Finally found out how much is that doggie in the window and decided you want to buy it? Ready to add a furry four-legged member to your family? Having a pet can be loads of fun but they can also be a lot of hard work. Pets require time, dedication, effort, and money, which means you’ll have to be as ready as you can before you choose to adopt one.
This includes your home which will soon be your pet’s home as well. Is your house ready for its newest member? Follow these tips in order to ensure your home becomes the best place for your pets:
1. Brush your pets at least once every other day.
If you’re getting a dog or a cat, brushing your pets at least once every other day will prevent hair from piling up in every corner of your house. This will not only will save you vacuuming time but will also limit the amount of dander or other allergens caused by your pets, making your home a safer place to live in for your human household members.
2. Store items high.
If you’ve got fragile items like jars, vases, and the like, you definitely want to keep these items in high places and out of reach from your pets. Animals love to play with everything around them and making these things easy for them to reach is sure to cause accidents. This also goes for things like medicine, coffee beans, and other things that can be dangerous when swallowed by your pets.
3. Cover the garbage.
It wouldn’t make sense to put your garbage bins on top of your high shelves and tables, so they’re always in reach with your pets. However, they’re filled with old food, small pieces of trash, and even dangerous chemicals that can be extremely harmful to your pets. If they’re properly covered and stored, you can prevent your pets from getting in reach with them.
4. Choose pet beds with removable covers.
You’ll thank yourself for choosing pet beds with removable covers because of how much faster and easier it is to clean them. Always remember to wash your pets’ beds regularly in order to keep a clean place for your pet to sleep in, but also in order to get rid of bad odors that may be stinking up your house.
5. Buy a vacuum.
If your pet is the furry kind, you’re going to see hair everywhere you go from now on, and having a vacuum is a necessity when cleaning up pet fur, especially if you’ve got carpets. If you don’t want to invest in a large vacuum, consider buying a handheld one. They’re easy to use, usually wireless, and incredibly convenient for cleaning up pet fur on the fly.
6. Buy lint rollers.
Lint rollers are a must-have if you’re a pet owner! Lint rollers can pick up hair from virtually any surface, which makes it a great way to keep your clothes fur-free, especially after playing with your furry friends. You can also use lint rollers is on any surface right after you’ve vacuumed to pick up any stray hairs or dust that weren’t sucked up.
7. Hide breakable or chewable items.
Be wary of toys, books, documents, and other things your pet can use as a chew toy, as well as things like picture frames, alarm clocks, and figurines that your pet can knock off the table and break. These things should be hidden from your pets or placed out of reach from them in order to ensure they don’t get destroyed or broken which also helps keep your pets safe.
8. Keep wires away from pets’ reach.
Speaking of chewing, your animals might get hurt if they chew on any wires. Be sure to keep your wires properly secured and in place. Avoid dangling wires from electronics such as lamps, TV sets, gaming consoles, and the like. You can hide electrical wires behind furniture and doorways or purchase cable management boxes and use them to store electrical cables and other accessories, such as chargers and adapters. You can also clip the cables onto the wall in order to keep them from dangling.
9. Set up scratching posts.
Give your pets something they can scratch. Cats and dogs often love to scratch out of boredom and you may end with some new marks on your furniture if they’ve got no scratching posts. Scratching pads for your cats and dogs are a great way to keep your pets entertained while also keeping your furniture intact and scratch-free.
10. Choose furniture and decorations that help hide pet hair.
Being smart about your house decorations can help make hiding pet hair much easier. Choose rugs, carpets, bedding, and blankets that have a similar color to your pets’ furs in order to better keep them hidden. Having black dogs and cats, for instance, would mean darker colors are better suited for your home, and pets with light-colored fur would mean choosing lighter tones for your colors instead.
11. Keep a placemat under your pets’ dishes.
Pets aren’t exactly usually the tidiest eaters. Keeping a plastic placemat under your pets’ food bowls can help make cleaning spilled food much easier as well as keep ants, insects, and other critters from making their way into your home. The last thing you want is a messy home that’s also infected with bugs, ants, and other crawlers.
12. Be prepared for accidents.
Accidents are going to happen now that you’ve got a furry member in your household, especially if you have young pets. We’re not just talking about broken vases and picture frames — we’re talking, well, accidents. When that happens, make sure you’ve got a cleaner ready and in reach that will clean and disinfect animal waste and other messes.
CONCLUSION
Ask any pet owner and they’ll tell you that while having pets can be plenty of fun, they’re also plenty of hard work. That’s why if you’re planning on having one, you need to make sure your home is the best place to have one and that you’re ready and set for it. Luckily, while having pets can be a handful, it can also be one of the best things in your life. Those of us here at Cleaning Lady love our furry family members and don’t know what we’d do without them!
Pet hair can get into places you can’t reach or places you often forget to attend to when you’re cleaning your home. That’s why we recommend our deep cleaning services in order to ensure your home is spotless and you’re safe from allergies caused by your pets’ furs. Experience a healthier cleaner home with Cleaning Lady, where spotless cleaning comes to your door.