21st June 2017
Us Brits are a nation of dog lovers. A quarter of UK households are reportedly home to a canine companion of some breed or other. However, this also means there are extra cleaning duties for many of us as well!
You can’t really stop dogs being dogs and making a mess indoors. However, by recognising their problematic traits, you’ll minimise the ways they sometimes spoil the home’s interior.
Of course, you may need to put in some extra work to ensure your house stays as clean as possible, but at the end of the day, it’ll all be worth it. Here are some of our tips.
Dog Hairs
Perhaps the most annoying part of being a dog owner is the endless array of hair they shed. This is a normal process but can be amplified by a poor diet, bacterial infections or an underlying disease. As a good starting point, feed them quality pet food containing the right nutrients. If any health problems persist, pay a visit to the local vets.
Proper grooming is a commonly-used method to reduce your cleaning workload. Brushing regularly, preferably outdoors, will gather loose hairs on the brush rather than inside the home.
No matter how hard you try, dog hairs will always find their way onto floors or furniture. This means you’ll have to up your cleaning routine, specifically by vacuuming and sweeping more often.
Vacuum cleaners with turbo brushes and bespoke filters can help with this, whilst Velcro curlers, wet rubber gloves and pick-up rollers are another relatively easy way to collect hairs from the affected areas.
Preventative Measures
Teaching your dog not to jump on furniture or roll around on the carpet will greatly reduce the amount of dirt and hairs being ingrained in places you don’t want them to be.
Positive reinforcement should be used when your dog behaves the correct way, ideally when they avoid designated ‘clean’ areas of the home. Adequate house-training is especially vital to avoid unwanted and messy accidents too.
Analysing your dog’s behaviour, and specifically where they tend to lie, will be of great benefit as well. Cover the areas they sit with blankets or rugs, meaning less grime on carpets and expensive furniture.
Because hairs and dirt are more likely to gather on carpets, one solution is to replace them altogether with tiles or hardwood flooring. Likewise, pet-friendly upholstery made from synthetic fibre or leather will collect fewer hairs.
Breeds
If you’re looking to home a dog but are concerned about the additional cleaning duties, a simple solution is to find breeds that don’t tend to shed as much hair. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of dogs that don’t need excessive grooming:
- Bichon Frise
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Greyhound
- Whippet
- Poodle
- Maltese
Even getting a ‘non-shedding dog’ won’t completely rid your home of hairs and you’ll still need a bit of added elbow grease from time to time. However, by using our preventative tips you’ll reduce the workload and help keep your house clean when you have a dog.
Now that your house is clean from dog grime and hairs, it might be time to clean your gutters! Here is our guide to doing just that, making sure your gutters are cleaned correctly and safely.
21st June 2017