How do you clean a house where animals live? How do you clean a place where animals live? Too much hair around and wrong smells, too…. It only takes a little care to live in a healthy, fragrant environment, ideal for our four-legged friends and us. And watch out for some plants.
How to have an animal-proof clean house
Almost half of the British live with a pet, usually a dog or cat. Indeed, a commitment, also an economic one, affects many choices in daily life but pays off handsomely. Numerous scientific studies also confirm the positive effects on the health and mood of owning an animal.
One concern shared by those with a four-legged pet in the family is how to reconcile its presence with the home’s hygiene: cleaning the floor, the fabrics with which it comes into contact (including, often, beds and sofas), lost hair or possible bad smells.
So many factors sometimes put off those who would like to welcome an animal into their home. However, there is no reason to worry too much, let alone give up the company of a dog or cat. All you have to do is rethink your house cleaning; it will be easy with our tips.
Hair off
If you own a long-haired dog or cat, you need to pay a little extra attention to it: for the 6-7 weeks of moulting, it should be brushed regularly (ideally outdoors, if you have the space) to reduce the amount of hair it loses around the house.
A Hoover and rollers with adhesive tape are sufficient to remove those that will inevitably settle on surfaces and fabrics. One trick is to use moistened rubber gloves slightly: they are most effective on clothing!
Washing clothes and fabrics
When washing all textiles with which animals come into contact, avoid overly aggressive detergents, e.g. those containing bleach.
There are unique laundry products on the market based on alcohol or Marseille soap, which are harmless for our furry friends. They can often also be used for washing mats and fabric beds.
How do you wash floors?
When your dog or cat walks around the house after being outside or leaves food residues in the kitchen, you don’t need ‘super products’ or disinfectants containing chlorine, which can be dangerous.
Even in this case, the ideal is to buy a specific floor cleaner from various lines dedicated to animals that do not contain substances that can harm their health.
Operation Clean Bowls
After every meal, the food bowl and, once a day, the water bowl must be cleaned. Wash them with warm water and ordinary dish soap and rinse thoroughly.
Perfumed home
Instead of chemical air fresheners, distribute small cotton bags filled with dried lavender flowers (I leave you with this link here on Etsy where you are spoilt for choice; have a look)around the house to which a drop of essential oil of the same flower is occasionally added.
Post-hike ritual
With the arrival of the Coronavirus, the question of the hygiene of household surfaces, primarily floors, also arose. Although experts claim that the risk of indirect contagion through the paws of animals that have been outside is unlikely (editor’s note… and we at Frenchie Breed fully agree), it is still good to observe some basic hygiene rules, which are valid even in the absence of a pandemic.
Over the last few months, there have been several reports of vets being forced to treat many pets, especially dogs, because the owners had thought it best to sanitise their animals’ paws using bleach: not to do this, this substance can cause skin lesions similar to burns in the first place, but even more, significant damage if the animal ingests it when licking.
If you want to clean your pet’s paws, I recommend this product sold on Amazon: ‘Dog Paw Cleaner’ manufactured by a Dexas company. This is a brilliant bit of kit, easy to use. Add a little water, insert the muddy or dirty paw, do the twist, dab the paw dry, and repeat for three more paws.
To clean the paws, use a regular mild soap diluted with water (just as recommended for disinfecting our hands). Alternatively, cleansing wipes or animal-specific sanitising products are valid.
Plants to avoid
Plants are not only decorative: they often also help to purify the air in the home, thanks to their ability to absorb dangerous pollutants such as formaldehyde.
However, ‘living‘ with a pet can have some drawbacks: some species are toxic or even poisonous to dogs and cats.
If you have a poinsettia, mistletoe or holly at home, be careful: if the former can irritate the digestive system, the effects of the other two plants are worse!
Holly is incredibly toxic to dogs, while mistletoe berries contain poisonous toxins to all animals. A famous natural remedy is also lemon, an aroma not at all liked by dogs and cats: peels around the pots should keep them away if you have these plants at home. Useful tricks also to protect non-toxic plants that animals enjoy playing with!
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