5 Clean Carpet Tips For Pet Owners

During the best of times, it’s still challenging to keep a clean, pristine home carpet, especially if you’re in a larger family with small kids frequently running around. Add in a couple of pets, and you might begin to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of cleaning you have to do each week just to keep carpet clean. Even if you regularly take your carpet to the best carpet cleaning summerville service, it’s only a matter of time before your pets make a mess of everything again by tracking mud into the house, having an accident, or shedding uncontrollably all over your carpet’s newly-clean surface. But don’t give up just yet. Even if you have several pets, there’s no reason you can’t find a way to keep your carpet clean from day to day. It doesn’t take a ton of deep cleaning and it shouldn’t take too much time out of your day. Once you start adding a few crucial steps to your daily routine, you’ll find that keeping your carpet clean and accident-free doesn’t have to be such a struggle after all. If you’re trying to keep a clean home despite the best efforts of household pets, here’s what you should try.

1. Discourage Pets from Getting Comfortable on Your Rug

Your pet is going to want to make themselves at home on your family rug. No matter what you do, you’re going to end up a with a pet that wants to spend time and roll around on your rug with absolutely no apologies for getting it dirty or covering it with hair. While this might seem inevitable, there are a few things you can do to easily discourage your pet from spending too much time on your rug. For instance, if your cat loves playing with snags and loose fibers, get a carpet that’s too short to scratch or play with, such as a tile carpet or a berber carpet. If your dog loves to lounge around on a specific spot, try placing their bed over it to provide an effective buffer between your dog and your rug. You can even set up a smaller “play” station for your cat or dog near your rug by setting up a cat castle or a bed with your dog’s favorite toys inside. This will help you designate an area that’s specifically for your pet’s use, rather than simply teaching them that the area is forbidden for no apparent reason. Incentivizing your cat or dog’s using their own space rather than stinking up the family rug will help you enforce strong habits that will be harder to break with time.

2. Housebreak Early

Once you bring home your brand new puppy or kitten, let the potty training begin. Seriously, it’s never too early to start trying to wean your dog or cat off pee pads. While setting down pads can be a great easy way to keep urine stains off your rug, it won’t be effective in the long term. Pads send the message to your pet that it’s okay to go inside the house. While they’re entirely necessary as a training device, it’s much more helpful to encourage your pet to use the litter box or wait until a morning or evening walk to do their business. Once your dog or cat gets too comfortable peeing on your rug, you’ll have to work hard not only to break them of the habit but to get rid of the stench that will soon form after one too many bathroom sessions.

3. Keep Your Pets Tidy

Pets can track a whole lot of mess into your house if you’re not careful. Even taking your dog for a five-minute walk on a rainy day or neglecting to clean your cat’s litter box for a few days can result in a lot of grungy unpleasantness on your home floors. However, if you take the time to keep your pets groomed and out of trouble, you won’t have to risk the unpleasant mess of your cat’s litter box contents strewn across the floor or your dog’s muddy pawprints streaking across your living room rug. Keep your litter box tidy by sweeping at least every few days, along with emptying and changing the contents regularly.

4. Install Better Entryways

When taking your dog out, always remember to give them a good wipe down afterward, either with a towel or a few wet naps on hand. It helps to do this even on drier days. Just because you can’t see the dirt your pet is tracking in doesn’t mean it isn’t finding its way into your home. For best results, install a tile or stone entryway that will prevent your pet from tracking in too much dirt.

5. Use the Right Household Cleaners

Pet urine causes almost instant staining, as well as a lingering, unpleasant odor. When cleaning up after your pets, always use a green, organic cleaner that uses natural cleaning agents like vinegar and baking soda to get rid of the smell and the mess.