Tips for Keeping a Pet-friendly Home
Clean and Odor-free

Our pets, bless their furry hearts, don't really understand this insane human need for horrible things like bathing. They absolutely do pay attention to hygiene; it's just that their idea of what's clean and what isn't is quite different from our own. However, a pet-friendly home can absolutely be a clean home, you just need to know how to handle your darling furballs and help their hygiene reach the desired levels.

How do you do that? Well, we've got a few tips that will help you maintain your house and keep it nice and polished.

• Bathe them

  How often you need to bathe your pet depends on the breed, how active they are, whether they have any skin conditions, but once a month is generally a good starting point for dogs, and once or twice a year for cats. We know that dogs and cats are rarely all that excited to get into the tub and the whole thing is a process that requires you to first fish them out of whichever corner they've decided to hide in (they seem to just know when bath time is coming), manhandle them into the tub, and then hear their sorrowful cries as you turn on the water.

  One would think you're skinning them alive, not gently rubbing their fur with warm water. It can be a hassle, but one way you can make it easier on them (and yourself) is to use treats. You'll need a few small treats - use the first one to get them to come to the tub, then give them one during the bath itself, and finally once you pull them out, to reward them for being good.

• Brush their fur

  Especially during the shedding season, and especially if they are long-haired, brush their fur. Run the brush through their fur a few times each day, preferably while you're both outside. Doing it a little bit every day can majorly help the shedding and prevent their hair from getting everywhere.

• Freshen up the air

  While you can find a way to control shedding, bear in mind that pet dander will still be floating around in the air. This can trigger allergies and irritate your sinuses, so it's very important to air out your house often. You can also get a good air purifier, which is also useful for keeping unpleasant odors at bay and helping your home stay fresh. Something like a mold air purifier by Oransi is a good choice because it has a HEPA filter, so it will clean out mold spores from the room and make breathing even easier.

• Vacuum often

  Of course, even with all your brushing efforts, some hairs will still end up on the carpet and the furniture. The easiest way to resolve this is simply by vacuuming your carpets weekly - you don't even have to vacuum your whole place, just any parts where there is too much pet hair for your liking. Remember to vacuum your pet's sleeping place as well.

• Get a few useful tools

  Lint rollers! Lint rollers are a life-saver for pet owners. If you ever want to be able to wear black clothes without pet hair covering it like a carpet, these little tools are going to make it possible. Another great thing to have is a furniture brush because you can just sweep your couch and make it neat again. Need a really quick solution when neither of these is available? Simply wet your hands a little and then swipe them down your clothes or other surfaces and the pet hair will stick to them.

• Keep an old towel handy

  Rainy, muddy, or snowy outside? Then make sure you have an old, shabby towel that you can grab as soon as you get back home from a walk. Wipe their paws from dirt, and if their fur is wet, give it a gentle wipe down as well. This is a good way to prevent paw prints from getting all over your wooden floors or carpets.

• Visit a groomer

  Visiting a professional pet groomer is quite necessary for long-haired animals who need to get regular trims, but you could also consider finding a good pet stylist and taking your dog there for a wash and a nail trim. Let a professional do this work for you and your dog will be fresh, clean, and happy.

• Wash pet bowls

  Just like your plates, your pet's bowls should generally be washed every day, but if you don't have the time at least give the bowls a good wipe. Pet food has a very strong scent, so leaving the bowls unwashed for a long time can make your whole kitchen reek of it.

There you go, easy ways to keep your home clean and neat. Another thing to remember is to change your cat's litter box often and to occasionally give your pet's bed a nice wash, but otherwise, these steps are all you need. And remember, if your furry friend feels uneasy about any of there, treats and snuggles are always there to help!

Zara Lewis is a regular contributor at Highstylife.com and a full time animal lover. Passionate about creating a better world for the generations to come, she is a mum of two, raising them inseparably from their furry family members.