DIY Carpet Cleaning Hacks for Pet Owners
Before house parties or having company over, you may feel the need to rid your carpets of pet residue. Maybe you’re embarrassed about the realities of living with pets: stains, hair, and the occasional vomit spell. Although these are about as avoidable as taxes, you can implement your own DIY carpet cleaning hacks that will remove surface stains to reveal a clean, fresh home carpet. Follow these Pureclean-certified DIY carpet cleaning tips the next time your carpets show obvious signs of pet presence.
How do you clean carpets with pets around?
For many pet owners, it seems like removing odors from your home carpets might be the most important thing. Though simple in thought, simply removing odors will not keep your pets from reacclimating with the spots they’ve already made, creating a larger, harder-to-remediate problem. Either conduct an efficient home-cleaning process or contact a local professional carpet cleaning service like us at Pureclean to effectively restore your pet-impacted carpets.
Choosing the Best Pet for Your Carpet
Although this train of thought may seem antiquated, sometimes it’s better to think about what pet is right for you and your home’s interiors before you take one in. The more intelligent the dog, the easier it’ll be to train them to not soil your carpets. They’ll easily establish an outdoor bathroom routine, minimizing the chance for spots, odors, and bad habits.
Another thing to consider is whether or not the dog is prone to shedding. Thicker-haired dogs tend to leave behind trails of fur, making it more difficult to harness carpet residue. If you’re set on the adoption choice you’ve already made, Pureclean has a comprehensive list of pet-proof cleaning routines to implement at home.
Fall Carpet Cleaning Hacks for Pet Owners
Thinking of embracing that seasonal, leaf-coated fun that comes with the fall season? If so, your pets may feel like an obvious home boundary between you and a cozy environment. Carpets set the scene for a warm and inviting home atmosphere, so that’s why maintaining a clean surface is pivotal for enjoyment. With these intentionally made fall carpet cleaning hacks, you’ll be able to both mitigate carpet residue and enjoy seasonal fun:
Embrace the Power of Baking Soda
Natural, fast-acting, and powerful, baking soda has been a household staple for a reason. Once applied to your stained, dirt-filled, or foul-smelling carpets, all unwanted remnants will be lifted away. After letting the baking soda sit for a few minutes, we recommend vacuuming over it as a cleanup method.
Invest in a High – Quality Pet-Friendly Vacuum
Many household names in the vacuum world are pet-friendly. You shouldn’t be weary of your home vacuum being unfit to lift pet residue, as that’s simply untrue. However, there are specialized pet-friendly vacuums that are wired to expertly pick up and remove buried pet hair. You want to choose one with a specialized HEPA filter if you are thinking of investing in a pet-focused vacuum.
Use a Rubber Broom for Pet Hair
Rubber is the best material for lifting pet hair, as its sticky surface repels pet hair from sticking between carpet fibers. One sweep and all lingering pet hair will be easily pulled to the surface.
Create a DIY Pet Stain Remover
Back before modern advancements, stain removers were concocted at home by curious homeowners. Natural combinations were created from what was found at home, like baking soda and vinegar. A go-to DIY pet stain-removing combination is white vinegar and water, as this mixture lifts tougher stains. Be sure to add a layer of baking soda for a truly powerful removal.
Prevent Mud and Dirt at the Door
Pets are sneaky things. They weave their way into “locked” bedrooms and throw themselves on couches they know they don’t belong on. The same goes for your carpets. You may want to keep them from absorbing dirt by not allowing your pets to roam on them — but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Prevent mud and dirt from reaching your carpets by checking for mud and dirt on your pet’s paws at the door.
Establish a Grooming Routine
Routines aren’t just helpful for humans. Keeping your pet on a consistent grooming routine can limit hair fallout that sticks to carpet fibers. Introduce an easy, approachable, and reward-focused grooming routine into your pet’s life and see how it positively impacts your carpets.
Rethink Your Carpet Choice
Similarly to asking yourself about what pet is best for you, consider what the optimal carpet choice might be for you and your home. There are specified carpet options on the market that cater to pet owners. These carpets are usually easy to clean, stain-resistant, and repel dirt from within.
Schedule Professional Cleanings
Pureclean recommends having your home carpets professionally cleaned once a year, as this limits the amount of time dirt has to idly create stains. If you believe that your carpet(s) requires extensive attention, it is perfectly acceptable to call us for a second in-depth cleaning service.
Carpet Cleaning Tips
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: stains don’t stop at urine. Vomit, stool, and hair follicles can and will lie quietly between carpet fibers. You may not notice stool or vomit enter the building, but your nostrils sure will. Limit your exposure to pet residue by following these carpet cleaning tips during this fall season:
For the Urine and Vomit Stains
Using a damp paper or cloth towel, you’ll want to apply white distilled vinegar and baking soda to an already watered-down surface. For specific details on how to lift pesky urine and vomit stains, follow these comprehensive steps:
- Apply water to vomit or urine-stained spots so they are ready to be cleaned
- Spray down designated areas with white distilled vinegar
- Allow the vinegar to soak down and remove odors
- With a paper or cloth towel, pat down the areas
- Re-moisten the spot(s) and sprinkle baking soda over them
- Leave the baking soda to sit for an extended period
- Vacuum over spots a day after applying the solution
For the Stools
You cannot effectively remove dried stools with a cleaning solution alone as they won’t lift effectively. The only way to accurately displace stools is to apply an oxygenated bio-enzymatic cleaner built to soften carpet fibers and let stools loose.
For Pet Hair
Oddly enough, using a window squeegee to remove pet hair from carpet fibers works wonders. Using a simple scraping technique will lift pet hairs with ease. To fully isolate hairs from your carpet, we recommend vacuuming over the removal spot.
For Dirty and Muddy Paws
There isn’t much to be done about mud once it’s touched a carpet, but there are a few preventive things you can do to stop your pet from tracking in dirt. Keep a pack of paw wipes around to clean off mud before it enters your home. You should leave a few by the door for easy cleanup post-walk.
When do I hire a professional?
When all your tricks have been tried and there’s not much else to be done, call us at Pureclean or your locally available carpet cleaning service to expertly remove dirt. Whether it’s buried hair, crusty stool, or embedded vomit, a professional cleaning service will have the equipment you need to return your carpets to crisp. DIY cleaning methods only go so far with pet residue, as they don’t have the power to overcome time. Our team of experts at Pureclean operates with heavy-duty equipment so all hard-to-remove remnants can be lifted.
The Benefits of Professional Carpet Cleanings for Pet Owners
DIY renditions of cleaning solutions, extraction tools, and lifting procedures never go the distance. They may tear off a few stuck pieces of stool or remove floating hair, but they don’t go deeper for a fully restorative cleaning process. Dirt-free is only really dirt-free when professionals are at work, and that’s why you should consider contacting a professional carpet cleaning service to fully revive your carpet’s look and feel.
