Removing Dog Odors from Your Home

We love our dogs, but sometimes we don’t love smelling them everywhere. Our homes can become full of their hair, slobber, and dander, which means that our entire homes can end up smelling like our dogs. This can make us smell like our dogs even after leaving our homes, which is not exactly what we want our co-workers and the general public to think we smell like. So what can we do about getting dog odors out of our home? Read on to learn some tips for removing dog odors from your home.

Sweep and Mop

Much of the hair and dander that your dog releases into your home is loosely hanging out on your floors and hard surfaces. Hair, dander, and dust particles are extremely light, so you may not even see them yourself. Sweeping and mopping may not seem to make a huge difference in your home’s cleanliness and smell, but it’s the first step in reducing the dog smell. Sweep gently so as not to further spread the lightweight particles around the floor. A mop or Swiffer run will provide the finishing touches and leave your floors smelling and looking extra clean.

Steam Clean Your Carpets

Once you’ve vacuumed and gotten all the dry dust and dander off of your carpets, we recommend steam cleaning your carpets. Steam cleaning will remove odors that have become trapped in your carpets. Because of the texture and fibrous nature of carpet, it can very easily trap odors. This means that a lot of the dog smell in your home comes from the smells trapped in the carpet fibers. You can either steam clean your carpets yourself or call a carpet-cleaning service to steam them for you. Make sure to use pet-friendly carpet cleaners and keep your pet out of the home when you’re cleaning the carpets.

Wash Your Dog’s Bed

Your dog’s bed is probably the smelliest item in your home, because that’s the surface that they spend the most time on. Dog beds usually have washable covers, so all you need to do is take the cover off and run it through the washing machine. The core of the bed shouldn’t have too many stains or odors, but if it does, you’ll need to either wash the core as well or replace the bed. You could also treat the cover with a dog-friendly stain repellant to prevent stains from settling in so easily.

Change Your Home’s Air Filters

If the smell becomes unbearable, we recommend airing out your home and then considering replacing the air filters. Clogged air filters can make heating and cooling systems work inefficiently and can reduce the amount of air-flow through your home. Changing air filters isn’t as difficult as it sounds, so if it seems like you’re having problems with the airflow in your home, consider going to the hardware store and giving the repair a shot.

At the end of the day, your dog is a part of your family, and if that means dealing with a little dog smell in the home, then so be it. These tips should help minimize the smell in your home, but remember that your dog’s smell is a natural part of them!