Keep Pet Odors from Taking Over Your Home

Ask 100 pet owners what they love best about their pets and you’re likely to get about 100 answers. The fun activities, the energetic greetings, the sweet eyes that never fail to communicate love and acceptance. But I doubt that any pet owner would say that they love the pet smells that go along with pet ownership. Some odor is inevitable, but just because you love an animal doesn’t mean your house has to smell like a zoo. Here are some tips for fighting pet odors in your house.

Ask a Friend. Now before you answer that pet odor is really not an issue in your home, you may want to first find a good friend, whom you trust, and ask them to take a big sniff. Why? Because when you live with odors on a constant basis, your nose tends to block out those ever-present smells. And it’s really hard to fix something that you don’t know is there. So get input from a trusted friend to find out what you’ve got and then you can start getting rid of it!

Buy Baking Soda. As far as investments go, baking soda is about as simple and inexpensive as you can get. But when you are fighting an odor problem, baking soda can really give you some bang for your buck. Because baking soda absorbs odors, even just setting out a box or bowl of baking soda can make the air smell fresher. In addition, you can sprinkle baking soda onto stinky carpets or furniture, leave it for a few hours or overnight, and then vacuum it up. This will draw out the odors that may be lurking. (You’ll want to test any fabric to make sure that they are color-fast before covering a large area.)

Change Filters Often. People don’t often think about it, but filters on your furnace or HVAC unit can harbor pet hair and therefore pet odor. Luckily, these filters are meant to be changed on a regular basis anyway. It takes only a few minutes to swap these out every month, and not only will you enjoy the benefit of better smelling air but also of optimal energy efficiency.

Deep Clean Regularly. Up to this point in this blog, I’ve given you some extremely easy and inexpensive tips. Here is where the serious work comes in. There is just no getting around the fact that every house needs deep and detailed cleaning on a regular basis. And in a house with pets and pet odors, this is especially true. Bedding, toys, food dishes, and any other washable items should be washed often to keep odor from building up. Adding ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar to your pet-scented laundry will give your regular detergent extra odor-fighting power. For items that don’t launder so well, like carpets and furniture, a regular professional cleaning really is necessary to keep odors at bay. By staying on top of the pet dander and fluids in addition to other dirt, you can stop odors from taking up permanent residence.

Right now is a great time to start implementing some of these steps. After all, it is spring cleaning time. It’s also a great time because Langenwalter Carpet Cleaning is offering a special for 20% off any service, including carpet and upholstery cleaning. If you’d like to read more about Langenwalter’s approach to cleaning pet stains and pet odors, visit our website. With a little bit of team work, you can enjoy all the good things about your pet without suffering from the downside of pet odor.