As a pet owner, you know there is more to keeping a pet than love and snuggles. Keeping pets can get messy. From potty training to shedding season, hairballs to destructive behavior, these can all wreak havoc on your carpet and floors. You can reduce and prevent messes, and restore your floors to keep your house looking and smelling fresh and not like your pets’ playground.
From the outside, in
Remember that upkeep is not just about recovering from the latest pet mess, it’s also about prevention. You can’t prevent an unintentional disaster or unforeseen illness, but you can catch your pet on the way in from outside. Consistent wiping of your pets’ paws is helpful when they return indoors after outside play. Keep an old towel by the door to wipe off their paws and over time they will understand the new routine.
Constant Care
If you take the time to consistently follow a weekly or monthly cleaning schedule, over time you will have fewer major cleanings to tackle. Vacuuming pet hair frequently, treating stains sooner rather than later, and being a little more careful with serving food, will increase the life for your carpet. Writing up and following a schedule may seem tedious at first; once it becomes part of your routine, you will be glad you started. Here is a basic ‘to do’ list for the regular care of your carpet:
- Sweep daily
- Mop and vacuum floors weekly
- Use walk-off mats at entryways to prevent dirt and stain build up
- Deep clean (steam clean) carpet and upholstery every year
- Add decorative rugs to high-traffic or often spilled areas
- Remove soil stains and spots ASAP
Hire the Professionals
Even when taking the initiative to clean up after your pets, your rugs and carpets will eventually need a deep cleaning to remove residual odors. You could possibly invest in a steam or deep cleaning system, but this is not practical, financially or for storage purposes. It is better to trust a professional, experienced technician with this task. Since you will likely only need the services of a carpet cleaning company every 12 to 18 months, you can continue with your regular maintenance plan in the meantime.
Your home can look and smell like home, instead of like your pet! Staying on top of regular cleaning and your pets’ indiscretions will keep your carpets and floors looking better for years to come.
If you need help, give us a call at All Clean ChemDry to ensure that your carpets look and smell fresh.