Do you have pets? Have you abandoned all carpets? Tried rugs but even they get christened with puppy poo or kitten vomit? Then, you’re like me! A bare, floor-boarded home but one filled with pet love!!
CLEAN PAWS: CAN PETS & A CLEAN HOME EVER GO TOGETHER?
In some ways, it’s quite sensible to have as little to clean up as possible. Hey, who likes housework?!
But, at times, it is comforting to have some sort of soft furnishings – a rug to step out on bed onto, on a cold, winter’s morning or a plush, fabric sofa to sink into after a hard day’s work or a long dog walk.
Cleaning – it’s a dirty word!
Pets are pets and ‘accidents’ happen. Peeing, poo-ing or vomiting are inevitable occasionally and, for some pet owners, rather more often!
Just how do you clean your fabric surfaces, like carpets and sofas? This is one of the most common questions that I get asked by pet owners.
Before answering that, let’s look at why, when pets have accidents, it tends to be on the most difficult to clean items!…
Why pets choose to soil our carpets and sofas!
When you feel unwell, you often seek out areas that are comfy and make you feel secure – your bed or your favourite armchair. Your pets are no different. When they feel a little under the weather,, they lie on your rug or hop onto your sofa.
When your pet needs to toilet but, for some reason (unwell, rain etc etc), cannot make it to their normal toileting spot, they often choose to eliminate on your carpet and rugs. Some may even choose your sofa or bed! Why? Well these fabrics are probably the closest option to grass, which we know most dogs prefer to toilet upon. Fabrics are also great at retaining scent. While this is a problem for humans, it is actually a bonus for our cats and dogs. When their scent surrounds them, all feels better in their world.
What we can do to clean up pet ‘accidents’
I needed to try something new and found Britex. This cleaning company, who have been going for over 35 years, have a line of biodegradable and enzymatic cleaning solutions for spills and regular home-based stains such as pet accidents, coffee and wine spills.They use the power of hot water extraction combined with biodegradable products. Read more.
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Cleaning part 1: those annoying but inevitable pet ‘accidents’
I had several products to choose from and choice for me is generally a problem. Do I want a stain remover, a urine remover, both or something else entirely? Luckily their website has a product selector section…
Turns out I could use them all! Enzymes are great at tackling stains, especially those biological ones, as they are biological catalysts themselves and really get to the bottom (pardon the pun!) of what’s causing stains and foul odours – the bacteria that set up home within your ‘accident’. No amount of humans cleaners tackle this. You need an enzymatic cleaner.
Read more about cleaning up after toileting accidents.
Cleaning part 2: Furnishings
Now to get the pawprints, ingrained pet sweat, dirt and grime out of my sofas! I could show you the videos of me cleaning but let’s stick to the pros…
Ok, I’ll prove it. I did clean. Here I am, accompanied by Chilli dog, as always…
Now, while Chilli tolerated the machine presence and noise, she did bark (as Chilli does!) and want to attack on occasion and my cats disappeared entirely, so you may wish to remove your pets from the cleaning process altogether.
My future clean home
I have to conclude that this is how I will be cleaning my home from now on. Hiring the machine is easy (think local supermarket or hardware store); using it is easy and inexpensive.
Maybe, just maybe, I’ll even think about adding some rugs to my home again!
More info:
More about Britex
Find your local Britex store
Cat toileting issuesDog house-training issues
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