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5 Tips To Keep On Top Of Pet Hair In Your Home_Header

5 Tips To Keep On Top Of Pet Hair In Your Home

5 Tips To Keep On Top Of Pet Hair In Your Home_Header

5 Tips To Keep On Top Of Pet Hair In Your Home

Keeping on top of pet hair in your home is one thing pet owners are always struggling with. Every time I vacuum the canister is full of pet hair! But, I just swept yesterday how is that possible? Excess pet hair in your home can lead to poor air quality, odor, and just a mess. Here are 5 tips to keep on top of pet hair in your home that you can implement today.

Buy an air filter.

Air filters are great to help filter out and catch the smaller hairs our pets leave behind. Make sure to do regular maintenance on any air filter you buy. This includes changing out the filters, cleaning off the vents, and replacing any other filters/components that need changing out over time. Your air filter doesn’t need to be top of the line or expensive. It just needs to have a filter that you can change out.

Vacuum regularly.

Vacuuming up those tumbleweeds will help reduce how much pet hair is around your house. Cleaning up that pet hair will additionally reduce dust and dandruff floating around in your air. If you don’t have a pet specific vacuum that’s alright! Any vacuum will do, you might have to clean out the bristles more on a non-pet specific one.

Alternatively, lint rollers are a great way to quickly clean off pet hair from chairs, rugs, and more. This won’t replace regular vacuuming but in a pinch a lint roller can capture loose hair and keep it from going elsewhere. They also are good to have on hand to clean off your clothes. This is especially true when wearing black when you have a white-haired pet or visversa.

Clean pets bedding on a frequent basis.

Your pets bedding is just like yours. It traps sweat, dead skin, and hair. Each time your pet gets out of their bed a bit of that hair comes with them. By keeping their bedding clean you can reduce the hair build-up in their bed and thus reduce how much comes with them each time. This is also true for cat trees and any place your pet lays regularly that you might not consider washing.

Add a fish oil supplement to your pets diet.

What better way to keep on top of pet hair in your home than to slow it at the source? Adding fish oil to your pets diet will help them have a healthier skin and coat which means, less shedding.

There’s many different fish oil supplements on the market. Here are a few I’ve tried:

If you or your pet are allergic to fish or don’t like the taste of it, Wholistic Pet Organics makes a flaxseed oil alternative.

Brush your pet regularly and have regular grooming appointments.

Brushing your dog outside can be a fun activity for both of you! As an added bonus, your dogs fur helps our birds making nests as it provides a wonderful nesting material. Hair is also bio-degradable so you don’t have to worry about polluting the environment. Getting all of the excess hair out from your dogs top and undercoat goes a long way when helping to control pet hair. During peak shedding season, consider taking your dog to a professional groomer. Your groomer will be able to get even more hair out and can use products that will help improve your pets skin and coat health.

And a bonus…

Get a hairless pet.

If you don’t have a pet already but are concerned about the amount of pet hair – consider getting a hairless pet. Hairless pets require just as much, if not more, maintenance as pets with hair. Many hairless pets require daily lotion applied to keep their skin from becoming dry or sunburnt.

Sphynx cat sniffing a plant

Maybe the Sphynx breed of cat is perfect for you! Or perhaps a Chinese Crested or Mexican hairless. There are a large variety of hairless pets out there to choose from. If a hairless pet isn’t your thing but you’re still concerned about hair a short hair pet may be right for you. Short haired pets tend to not shed as much as long haired pets but your mileage may vary.

Do you have any tips on keeping on top of pet hair in your home? Leave us a comment or @WetNosesPetSitting

How To Keep Your House Smelling Fresh When You Have Pets

How To Keep Your House Smelling Fresh When You Have Pets

If you have pets, you probably have pet odor. But fear not! Keeping your house smelling fresh when you have pets is easier than you think. Following these handy tips will help banish pet odor for good.

Absorb the smell, don’t cover it up

Most of us just cover up pet odor with a quick spray of Febreze but this can actually make a pet odor problem worse. Covering up odors doesn’t solve the underlying issue. You need to absorb the odors to eliminate them, not just cover them up.

