Cleaning Tips for Pet Owners in San Antonio

Pets can make a home feel cozy,

but

they can also make it feel dirty.

That's just the reality of the situation. There's pet hair on the furniture, dust on the

baseboards, muddy prints by the door, and a toy that somehow always ends up where

you're about to step.

If you own a dog or cat, chances are this all sounds very familiar to you. You clean one

room only to find more pet hair in another, and it's like the vacuum cleaner is always

working but never emptying. Don't worry - you don't need to keep your house

immaculate to feel like you've won the battle against the pets. All it takes is a routine to

keep you one step ahead, and for pet owners in San Antonio, that usually means

focusing on the areas where the most dust, hair, dirt, and odors tend to accumulate.

If you'd rather leave this to the professionals, we offer our

House Cleaning Services

and

Deep Cleaning Services

for those who need a bit more help.

Focus on the areas where your pets hang out the most

For many pet owners, their animal tends to stick to certain areas of the house. It could be

a particular couch or a certain chair. Maybe the mess is more obvious in the hallway near the back door. Whatever it may be, it's a good idea to focus on those specific trouble spots.

You don't have to clean your entire home on a day-to-day basis. If anything, it's a good

idea to do some light cleaning in the areas you notice the most pet activity. Vacuums in

these areas are often sufficient. Cleaning the entryway, hallway, or living room can go a

long way in making the rest of your home feel clean without spending hours on end

trying to clean every nook and cranny. It's always easier to spot clean messes as they

happen rather than waiting until it's all over the place.

Vacuum before the hair starts piling up

Pet hair is notorious for appearing out of thin air and finding a way to stick to just about

anything. It takes over couches, rugs, chairs, and even the edges of floors. While it's a

pain, pet hair is relatively easy to clean up so long as it hasn't gotten out of control.

That's why it's a good idea to spend extra time vacuuming throughout the week. It's

important to stick to smaller sessions rather than trying to spend hours at a time doing

it. Ten minutes a few times a week is often more effective. Focus on the areas where it's

most prevalent - your couch, rugs, hallway, pet bed, food bowls, or anywhere else it

tends to accumulate. It's always easier to keep pet hair at bay rather than trying to clean

it all up once it's gotten out of hand.

Check behind doors and under furniture

Pet hair has a way of finding itself into the most inconvenient places in your house.

Doors, beds, baseboards, side tables, and even air vents can all have pesky pet hair

waiting to trip you up. Pet hair can even hide itself behind doors and furniture, making it

seem as though nothing is out of place when it really isn't.

You don't always have to move large furniture to clean underneath it, but it's a good idea

to make sure that the small things are free of pet hair as often as possible. It can make a

surprising difference.

Keep a towel near the door

This is a great habit to get into, especially if you own a dog. Keeping a towel near the

front door or whichever door your pets are most likely to use enables you to wipe their

paws clean. It takes only seconds to do and will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

It means less cleaning and less mess around the house. It can be especially important to

wipe their paws on rainy days, but pets can track just as much dirt and dust inside on

clear, dry days. Pets can carry a surprising amount of dirt inside with them, so it's always

a good idea to wipe their paws when they come in.

Wash pet beds before they start smelling

Pet beds can accumulate a surprising amount of dirt, dust, and hair. On the bright side,

it's relatively easy to clean as long as it's done on a regular basis.

It's easy to get used to the smell of a dirty pet bed, especially if your pet sleeps on it

every night. That's why it's always a good idea to make sure that they're washed and

clean every so often. If the cover is easily removable, it can make the task even easier.

The same goes for blankets that your pet likes to curl up on. It's much easier to prevent a

smell rather than dealing with one once it's gotten bad.

Clean around your pet's food and water bowl

The area around your pet's food and water bowls can get pretty messy. Spills are

inevitable, and pet hair can stick to the sides of the bowls, mixing with water to make a

sticky mess. A mat under the bowls can help prevent some messes from happening in

the first place, and it can make clean up much easier when spills do occur.

Wiping the area around the bowls and cleaning them on a regular basis is crucial in

preventing bigger messes. It's a small task that can make a surprising difference.

Brush your pets on a regular basis

If your pets shed, then you already know how much hair can find its way into your home.

That's why it's important to brush them on a regular basis. It helps to get rid of loose hair

before it ends up on your furniture, floor, bed, or other objects in your home. Even a few

minutes can help get rid of a surprising amount of hair. Some pets tend to shed more

heavily at certain points of the year, so it's especially important to brush them more

often during these times. It's much easier to get rid of the hair while it's on the brush

than it is to pick it all up off the floor afterwards.

Pet hair isn't the only thing that accumulates in your

home

Pet hair is relatively easy to see, but pet dander can be much harder to notice. Pet

dander mixes in with the dust around your house and can stick to almost any surface.

According to the

Environmental Protection Agency, dust accumulates in the home in a number of ways.

It can be helpful to wipe away dust with a slightly damp cloth to prevent it from

becoming airborne.

