Pets & Allergens: How to Eliminate Pet Smells and Dander

Pets are some of the most beautiful friends you can ever ask for; they can light up a dull home to a cheerful abode. More so, owning a pet is linked with many health benefits ranging from reducing stress to lessening the likelihood of high blood pressure. Is there a magic formula on how to eliminate pet odors?

Pets are associated with bad odors, which can negate the level of cleanliness in your home. Just one puff of repulsive dog odor is enough to keep your visitors away. As a pet owner, you must understand how to eliminate pet smells and dander.

Top 13 Tips to Eliminate Pet Odors that Can Help you Out

1. Care for your pet

Caring for your pet is a crucial step in preventing pet odors and carpet stains. Simple things like bathing your cat or dog go a long way. Bathe your pet regularly, and this helps in the reduction of dander and hair, which may be challenging to clean up hence resulting in a smelly home.

What to use:

Pet Shampoo – Use pet shampoo instead of human shampoo. Human shampoos have many chemicals that can damage your pet’s coat.

A fine brush – Once your pet is well cleaned, brush them to get rid of dog excess hair, and this lessens the chances of your pet’s fur on your furniture or carpets.

What about the pet’s cage?

Clean up the pet’s cage or litter box, and this keeps the area clean and free from dog smells. It also lessens the likelihood of parasitic growth and pet infections. And what’s more? Cleaning your pet’s cage keeps odors from the pet’s droppings at bay, and this ensures that your home stays clean and smells fresh.

2. Vacuum for pet smells and dander

Pet hair and dander always get a way of getting trapped in rugs, furniture as well as fabric window coverings no matter how often your pet is adequately cleaned. Fur and dander may also linger on non-carpeted floors.

To get rid of the smells, vacuum your floors and stairs, and any other upholstered furniture, opt for the best robotic vacuums for pet/dog hair rather than conventional ones.

By so doing, you can be sure of a fresh-smelling clean home.

Baking soda is yet another trick!

Smear it on the carpets and upholstered surfaces; allow it to sit for several hours and later vacuum. Baking soda is excellent for neutralizing confined smells; the same way it does when uses to eliminate funky odors in refrigerators.

3. Pet training to reduce bad home smells

Training your cat or dog makes a big difference. For instance, if you have a new pet at home, perhaps the first thing to do is to train it to use the litter box. This way, you lessen the chances of your pet staining your carpets, beddings, or furniture.

Did I mention setting rules? Although you love your pet, at some point, you have to set some rules on where they can go in the home or not. This way, you limit clean ups and smells in unwanted areas. While away, use dog crates to restrict them to specific rooms in the home. Home so, replace the kitty litter box each day and replace or remove the pets beddings as well.

Potty training is also a great method to remove the odor and keep your home with a fresh smelling scent.

4. Chose the pet’s food wisely!

Know how to eliminate pet smells and dander by feeding your pet with the right foods. By serving your pet the right food, you lessen the chances of foul odors in your home.

For dogs, try the Nutro natural dog food; it’s specially designed to make dogs eat less, poop less, and shed less. Also, ask your vet about any other pet food which is suitable for your pet.

5. Use an enzymatic cleaner

For minor odor removal tasks, use an enzymatic cleaner. They are safe and non-toxic. They also break up urine bacteria, hence eliminating or lessening unpleasant smells. However, the amount of enzyme cleaner required depends on the dog odor strength. You also might want to be on the lookout for strong smells since they require more time and effort to eliminate.

6. Black lights work wonders!

If your cat or dog has the habit of urinating on your carpet fiber, black lights will help you in identifying the soiled areas, and this makes it easier to remove pet stains and odors. As such, acquire a black lamp from your local pet store or hardware and make your rooms as dark as possible.

7. Neutralize the odors with a HEPA air purifier

Smells are common problems in many homes. They may result from pets, fumes, cigarettes, or fumes from cleaning chemicals. Although some people prefer to use home fresheners, these only offer a temporary solution which conceals the unpleasant smells.

No matter how much you try, getting rid of pet odor may be inevitable. Ensure that the air is fresh, and you can accomplish this by using an air purifier for pet dander. Such devices work as filtration systems that pull in the smells in your home and returning new fresh air to your home.

By simply turning on these gadgets, you lessen the chances of annoying smells that haunt your home. Such devices are also crucial in the elimination of dust mites, pollen, mold, bacteria, mildew spores, and allergens, and this reduces pollution in your home.

8. Expose furniture to sunlight

Sunlight gets rid of smells and bugs. For upholstered furniture, rugs, or any other portable fabric-covered items, take them outside and expose them to sunlight and fresh air. For best results, leave them outdoors for some hours, and this will eliminate all types of odors that might have stick within fabric fibers.

Letting your furniture air dry is crucial, especially when your pet urinates on your couch. Also, try throwing the cushion covers on the washing machine instead of just using paper towels and the good old white vinegar solution on a spray bottle. Just by cleaning your furniture, you will improve your indoor air quality by eliminating a vast amount of odors and pet dander.

