In an ideal world most will agree that having a clean house makes for a comfy home. Those that have opened their heart and home to a canine companion are likely to agree that’s easier said than done. After all, how comfortable can we get laying next to a pile of slobbery dog toys, or seeing who knows what stuck to the bottom of our socks after walking across the living room floor.
With factors predictable and not, keeping your place clean against fur, odour and even muddy paw prints can feel like a full time job. Let’s face the facts, most of us don’t have the time to clean in pace with the mess our furry friend can create, but we love them enough to try.
Before you contemplate sending your pooch to the dog house, these tips will help fast track everything from how to find the best duster to making a personalized clean routine so your space won’t be the stinky dog place.
How To Find The Dogs Space In Your Place
Finding the perfect place for your four-legged pal plays a leading role in helping to isolate a pet space for easier cleaning. Whether you prefer using a crate or dog bed, it’s important to set up and keep their spot in a warm, quiet place [1].
Once you have determined the perfect space for your dog to call their place, it’s time to map out the area and plan the best routine to keep it clean. Since this is the dogs special spot it needs to stay familiar to their senses, but not offensive to ours.
Figuring out where to start can be stressful enough when it comes to cleaning. I’m sure we can all sympathize with the occasional but hard truth, that more time has been wasted standing and staring at a mess than actually cleaning it. To avoid another blank stare off with the next inevitable mess, we need to start by assessing the area. Every home has its own unique motif, which is why there are 3 key factors to consider before a complete, time conscious cleaning can be possible.
3 Key Room Factors For A Complete Clean
- Type of flooring
- Storage and/or shelving space
- Electrical outlet accessibility
Hopefully the necessary targets have been established and it’s time to customize a cleaning routine with the proper tools for your specific space. Now let’s breakdown the 3 key factors in more detail.
How To Best Clean Your Floor
As a dog owner it can be a moral conflict knowing how often to clean the floor, or if the job you did cleaning was as thorough as it should be. According to NBC News, people should clean their floors on a weekly basis and even more frequently if you’re a pet owner [2]. Taking the dogs space as well as the rest of your home into consideration, there are 2 main elements to help decipher what will do the best, most efficient cleaning of your floor.
First, what type of floor do you have? A house can have multiple types of flooring from tile, carpet, hardwood or perhaps a combination hardwood floor with an area rug. Second, what are the dimensions of the area? A small space may require a cleaning option with more versatility, where a large room will likely benefit from a device that offers substantial capacity.
Before you start wondering why neither of the 2 main elements for efficiently clean floors relate to dog fur or mess, there’s a simple answer and even more simple solution.
Whether you have a puppy that runs inside before being wiped down after a rainy day walk, or a dog that sheds extensively but can’t resist the basement with shag carpets, you can rely on a wet vacuum cleaner for the best possible cleaning. That must sound simply too good to be true for some of you; however the proof is in the product and we’re going to take a deeper look into the noteworthy reasons every dog owner needs to know.
Top Reasons Why You Need A Wet Vacuum Cleaner
- Convenience
- Capability
- Performance
There aren’t many instances that make us brag how inconvenient something was to do. Typically, cleaning the floor is a necessity not a hobby, and having to clean the dogs unexpected “accident” is the stressful cherry on top. Say so long to paper towels, mops and brooms with the convenience of a wet vacuum cleaner that does the job of all the supplies you used to need to clean one mess.
Combining the functionality of a mop and vacuum into one super tool is one of the many important features of a wet vacuum cleaner that make it the best choice for quick, easy and efficient floor cleaning.
Capability and convenience go hand in hand to take the cringe out of clean up. For those of you wondering how to easily clean the muddy paw prints from your front door that proceed all the way up the stairs, the right model of wet vacuum cleaner will easily be capable of handling the job. Before giving in to any hesitation that an advanced cleaning tool must be substantially large to have such capabilities, there is a wide variety of portable options including canister, handheld, drum and upright models.
Quality performance of a wet vacuum cleaner ensures reliable, easy floor cleaning no matter what may have hit the surface or sunk into the carpet fibres. However, there is one other secret ingredient to maintain the efficiency of each cleaning performance as Popular Science quoted, ‘have a strategic plan’ [3]. Put simply, have a method for what section of the floor to begin and end on. If your dog ever decides to dig for treasure in your house plant, having a cleaning strategy for your floor space already prepared will take away the “where do I even start” from the situation.
Why You Need Storage Space For Your Dog
How many dog toys do we need to trip over, or treats need to be stinking up our pantry before enough is enough? Just because we love our canine companion it doesn’t mean the house is their personal playground. This brings us to the second key room factor to help create a controlled space for your dog, storage.
Having a designated storage option will help to keep your dogs space organized, as well as minimizing clean up efforts. A likely assumption is that your dog has a few tennis balls, couple plush toys with squeakers and even a tug rope or two. There’s no shame in spoiling your little rascal but it’s important to be in control of their sources of entertainment. The American Kennel Club suggests having a variety of toys to rotate so your dog won’t get bored, but to keep the unused toys in box out of their reach [4].
