How to Clean a House with Pets

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (3 Ratings)

There are more than 60 million pet dogs and more than 70 million pet cats in the U.S. Besides dogs and cats, birds and horses are also popular pets. Not only that, several households prefer exotic and specialty pets like iguanas, snakes, frogs, hermit crabs, tarantulas, ferrets, turtles, hamsters and so on. Cleaning the house sometimes becomes an arduous task, especially with pets roaming everywhere. Here are a few steps that explain how to clean a house with pets:

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Vacuum
Washcloths
Scrubbing brush
Pet-friendly household cleaner

Step1

Clean up the mess created by your pet as soon as possible. Delays can cause the stains to set in, making it difficult to clean up afterwards. Also, the odor and unsightly spots need to be eradicated as soon as possible.

Step2

Avoid using ammonia-based cleaners for cleaning urine or feces mess created by your pet as it may smell very pungent and unpleasant.

Step3

Focus on the areas where your pets hang out. Find out their favorite spots and thoroughly clean those areas.

Step4

Clean out your cat’s litter box, your doghouse, barred enclosure or any type of cage which is the home of your pet. Use non-toxic cleaners to wipe the interior, followed by an odor neutralizer.

Step5

Vacuum your home thoroughly to pick up pet hair and other dirt that your pet has brought in the house from outside.

Step6

Wash up your pet. Give your dog or cat a bath. Contact an exotic pet professional to get help in cleaning your special pet.

Step7

Saturate any old stain with a heavy duty cleaner for at least 5 minutes so that it can soak up the product. Scrub it gently with a scrubbing brush, followed by vacuuming. Special cleansers are also available in most pet stores.

Step8

Lift pet hair from furniture and other surfaces with a damp cloth. The cloth will pick up most of the hair.

Step9

Use handheld vacuum or your standard vacuum cleaner to clean pet hair from carpets and rugs.

Step10

Wash the feeding dish of your pet on a routine basis. Throw out the dishes with chipped edges or cracks in them.

Step11

Housetrain your pet. Put a rag outside their entry point so that they can scratch it to remove dirt from their paws.

Step12

Toilet-train your pet so that they know what rules to follow.

Tips & Warnings

Consider using a sturdy stainless steel feeding dish for your pet. They are heavy and hence hard to topple by your over-enthusiastic pet.
Do not use cleaners that are heavy on chemicals, emitting toxic fumes or that are generally toxic when licked by your pet.