Use an air purifier or pet odor candle

Air purifier’s are a great way to keep the air in your home smelling fresh. You’ll have to remember to change the filter regularly but these can be a quick way to help manage pet odor. Not a fan of an air purifier? One Fur All makes a pet odor eliminator candle to help freshen the air in your home.

Embrace baking soda to absorb smell

Baking soda has been used for years to help absorb fridge odors but it can also be used to help absorb pet odors.

Maintain the litter box

The one thing all cat owners hate, besides being woken up at 2AM to the sound of barfing, is scooping the litter box. But it’s an important task that should be done daily. Not only will the litter box be more hygienic, it’ll help reduce the amount of pet odor in your home. Some people rave about the Litter Genie, instead of using a plastic bag from the store you simply dispose of the litter into the litter genie and only take it out when it’s full.

Check out our list of products every cat needs in their life for more recommendations to make litter scooping easier.

Vacuum at least once a week

Even if you don’t have carpets, vacuuming is important to help keep the “tumbleweeds” of hair at bay. If you do have carpet, vacuuming at least once a week will help remove pet odor that comes from fur, dandruff, and whatever may have been on their paws.

Open the windows

Fresh air is good for you and your pets! Opening the windows can help reduce odor by bringing in fresh, not stale, air. This is the easiest way to keep your house smelling fresh with pets.

Change those furnace filters

It’s something you might not think about but the more pets and the more humans you have in your home, the more often you need to change those furnace filters. We change ours about once a month to help keep dust down and other pet odors.

Wash pet bedding

Bedding is great at absorbing odors. You should aim to wash your pets bedding at least once a week depending on how soiled it gets. If your pet sleeps with you, you should also wash your bedding to help reduce odor further.

Groom your pet regularly

Dandruff, dead skin cells, and extra fur can all contribute to pet odor. They also contribute to the dust in your home and clog up furnace filters. Grooming your pet regularly will help to reduce the amount of dandruff, dead skin cells, and extra fur in your home.

Invest in an enzyme cleaner

Enzymatic cleaners are a life saver. They do more than help clean up a mess. They actually break down the biological elements of pet accidents to help reduce the smell. Nomos is a personal favorite, but it’s hard to find. Nature’s Miracle is another good option that may be easier to find.

Did you also know you can use some plants to purify the air in your home? That’s right! But make sure they aren’t on our list of toxic plants to cats first. Let us know in the comments if you found any of these tips helpful.

How to Work from Home with Your Pets During the Coronavirus Pandemic!

 

Many of us are suddenly having to work from home as schools and workplaces shut down. So here I have suggestions for you on how to keep getting work done even with the distractions of dogs and cats all over!

1. Establish your business expectations

Check with your boss and see exactly what expectations they have with you working from home. Do they want you to keep the same work hours? What if your cat decides to walk in front of the screen during a video call? What if your dog barks while you are on a call with a client? Are these acceptable interruptions? Having a clear understanding of how this change will work and how it will affect your home life is important.

2. Keep your routine the same

Humans and pets thrive on routine. Normally when you are home on evenings and weekends, you are off of work and happy to spend time with your pets. This time with you at home will be confusing for your pets so it is best to keep your routine the same. Get up at the same time, feed them, go for walks, get dressed and start working at the times you normally would.

3. Set up a special place in your home

Working in a specific area of your home that is set aside for work can help keep distractions to a minimum. Analyze the space and make it comfortable for your pets by adding beds, bowls and toys to keep your pets out of your space. If you need to lock your pets out (do not feel guilty if you do), then you will need a room with a door, not the kitchen table.

4. Use a dog walker

Even though you are working from home, still consider using a dog walker to continue your normal routine and support your local company. Even if you do not normally have a dog walker, consider reserving one to take out your dog during the day or perhaps during an important call to make sure you are not interrupted.

 

This is a stressful time but we can band together and get through this together!

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