There are lots of ways people can tell you’re a pet owner.
Maybe you walk around with a “World’s Greatest Dog Owner” mug or unabashedly rock a light dusting of cat hair on your pants each day. You’re OK with that.
What you’re not OK with? When someone can tell you have a dog or cat just by the smell of your house.
Here’s what’s scary about pet odors …
We can get so used to the smells in our own homes, that we don’t realize how bad the pet odors really are.
Sometimes it takes asking a close friend to be brutally honest and tell you if your home smells bad.
If you determine that you do indeed have a pet odor problem on your hands, no need to panic. Here are 7 rules to eliminate offending pet odors, fast.
7 Rules to Fight Pet Odors … And Win!
1. Wash the Walls
Your dog has a lot of great qualities … being neat and tidy is not one of them.
Prime example: the wall near your dog’s bed. Is there gunk and hair stuck to it? What about that corner of the kitchen where you keep your dog’s food bowl? These areas are odor magnets and need regular cleaning. A few easy steps will do it:
- Run the dust attachment of your vacuum over the wall.
- Set out towels along the baseboards to catch any drips. We love those white colored towels you can buy in bulk. Great for cleaning and mopping up water from the dog’s jowls!
- Clean the wall, starting at the top and working your way down. Use plain old water and a sponge or cloth. If that doesn’t work, use a mild detergent mixed with warm water. Note: never use a colored-sponge as it can stain the wall.
- For stubborn grime, mix a paste of baking soda and water, apply to the stain and let sit for a few minutes before wiping and drying with a clean towel.
2. Pet Odors on the Carpet? Do This …
From cat urine to the dog throwing up who knows what, removing pet odors from the carpet is a challenge that can drive owners crazy.
If you want to avoid carpet cleaners and odor eliminators with harsh chemicals, we hear you! The average person’s indoor air is 7 times more polluted than the outside air due to all those nasty chemicals in cleaning products.
What to use instead to eliminate pet odors from carpet:
Go the DIY route and mix up a solution of one part vinegar and one part lukewarm water. Pour the solution onto the carpet, then scrub with a brush and blot dry. Once the area has dried, sprinkle with baking soda and vacuum it up.
Also effective, yet way simpler (and non-stinky if you don’t like the smell of vinegar) is Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer. This pet deodorizing spray is non-toxic to people and pets, with no toxic fragrances, perfumes or harsh chemicals.
3. Wash Your Pet’s Bedding Every 2 Weeks
We get it. You need another load of laundry like you need a boulder dropped on your foot.
But if you’ve been wishy-washy about laundering your pet’s bedding, the odors from the area where they peacefully slumber (or snore loud enough to wake the neighbors) can overtake the whole house.
Each pet hair follicle does have a light chemical scent to it, and every pet’s smell is different. Multiply one pet hair follicle by the hundreds lying around your house and it’s easy to see how the odors can get out of control.
Additionally, dogs and cats sweat through their paws, which produces a distinct odor. In fact, a normal dog and cat paw is likened to the smell of corn chips.
Odors from bedding can make your pet smell worse and vice versa, creating a vicious stink-cycle. Make the commitment to wash your pet’s bedding every two weeks, and vacuum in the area too – don’t cheat and skip the corners. You can do it!
4. Follow Proper Litter Box Protocols
Ever feel like your cat’s trying to tell you something when he gives you “the look”? There’s a good chance he’s saying, “Clean my litter box!”
Cats are cleanly creatures and they don’t want to go where it’s dirty. So follow these litter box rules and start breathing easier!
- Scoop once or twice a day (Ideally, as soon as your cat eliminates).
- Make sure you have enough litter boxes in your home … good rule is one more litter box than the number of cats you have.
- Change the litter twice weekly for non-clumping litter and monthly for clumping litter. Wash the box out with soap and water, or spray with Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer.
- Replace plastic litter boxes once a year. When they get scratched up, the crevices can hang onto odors and waste.
Adopting good litter box protocols will benefit your home’s smell two-fold. It will help get rid of “litter box” smell AND discourage your cat from urinating elsewhere, like on the carpet!
5. Clean Your Dog’s Bling
What if you wore the same pair of socks for years on end without washing them? Pee-yew! Same principle applies to your dog’s collar. It can get really dirty from outdoor play and everyday living!
So clean that bling and get your dog smelling clean. Simply add a squirt or two of Oxyfresh Pet Shampoo to a bowl and fill it with hot water.
Let your dog’s collar soak for 15 minutes, then rub the collar to remove any stubborn gunk. Rinse and hang to dry. Done!
6. Change Your Filters
Ever feel like no matter how hard you try to remove pet odors, they just come back fast? The culprit could be your furnace or AC filter.
Are you following the recommended timeline for changing them out? If not, you could be recirculating the same stinky smells over and over again.
Also, open up the windows when you can. There’s nothing like fresh air as a natural pet odor eliminator.
7. Be Proactive in Removing Pet Odors
Before bad pet smells have a chance to take over the house, be proactive and freshen your air with a non-toxic pet deodorizer.
Unlike air fresheners and other pet odor eliminators with harsh chemicals and perfumes, Oxyfresh Pet Deodorizer is completely safe to people and pets.
Rather than masking odors artificially, our secret ingredient Oxygene® neutralizes odors completely.
You can spray this pet deodorizer anywhere odors are a problem, from carpets to the crate, and even directly on your dog or cat!
It’s the easy way to get your house smelling fresh each day.
Pet Odors? Not a Problem Anymore.
Don’t put up with bad pet odors anymore. Get things fresh and clean whenever people walk through your door with these 7 rules and a little help from your pet pals at Oxyfresh.com.