9. Open windows and doors

Poor ventilation or home air circulation accumulates smells and contaminants, which can be detrimental to your health. It can also result in the growth of mold, which can damage your furniture. For this reason, proper ventilation is essential.

Are you wondering how to reduce pet dander and smells? Open your windows and doors, and this will ensure fresh air in your home. However, seasons may change, and the weather becomes too hot or too cold. This way, you may need to install home ventilation systems to enjoy fresh air no matter the weather.

10. Scrub hardwood floors and walls

If you have wood floors, they might not smell much, but your pet may have scratched them up. As such, it’s a great idea to have them sanded. Besides, restored hard floors are typical nowadays, and this will leave them sparkling.

Instead, scrub all bare tile floors and walls and be keen on the spots where pets have left marks using vinegar. Vinegar is useful for deodorizing and disinfecting different surfaces, and it’s a great weapon to have at home. However, don’t use vinegar on unsealed stone-based surfaces, for example, marble, limestone, or grout, since it may cause some damage to those surfaces.

For best results:

• Clean the walls or wood surfaces by spraying a light mist of vinegar mixed with water to the affected areas, ensure that it’s enough to make it damp, and nor result in damages to your surface.
• Wet a sponge with the same cleaning solution, wring out the moisture and use it to wipe them are once again.
• Smear some baking soda over the surface if the odor is still there and brush or vacuum once the powder dries. In case of extreme urine damage, repaint your walls using and odor and urine stain blocking paint or primer, but be sure to clean the area thoroughly before painting.

11. Wash or replace carpets

If you have old carpets and rugs in your house, they will need washing. However, this will depend on their age as well as your pet’s bathroom habits. Besides, carpets hold all the odors in the air, and your pet doesn’t need to pee on them to have them smell funky.

Therefore, clean and shampoo them often or replace all of them and not just the ones usually trafficked by your pet. If possible, hire experts to do it, but if the odors still linger, you may need to remove pet odor from the carpets and padding altogether.

For the fabric window coverings, wash or have them dry cleaned and steam clean any upholstered furniture to get rid of the smells. You can also air dry the carpets to get rid of dog smells and accumulated pet allergens. Also, use a carpet cleaner or cleaning solution when you vacuum the carpets for better odor removal.

12. Look beyond your carpets!

Sometimes, unpleasant pet odors and their removal require more than cleaning the carpets and the entire house. If you have done everything possible and still have persistent odors, even after hiring professionals to clean your carpet stains and rugs.

Then the problem might be somewhere else. Pets can as well soil your furniture, walls, drapes, and baseboards. In some instances, the stains may have penetrated the flow beneath the carpet. This way, floor sanding to prevent future stains would be necessary.

13. Try an enzyme cleaner

For simple odor removal jobs, use an enzymatic cleaner. They are safe and non-toxic and break up urine bacteria hence reducing and eliminating foul smells. The quantity of enzymatic cleaner required depends on the odor strength. However, be on the look for strong odors since these may require more effort to defeat.

Other tips to remove the dog smell in your house

If you are a pet owner, then you might have to deal with pet odors and dander once in a while. Fortunately, there are various ideas on how to eliminate pet smells and dander. Clean or replace carpets as needed, open windows for fresh air, take care of your pet, scrub your tile floors or have them sanded, vacuum, and, if possible, pick the best air purifier that is rated as the top pet odor removers the next time you go shopping.

Air duct cleaning is also underrated when it comes to getting rid of the dogs smell from your home. Also, if you replace your regular filter with an elite HEPA filter that has an FPR 10 grade, you will notice a significant air purification improvement.

Make sure you clean your dogs bed. Brushing your pets bed on a monthly bases can help remove pet odors and pet dander. Try not to use any unknown products when cleaning your dogs bed because this can cause them allergies. Use dirtied water, and just air dry it for a few hours. Even though some beds are machine washable, you should try to avoid any chemicals.

Use the DIY white vinegar and water solution in a spray bottle to clean any urine spot in your hard floors. Also, a pet odor, air fresheners, and a stain remover can be used during the home cleaning process. Or you can also purchase some of the natures miracle products, keep in mind that they may contain hydrogen peroxide.

Last, you can try using an air purifier to get rid of dander and pet odors. When shopping for the purifier, pick one that has an economic HEPA replacement filter.

Take away

According to the national association of realtors, dog smell can be a turn off for home buyers. Try using carpet cleaning products and changing your air filters regularly during the home selling process.

Also, if you are a real estate owner and you have a pet, then removing odors from carpet should be on your to-do list before selling your home. Any home improvement can help during the process of home buying.

Otherwise, it is necessary to use odor eliminators on the urine spot to get rid of pet dander and improver the indoor air quality. If your home is full of dog pee, we recommend a professional cleaning to rid your home from all the cat urine odors and dogs urine smells.

Humane societys have integrated dogs and cats as part of the family. But pet urine smell can become a problem and must be dealt with in a smart way. I hope you have enjoyed our tips to remove dog smells, and our home air quality guides to reduce the indoor air pollutants in your home.

Last Updated on 17/02/2024 by Karen Snow