Fresh Pets

Our Furry Friends

Here’s an interesting statistic: 85 million families in the United States own pets. Dogs, cats, iguanas, snakes, even pigs! You name it, there’s someone out there who’s got it. Our little cozy critters and loving companions bring us comfort, love and protection. But how has having a pet affected your home? If you’ve ever house broken a dog, you know that it can be an exasperating task. I don’t even want to imagine what it’s like trying to house break a pig. Our homes are an important asset in our financial portfolios, so it’s important that we keep them in good shape. How many of us have walked into someone’s home and instantly smelled the odor coming from a litter box? Let me tell you, it’s not pleasant. In this article, we’ll discuss a few ways to keep your home looking and smelling like it’s pet free, even if it’s not.

House Breaking

House breaking is potty training for your pet. It’s specifically important for dog owners. If you plan to leave your dog out while you’re not home, the use of pee pads will definitely be necessary until your pet is accustomed to a regular schedule where they know when you will be home to let them out. Take time with your pet to train them. Pee pads will keep your carpet clean during training (if you can convince your puppy to use them). There’s also crate training, with idea that if you keep your dog in it’s cage then he won’t pee just because he doesn’t want the pee in there with him. Dogs are smart, they can figure out the pattern. They’ll eventually learn and sense what time you will be home, and hold it until then.

Zoning your Home

You can create “Zones” inside your home that are pet free like the kitchen or the bathroom. I’ve known people that had pets that were never allowed to come upstairs, for example. That way your pet doesn’t carry his hair into every room in the house.  If you can cut down on the amount of shed hair around the house, you can cut down on the odor it carries. You can also use kiddie gates to keep pets out of certain spaces. Although, if you have an animal that is prone to shedding, some pet hair will always transfer from room to room just on your clothes. The idea, is that what few strands of hair that transfers from your socks into the room will be cleaned up with your weekly dusting. Also, the less time your pet spends in a particular room, the less likely the room is to smell like them.

Using Baking Soda

There are plenty of products out there that are designed to eliminate pet odor. You may have one in your refrigerator door though that you’ve been forgetting about. Baking soda is a fantastic odor eliminator, especially when used on the carpets. Baking soda has the chemical ability to absorb odor molecules and trap them. You can sprinkle baking soda right out of the box and on to your carpet. Let it sit for 20 minutes, or overnight if you haven’t deodorized the carpet in a while. Just be sure that no one walks on it or disturbs in so it can take full effect, then just vacuum it up when you’re ready!

Living with a pet is an awesome experience for everyone in the family. Cleaning up after a pet is a big responsibility, but if you apply a few of the methods above, it’ll be a breeze.

When doing your research, always be sure to consult great sources. Check out the sources for this article below!

https://www.houselogic.com/organize-maintain/cleaning-decluttering/natural-odor-eliminator/

https://www.thebalance.com/cheap-carpet-deodorizer-1387923

WHITNEY RUSH, VALLEY WEST MORTGAGE