clean freak by any means. I do some of those things , however. The dogs are not allowed in the bedrooms and I have covers on the chairs they are allowed on. I started vaccuumming every week. My dogs do not have a doggie smell, perhaps due to their food. I have been washing their bedding and kennels every week. I don't feel the need for any air freshners because I don't find it smells

[notify]

Quincy- FM TFE-II- TDIAOV CGC

I have just met- you and I LOVE- you!

Barked: Mon Oct 25, '10 4:31pm PST


	Good post, Bama. It's absolutely possible to have a clean home with animals. Right now we have 3 dogs, 3 cats, a bird, a turtle, and a fish, and with some precautionary things we are able to keep it pretty nice. We have a fenced-in yard that the dogs have access to most of the time, so they are all totally potty trained. They haven't had accidents in ages. We have had a few vomiting situations, but we do a thorough cleaning with a Little Green Machine and enzymatic cleaner. We have a super nice vacuum (a Dyson Animal) and that helps immensely. We also have a good deal with a steam cleaning company and they steam clean the main carpets a couple times a year. All of them are on extremely good diets, they really don't have a "dog" smell, even when wet. We do regular grooming (basic brushing/nail trims etc once a week, baths as needed, or about every 3 months). Another major thing that helps is washing collars/leashes/beds etc regularly. That's where a lot of that doggie funk is. Anyways, yes, keeping animals requires a little more work and effort, but I can't imagine life without them, and it's totally possible to keep a clean house and enjoy the company of animals

[notify]

Bama AKA- "Buddybear'

'Just as cuddly- as i look!'

Barked: Mon Oct 25, '10 8:27pm PST


	Good job Quincy!!! Bama never smells bad, Brodie kinda smells like his dog food if he gets wet but in general smells normal, Allee is our dog that really holds onto doggie odor. She always has once she goes outside for awhile, it's like all the outside smells stick to her coat. You sound like us with soo many animals!!! Edited by author Mon Oct 25, '10 8:28pm PST

[notify]

♥- Roxy - CGC♥

PLEASE feed me,- I'm STARVING!!

Barked: Wed Oct 27, '10 8:37pm PST


	Great Ideas Bama we are very similar. Our dogs are NOT allowed on the furniture we bathe them and their toys, harnesses leahses and bedding at minimum once a week. They are confined to our living/dining room and hallway and ALL the rooms are blocked off. My Harley does sleep on a dog bed on the floor in our room but he shed TERRIBLY so NO big bed for him but the rest are all crated at night and confined when we leave for a long period of time. Mine are all 100% potty trained to use a dog door. And we also have a debris collecting mat in the house in front of the dog door to collect any dirt or debris they may bring in. We also use the automatic freshner sprayers. Its all GREAT advice! You sound like me cant STAND smelly house but at the same time couldnt imagine your life without pets in it. I really dont mind the extra work. They are so worth it! Does the white vinegar really work? I have always used bleach for colors and baking soda and fabric softener they always come out smelling wonderful. But still other options are great!

[notify]

Bama AKA- "Buddybear'

'Just as cuddly- as i look!'

Barked: Wed Oct 27, '10 9:14pm PST


	Well, I used to use fab softener on the throws but quit incase it's an allergen of Brodie or Allee's. I started just adding the white vinegar to the wash with my hypoallergenic detergent and it actually helps a lot. I have allergies too! But, I just use the vinegar for the throws and Brodie's blankets that he sleeps on. He does sometimes still pee on the blanket and the vinegar helps get that urine smell out! If Brodie doesn't get a blanket he won't pee in there but he gets a pressure type sore on one leg so the vet said keep him something soft to lay on. It's a lose-lose...but I'd rather him not have the bad sore. Edited by author Wed Oct 27, '10 9:17pm PST

[notify]

Gunner

Gunna get \'em!

Barked: Thu Oct 28, '10 12:28pm PST


	Good post, but I totally don't follow your rules. We do some of those things, like not allowing him "free" access to EVERYWHERE in the house. Here are our rules: -Gunner isn't SUPPOSED to be on the bed (he has his own next to ours), but tell him that at 3:00 am... -Everyone is housebroken, but some more so than others... (Jewel, a foster, submissive pees...and Autumn is still a baby she's almost there)... -I deep clean the carpet weekly (I really love the wet powder stuff, it smells good and really cleans away odors) -Furniture is only off limits to Jewel, who submissive pees and is 50 lbs... Gunner is smooth coated and sheds very little, he doesn't have a doggy smell either. The cat...well, try and keep a cat off the couch! - -I wash all toys when they start to hurt my nose because they smell like mildewish... -I clean out the kennels weekly, Jewel's always smells bad. That submissive pee again (hey, someone has to get her out of it!). -I love glade/fabreeze plug-ins. They save my life. -I also love candles. -occasionally, I wipe down all the blinds and the cealing fan with water and pine-sol (about once a month, usually I just dust them with a duster). That makes it smell really clean for a couple of days. I especially do this before company comes... -I clean the bathroom with bleach about every 3 days... it smells so great! -Maple (the cat) gets her litter box cleaned every morning and afternoon (and sometimes evening too). -I'm guilty of feeding all doggies outside... it totally saves me from Gunner hiding chunks under the lazyboy...