There’s nothing better than the love of a furry friend. However, for pet owners with carpeting, keeping your house clean can be a real challenge. Muddy paws, pet hair, dander, accidents, and claws are just some of the reasons why carpets and pets don’t mix. Learn how to deal with carpets and pets here.
With these pet-friendly tips, you can fully enjoy your four-legged family member without sacrificing the cleanliness of your home.
How do You Deal with Carpet and Pets?
Watch the Paws
Those little (or big) paws can pick up a whole of dirt and grime. When your furry friend goes outside, they can bring with them lots of mud, sand, grass, dust, and various other debris into your home. Dirt and debris then gets trapped in the fibers of your carpeting.
To keep the mess to a minimum, keep your dog or cat’s paws clean. Before your cat or dog comes inside, make sure you wipe their paws. Keeping a soft towel near the doors can be an easy way to remember to wipe down their paws before allowing them to come into the house.
Place a mat near the door and train your pet to sit down on the mat. They can learn not to move until their paws have been wiped clean.
Keep Your Pets Body Clean
Paws aren’t the only cause for concern; so is your pet’s entire body. The cleaner your cat or dog is, the cleaner your carpeting will be. Make sure that you keep him or her tidy and well-groomed.
Doing so will help to lessen the amount of dirt and debris that your furry friend carries in his or her coat. This will reduce the amount of dirt and grime that will get transferred into the carpets’ synthetic fibers.
As a bonus, keeping your furry friend well-groomed will ensure that he or she smells fresh and clean, and is even more enjoyable to cuddle.
Double-duty Décor
Consider covering high-traffic areas on your carpets with easy-to-clean area rugs and runners. Not only will these additions help to protect the underlying carpeting, but they are a lot easier to clean and protect from everyday wear and tear. Plus, if need be, replacing rugs and runners out is a lot easier and cheaper than replacing the carpet in an entire room.
Bonus tip: covering those high-traffic areas with area rugs and runners will also add some color and interest to your home’s interior décor.
Vacuum Regularly
If you want to keep your carpets clean, you’re going to need to vacuum on a regular basis. Cat and dog hair, dander, and the dirt that he or she tracks indoors can build up quickly in a carpet’s fibers.
Regular vacuuming/cleaning your carpet removes the build-up, which will help to keep your carpets cleaner and smelling fresher. You can also sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda over your carpet, let it sit for a few hours then vacuum it up. Of course, this will also help to extend the life expectancy of your carpeting.
Mind the Furniture
The carpeting isn’t the only part of your home that you’re going to want to vacuum. You’re going to want to vacuum the furniture, too! Even if your furry friend doesn’t go on the furniture, hair, dander, and dirt can travel up onto your couches, chairs, and bedding via the air whenever he or she shakes or scratches.
Dirt or hair that collects on the furniture will eventually make its way down onto the floor. It will then become embedded into the fibers of your carpeting. As such, vacuuming the furniture regularly will also help to keep your carpets cleaner.
Be Mindful of Accidents
Even the best-trained dogs and cats can have accidents from time to time. When accidents happen, you want to act fast. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you always have pet stain carpet cleaning products to remove pet stains from the carpet (HGTV) as soon as they happen.
This includes pet stain removers, and perhaps even handheld steam cleaners. Pick up any solid pieces as quickly as possible, and be sure to dry the area completely afterward.
Several types of carpet options are considered pet-friendly carpet. These are designed for high-traffic areas and are more stain-resistant, easy to clean, and vacuume. This makes them easy to clean at home rather than calling a cleaning service.
The key to minimizing the damage caused by pet stains on carpeting is treating them as soon as you possibly can. The longer they sit, the more damage they will cause!
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