As with pet hair, it's always a good idea to pay extra attention to the areas where your

pets spend the most time as they are likely to have the most pet dander.

Check the air filter

The air filter is one of those things that most people don't really pay much attention to. It

can be easy to forget about completely. In a home with pets, however, it's much more

important. It's a good idea to check the air filter on a regular basis and replace it if

necessary. It's also a good idea to follow the manufacturer's guidelines when it comes to

air filters.

It's important to keep in mind that the air filter isn't a substitute for regular cleaning.

It can help improve air quality and reduce the workload of your heating and air

conditioning systems, but it won't get rid of pet hair or dust.

Floors tend to show the mess the most

It's amazing how much mess seems to end up on the floor. Pet hair accumulates in the

corners, pet prints litter the edges of rooms, and dirt always manages to find its way into

the deepest crevices. Water from spilled bowls can leave rings on wooden floors.

Fortunately, vacuuming and mopping on a regular basis can help prevent these messes

from getting out of hand.

It's not always necessary to mop every single floor in your home, especially if you have a

lot of pets. It's much more effective to focus on the entryway and other high traffic areas.

It's much easier to mop up messes before they become permanent stains.

Clean up messes as they appear

Even the best trained pets are likely to have an accident every now and then.

That's just a fact of life.

The key is to clean up messes as they appear to prevent staining or lingering odors.

Blotting the mess is always a good idea to prevent it from spreading to other areas. It's

important to remember to use a pet friendly cleaner and always follow the

manufacturer's guidelines. The sooner messes are cleaned up, the less likely they are to

cause a lasting smell.

Cat litter rarely stays where it belongs

Cat owners know this to be an unfortunate truth. Litter rarely stays confined to the litter

box and is much more likely to find itself on the floor, furniture, and other surfaces in

your home.

Thankfully, a litter mat can help catch some of the stray litter.

It won't catch all of it, but it's much easier to clean up litter that has been trapped in a

mat rather than trying to pick it up off the floor. It's also a good idea to regularly scoop

the litter box and clean the surrounding area. This helps to keep the mess contained as

much as possible. It's also much easier to clean the messes as they appear rather than

waiting for them to get out of hand.

Deep cleaning can help eliminate the messes that

nobody sees

Regular cleaning can help prevent messes from appearing, but it's much harder to get

rid of the ones that nobody really notices until it's too late. Deep cleaning can help

eliminate the dirt and grime that tends to accumulate in hard to reach places.

Vacuuming baseboards, corners, and other areas can help get rid of pet hair that has

become trapped in the grooves. Checking under furniture, beds, and other objects can

help spot clean any messes that might be lurking beneath. It's also important to make

sure that any floor edges or vents aren't harboring pet hair and dirt. All of these messes

can add up, and deep cleaning can help eliminate them.

Don't try and mask pet odors

While a home with pets can sometimes be unpleasant-smelling, it's important to

remember that masking the odor isn't going to get rid of it.

Simple cleaning should always be the first line of defense when it comes to pet odors.

That includes washing bedding, cleaning bowls, vacuuming furniture, scooping litter

boxes, eliminating other messes, and opening windows when the weather permits.

Simple cleaning can often be much more effective than trying to mask pet odors.

Pet dander can make your home uncomfortable

Some people are much more sensitive to pet dander than others

Luckily,

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has some helpful resources on pet

allergens.

They can make your home uncomfortable, so it's always a good idea to dust, vacuum,

wash bedding, and clean pet areas to reduce their presence.

Recurring cleaning can help keep your home clean

Pets always seem to find a way to leave behind hair, and dust is always waiting to settle

on just about anything. That's why recurring cleaning is such a huge benefit to pet

owners. It can help prevent pet hair from getting out of control, reduce the amount of

messes that need to be cleaned, and make sure that no dust has accumulated over the

past few days. Cleaning the floors and bathrooms on a regular basis can make all the

difference. You don't have to spend every weekend cleaning.

House Cleaning Services

When does your home need help?

You vacuum and you still notice pet hair on the floor the next day.

Your floors always seem to be dirty.

Pet odors are everywhere, and it seems like there's always something that needs dusting.

You feel stressed that your friends are coming to visit, and you spend too much of your

free time cleaning.

None of these things mean that you're doing something wrong.

They just mean that your home could benefit from a little extra help on the cleaning

front.

Final thoughts

Pets can make a home feel cozier and more comfortable, but they can also bring a lot of

messes with them. Hair, dust, prints, and odors tend to stick around in every pet owner's

home, but that doesn't mean there's not much that can be done about it. The most

important step is to make sure that your home is manageable. Vacuuming more often,

washing pet beds, wiping paws, cleaning bowls, and paying extra attention to the areas

that tend to hold onto pet hair are just a few necessary steps for any pet owner. When

recurring cleaning begins to feel like too much, you can always turn to our

House Cleaning Services

for assistance.

When pet hair, dust, and other messes begin to get out of control, our

Deep Cleaning Services can be sure to take care of everything.