July 14, 2021
How to Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh With Pets
If you’ve ever wondered if your home smelled like ‘dog’, I’m guessing you might welcome a couple tips to keep your home smelling fresh and clean. With a couple regularly cleaned areas and practices, your home won’t smell like a dog or dogs live there and you can open your door without wondering what it smells like to the person on the other side.
With two dogs, there are a lot of areas in the home that could get smelly in a hurry. I’ve found that with pets, cleaning and keeping things fresh is easier with frequent cleaning and maintenance.
Have a cushion or blanket for the pet and wash it frequently
Having a specific area or areas that your pet sleeps on keeps the pet oils and fur off furniture as well as keeping the smell contained to a washable area. Washing this cushion or blanket weekly or as needed will keep the scent out of your home. When our dogs were puppies, we used old bath towels in her kennel. They can quickly be washed and dried if needed and even tossed if necessary. When purchasing a bed for your pet, look for one that has a removable, washable cover. If it doesn’t have a removable cover, make sure that the bed itself is washable. If you have soft toys for your pet, toss them in the washing machine when you launder the bedding. The bed above is from Costco.
Brush and bathe frequently
Dog oils are the biggest contributors to that ‘dog smell’, so it makes sense that brushing and bathing would be the best way to keep the smell down to a minimum. Wiping feet when dogs come in from outside can also keep dirt down. Our dogs aren’t into taking baths at home (I have to have them bathed every month or two at the vet/boarding facility we use.
Ilsa and Stella tolerate this Waterless Pet Wash from Spruce (neither one are into taking baths, getting wet, or anything that involves them getting clean). You can imagine how much easier this is than fighting to give them a bath and they smell clean and just-bathed. Doesn’t Stella look so happy to be smelling fresh and clean? This is the soft, clean cloth I use to wipe clean.
Use an enzyme-based cleaner for accidents
With pet accidents it’s important to completely remove the scent of any accidents so they don’t come back to it and re-mark that area. An enzyme-based cleaner will break down the stain and any scent – this one is my favorite – I make sure to always have it on hand. It works great for kid stains too 😉
Use a lint roller
Keeping fur off furniture with a lint roller is an easy way to keep the smell out of your home. Roll fur off furniture and clothing right away and you’ll find that the smell won’t linger the way it would if you just left it.
Vacuum and wash floors regularly
I vacuum weekly (on Wednesdays) but I do sweep and vacuum up daily little messes as needed. Then on Thursdays I wash the floors. Keeping tabs on the fur is helpful to keep the smell away. If you have a canister vacuum cleaner, empty the bin after each vacuuming session to keep the oils and odors from accumulating and if you have a bagged vacuum cleaner, change the bag frequently. I always recommend purchasing the best vacuum cleaner that you can – look for one with a HEPA filter that’s made for getting pet hair and dander off and out of your floors and carpets. I highly recommend this vacuum cleaner for pets and fur and deep vacuuming.
Shampoo carpets regularly
Clean carpets are the key to keeping that dog smell out of your home. I recommend purchasing an at-home carpet shampooer and having a professional carpet cleaner shampoo carpets every six months to one year. I love this carpet cleaner and I use this rug shampoo in it.
Use a natural air freshener
When all else fails, spritz something in the air to combat that dog smell. I never recommend using artificial fragrances as air fresheners. My favorite choices for air freshening are essential oils (lemon and clove are my favorite scent combination) and natural, soy-based candles. Eucalyptus and lavender are good choices for dogs – soothing and non-toxic to them – I have a Calm Home Blend of essential oils in the shop that’s perfect!
Do you have a dog or dogs? What’s your best tip for keeping your house smelling like you don’t have one?
Kelia Says
I think the same can be said about teenage boys! ????
Karen Julia Yee Says
Hello, thank you for this post. I have 3 dogs and 6 cats all living in the house. I believe my house doesn’t smell. I have asked several people when they come to visit. The dogs all have kennels that they sleep in. I use blankets from the Goodwill in their kennels. I wash the blankets once a week in hot water and bleach (trying to get away from bleach though for the environment). The cats have their litter boxes in the basement with a cat door in the door to the basement. I clean their boxes daily. I also have various pet beds in the room that I use the most so that pets can use them if they want to be with me. Those beds get washed about once a month.
I think the cats in the area all know to come to my house if they don’t have a home. LOL However the “No Vacancy” sign is up at the moment.
JoJo Pendleton Says
I love any good animal-cleaning input because I have 2 golden retrievers and a mastiff, big dogs! We have a leather couch they sleep on with a removable cover I wash weekly. The dogs love it. I wash the door mats they like to lay weekly, and have an inexpensive robo vac that runs 1-2 times daily. I use antibacterial wipes on a swiffer a couple times a week and quickly surface wipe the hard floors. Swiffing is probably a 10 minute process out of my day. The swiffer if it never leaves the floor will pick up all the fur balls under the couch and in the corners. I wipe all the way to the garbage and pick it up and throw it away. It makes a difference!
Rebekkalynn Says
Best pet tip: commercial air scrubber. Removes pet dander, all household smells, allergens, dust and mold. Plus, extends the life of furnace if you buy one that installs on it. This is the what they use in mold remediation work, hotels, etc…. clean air and totally cuts down dust particles in the air. Had my air sampled and sent to the lab, extremely minimal dust.
Michelle Bacon Says
Thank you so much for this. I have 2 dogs and I just can’t keep the house smelling clean! I can smell dog the minute I walk through the door. I wash my floors once a week, but I have a swiffer wet jet that I also use for accidents. I guess I can use that more often for a quick swipe for freshness.
I also picked up some Angry Orange spray to help with keeping odors down and it works very well.
I never thought of a diffuser and just ordered two for my home!
Thank you!
Michele Says
I do most of these same things that you’ve mentioned. In addition, I have a Roomba that comes out and vacuums every night while we sleep, and this really helps me to keep up on the hair from my 120-lb dog LOL! Note – I do a deeper clean with an actual vacuum cleaner each week, but this helps with the daily grind. 🙂
Stephanie Says
I made covers for the dog beds using bed sheets, I slip them on like pillow cases. I change and wash them weekly. This saves from pulling the stuffing out of their beds to wash the covers. I still wash the dog beds quarterly. To make it budget friendly use sheets from local thrift store. You can typically get top sheets for a couple of dollars
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Jackie Says
Am considering the at-home carpet shampooer but how do you do this around your dogs as far as waiting for the carpet to dry?
Thanks