10 Ways to Keep Your Home from Smelling Like Your Pet

As much as we love our furry friends, we don’t want our homes to smell like them.

From pet hair remover tools to odour-resistant dog beds, there are definitely solutions to make sure Fido’s scent isn’t left hanging in the air — or your carpet, furniture, clothes and so on.

It feels like their pet hair gets everywhere, so read on to find out 10 easy ways to keep your home from smelling like your pet.

1. Use a Pet Hair Remover Tool — When you’re coming home from a long day, the last thing you want is to sit on your couch and end up with a pile of pet hair all over your pants. With a pet hair remover tool, you can regularly clean pet fur at home on-the-go.

These tools are handy for not only removing fur from the furniture but also removing hair and lint from clothing, rugs and even the inside of your car. They’re simple to use and easy on the environment since they’re reusable.

2. Consider Wood Flooring — If you’re thinking about upgrading or renovating your home, changing from carpet to wood flooring can make it easier to clean pet hair and dirt in general.

Instead of having to awkwardly vacuum into the nooks and crannies of your living room, you can mop, sweep and dust. It’ll also be clearer to see animal fur building up on the wood flooring than getting lost and embedded into a carpet that needs to be both vacuumed and shampooed.

3. Get an Odor-Resistant Dog Bed — An odor-resistant dog bed can help keep your pet’s sleeping and resting area smelling fresher. Pet hair is sure to build up on the dog bed.

Even if it doesn’t smell as much compared to a dog bed that isn’t odor-resistant, you don’t want your furry friend sleeping on a pile of their own fur. Use one of the best pet hair remover tools to get rid of excess fur on your dog’s bed.

4. Clean the Bed Once a Week — Clean both your own bed and your dog’s bed once a week. If your dog doesn’t have their own bed and they sleep with you in your bed, you’re definitely going to want to clean your bed at least weekly. There’s dirt, hair and fur buildup from both you and your pet.

5. Deodorize Beds and Carpets — Besides washing and drying dog beds and your own sheets and blankets, you’ll also want to actively deodorize beds and carpets. If you want to make your own deodorizing powder, you’ll need zinc oxide, cornstarch and baking soda.

If you want a particular scent, use pet-friendly essential oils. Ones that are safe for both dogs and cats include frankincense, lavender and chamomile.

Try this pet-friendly simple carpet cleaner powder mixture recipe from Country Hill Cottage with one cup of aluminum-free baking soda, half a cup of non-GMO cornstarch and ¼ cup of zinc oxide.

You can add on about 25 drops of lavender essential oil, for example.

6. Try an Air Purifier — Air purifiers help to freshen stale air. Because indoor air isn’t circulated as much as the air outdoors, airborne pollutants like dander and pet fur build up quickly inside. It’ll also help neutralize unpleasant odors from you and your furry friend.

7. Regularly Groom Your Pet — According to Brookfield Animal Hospital, there’s no such thing as a non-shedding dog or cat. That means that if your pet has fur, they’re going to shed. To help keep your pet’s coat healthy and prevent excessive amounts of their fur from going everywhere in your home, it’s best to regularly groom your pet.

They’ll appreciate the bonding time, you going out of your way to keep their hair healthy and you’ll love not having to clean as much thanks to this regular quick grooming routine.

8. Vacuum Your Furniture — Regularly vacuum your furniture to help remove dirt and debris. You can use a soft brush attachment on your vacuum to get rid of any fur on your couch. In hard-to-reach places, it’s best to use a small tool like a pet hair remover to get rid of clumps of fur and lint that build up over time.

It’s easier with a smaller tool like that than it would be with a larger brush that may only get to surface areas of your furniture.

9. Steam Clean Your Carpets — Whenever you do a deep cleaning of your home, you’ll also want to do a steam cleaning of your carpets. You only have to steam clean your carpets about once a year, but consider doing it twice a year if you see more dirt buildup.

If you have a lot of foot traffic at home, like young kids or multiple pets, opt for steam cleaning twice a year.

10. Open the Windows — Fresh air does everyone good, including your pets. Dust your home and open up the windows. Allow fresh air to come in and naturally circulate around your home. This will help freshen up your home instead of just having the same stale air circulating the same odors again and again.