Housekeeping is a casual affair for some and a major event for others. Adopting a pet can help to transform your house into a home, but your new four-legged friend could also turn your home into a mess. With a little thinking ahead, you can have a happy pet and a clean home! Here are some tips for achieving just that:

Clean Pets = Clean House

  • Keep your pets well-groomed. Frequent brushing outdoors will keep indoor shedding to a minimum. If need be, trim excess hair so that dirt and waste won’t cling.
  • Keep your pet’s nails trimmed, filing down any edges that could shred upholstery.
  • Wipe off your pet’s jowls and long, floppy ears after each meal.
  • Placing a large, absorbent place mat under food and water bowls will make for easier clean-up.
  • Utilize dog crates and gates to confine your new dog when home alone until you are comfortable enough to grant him/her unsupervised freedom.

Furniture

  • Place machine-washable slip covers over lightly colored furniture that is more apt to show stains. 
  • Vinyl and leather furniture is easy to clean. Just make sure your pet’s nails are trimmed, as they can damage those materials.
  • Place a comfy bed for your pet in a designated room or corner. Cover the bed with a machine-washable throw and train your pet that this is the only piece of furniture they are allowed to frequent.

Floors

  • You can easily wipe away pet waste on sheet linoleum, tile and Pergo® floor surfaces. Use polyurethane to seal hardwood floors in order to prevent lingering urine odor.
  • Try to use washable area rugs instead of wall-to-wall carpeting. If urine soaks into carpet backing, it can be impossible to clean. A carpet care product that targets pet stains can prove indispensable if you have carpeting.
  • Roll up vegetable-dyed oriental rugs until your new pet is fully house-trained. If rugs have fringe, don’t roll them back out until your pet is done teething, which can take 8 months or more.
  • Place a washable area rug by the door and keep a towel handy to wipe down your pet’s paws and/or body on rainy or muddy days.

Windows

  • Fabric shades, café curtains, and valances are great window treatments for pet-friendly homes.
  • Steer clear of pooling drapery, vertical blinds, tassels, and long cords that can be strangulation hazards, or might bring things crashing down, should your pet try to pull or climb them.
  • Mini-blinds can get bent beyond repair when they block a curious cat or dog’s view. Think twice about using these as window treatments.

Walls

  • Washable vinyl-backed wallpaper is easier to clean than paper-backed wallpaper.
  • Use washable semi-gloss paint in areas where your new dog will frequent. This is important for owners of loose-jowled dogs, who are more likely to shake spittle onto the walls.
  • Paint or hang a washable wall covering on the lower half of walls that have antique wallpaper or fabric wall treatments.