Quick Tips For Pristine Pet Storage
- Utilize plastic storage bins. Avoid cloth bins that may absorb unpleasant odours over time or can be a hassle to clean if the dog shampoo bottle starts leaking.
- Keep the ‘Dog Stuff’ storage bin out of reach on a shelf, in a designated cupboard or closet.
There are plenty of sources with tips for an ideal cleaning, but only organization will control how quick and effortlessly the job will get done. With the toys, treats and grooming tools neatly put away into plastic storage bins, keeping the dogs space clean will have become an obstacle free task.
By now you’re probably already shedding a ton of time from your clean regime with our recommendations so far, but wait there’s more! Another bonus of using storage bins is the easy access and ability to move them out of the way, even if just for a moment to dust that section of the shelf.
Any owner of a dog that sheds will agree that there’s no shelf too high or spot too isolated for a piece of fur to reach. That being said, a superior duster with the all necessary functionalities will also pitch in to speed up cleaning time, without leaving fur on the shelf you could swear you just dusted. Home interior and personal preference will be the focal point to assist with finding the optimal duster to fit your needs.
Top Features Of An Optimal Duster
- Microfibre head
- Detachable, washable dust head
- Extension pole
- Hinge top dust head
- Lightweight, flexible aluminum pole
The main goal is to keep your pet space clean as quick and efficiently possible, without burning through all your energy. Fast track cleaning is great but not if you’re to exhausted to enjoy that time saved. A sure way to minimize exertion dusting is to use a tool with features for your convenience.
Stop dragging around a chair to reach top shelves and ceiling fans, and use a duster with an extension pole and hinge top dust head to get all the out of reach areas with ease. Foremost, make sure to save your arm strength for fetch with your furry pal by opting for a lightweight, aluminium pole that will also give flexibility to get into all the nooks and crannies.
Why Electrical Outlet Access Is Important
As a dog owner there’s nothing worse than watching a piddle puddle about to proceed under the couch while you search for an open outlet for your wet dry vacuum. Having an accessible electrical outlet in your dogs area of the house will eliminate searching for a place to plug in.
Now that you know how to conveniently clean and maintain the dogs space in your home, there’s a final element to have you breathing easy. On top of the fur, piddles and mud, our dog can’t always avoid being a prime source for dander causing odour. Grooming is of course a top priority in dog care, but let’s be honest that doesn’t always void the inevitable ‘dog smell’.
Hopefully the electrical outlet you have reserved in your dogs space has 2-spots available to plug in extensions, if not there are multi plug adapters that will do the trick. Make sure to save one outlet to plug in your wet dry vacuum and use the other to aid clean breathing with a combination air purifier and humidifier.
Cleansing the air with this dual purpose device will have you wondering if there’s even a dog in the room. The air purification will relieve the space of contaminates like dog dander and dust mites. While all the unpleasant airborne particles are purified, the humidifier adds moisture into the space for a clean, soothing breathing and living experience.
Quick Tip: Where To Put The 2-1 Air Humidifier and Purifier
Since our furry friends can be the curious type, we recommend putting the air humidifier and purifier out of reach. Depending on the size and model of the device, you can place it on a shelf or sturdy table top. Try not to leave cords accessible to prevent the air humidifier and purifier device from being accidentally pulled off it’s plateau.
A Review To Keep Your Dog Space Clean
Before we go our separate ways, a quick recap will touch on the top takeaways to keep your dog space dirt-free from floor to ceiling. Start by planning out a strategy that fits your home interior; this will save time without compromising efficiency in keeping it fresh, clean and pet friendly.
Best Ways To Support A Spotless Space
If your dog’s name is Spot don’t over think the above header, this is just a summary to list all of our finest recommendations.
- Keep open access to electrical outlets in the main spaces your dog inhabits.
- Use a wet dry vacuum cleaner to thoroughly clean everything from pet fur to liquids and mud prints on any type of interior flooring.
- Put all dog toys, treats and grooming tools into plastic storage bins for odour reducing, organized storage and easy to maneuver convenience when cleaning.
- Save your strength with a lightweight aluminum duster with an extension pole and hinge top capabilities for hard to reach places.
- Optimize a healthy breathing environment for all with a combination air purifier and humidifier.
The best part, with this new clean routine, even rain and the thought of muddy paws will no longer stress or stop you from that much deserved walk outside with your favourite companion. Now all that’s left to do is put all the time saved cleaning to good use.
Resources:
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2020). General Dog Care. Retrieved from https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/general-dog-care
Vivian Manning-Schaffel (2018, January). How often you should wash everything in your home, according to science. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/how-often-you-should-wash-everything-your-home-according-science-ncna826271
Rob Verger (2017, May). The scientifically best way to sweep a floor. Retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/scientifically-best-way-to-sweep-floor/
Kristina Lotz (2019, January). Create an Indoor Playroom for Your Dog. Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/home-living/creating-an-indoor-dog-playroom/
