Home Cleaning Checklist For Pet Owners

No matter how much you love your pets, you can’t deny they’re messy, and that’s okay. After all, they don’t have the instinct or ability to clean up after themselves like people do. That’s why you must keep up with a regular home cleaning checklist if you’re a pet owner. 

Each week, you must remove your bedding, wash it, and clean your mattress with a pet hair removal tool. Pet owners must also routinely mop and vacuum their floors to remove stains and pet hair. It’s also important to replace your air filter every 90 days, as it can quickly become clogged with pet hair. 

Otherwise, pet hair and dust will settle on your countertops, furniture, floors, and surfaces in your home. Always clean up accidents as soon as possible, or else stains will settle in and make your home smell bad. Follow along as we explore 10 important home cleaning tips for pet owners. 

Home Cleaning Tips For Pet Owners

1. Wash Your Bedding

Do you let your pets sleep or spend time on your bed? If so, then your bedding is likely full of loose hair and oil that your pets excrete through their skin. There is nothing wrong with that, that is, unless you wait too long to wash your bedding. 

Ideally, you should wash your bedding weekly, whether you have pets or not. It’s a great idea to keep an extra set of sheets, blankets, and pillowcases around. That way, you never have to worry about leaving your bed exposed without sheets.  

This should be at the top of your home cleaning checklist if you have pets that lay in bed with you. Otherwise, you may have to deal with itchy skin, stains, and messy clothing because pet hair constantly gets stuck to your bedding. 

2. Mop And Vacuum

Whether you have dogs or cats, your pets will make your floors messy over time. For example, dogs track dirt, mud, and fallen leaves into houses all the time. Cats walk in and out of their dirty litter boxes throughout the day and track germs all over your home. 

This can make a huge mess, whether you have carpets or hardwood floors. It may be a hassle, but as a pet owner, it’s worth mopping and vacuuming your floors weekly. You may even have to use a shop vac if your cats drag litter through your carpet. 

It’s also worth investing in a small, handheld vacuum to remove scattered litter as needed. This also makes managing loose pet hair much easier. 

3. Replace Your Air Filter

Air filters take the brunt of the dirt, dust, debris, and pet hair that goes through a home’s HVAC system. They often get dirty and clogged in as little as 90 days, but it varies between homes and HVAC systems. However, loose pet hair can take a big toll on air filters, as it can clog them relatively quickly. 

Inspect your air filter monthly to see what shape it’s in, and replace it at least every 90 days. Routine inspections are essential, as they can reveal how quickly your filter gets clogged. Once clogged, dirt, dust, and debris will spread throughout your home.

The last thing you want is for dust to settle on your counters and tables because your pet’s hair has clogged the air filter. Replacing your filter will improve the air quality, prevent messes, and even help protect your air conditioner. 

4. Clean Their Dishes

Most pet owners set out dishes full of food and water for their pets. Naturally, these dishes can get dirty quickly, as animals don’t think about keeping their dishes clean. You should never let a water dish get to the point where it’s cloudy and hard to see through.

That means it’s well beyond the point that you should have cleaned it. It’s a great idea to clean your pet’s dishes daily for sanitary and aesthetic purposes alike. This is good for their health and will simply make the dishes look better than they otherwise would. 

5. Wash Sliding Glass Doors

Does your home have sliding glass doors? If so, there’s a chance that your dogs anxiously wait outside of them before going to play and relieve themselves. There’s also a chance that your dogs drool on the glass and even lick it. 

If so, it won’t be too long before your sliding glass doors get quite messy. Get in the habit of cleaning your sliding glass doors weekly to remove saliva and pet-related stains. 

6. Remove Loose Hair

Unless you have hairless dogs and cats, your home is likely covered in loose hair. Dogs and cats shed hair when you pet them and when they groom themselves. While vacuuming can help alleviate the problem, that’s not enough to keep your house clean. 

Today, you can easily find pet hair removal tools to stay on top of your pets’ shedding habits. Take a few minutes every day or two to remove pet hair from your steps, decorations, and furniture. Pay attention to the corners of each room in your house, as they often trap lots of pet hair. 

Check your tables, countertops, and the space beneath your furniture as well. Some people forget to brush hair off the back of the furniture, especially when it’s pushed against a wall. However, the back of your furniture and even the sides of your refrigerator can get caked in hair. 

7. Wash Their Toys

If there’s one thing your pets probably love, it’s their toys. They love you as well, of course, but your pets likely spend a lot of time biting, scratching, and playing with their toys. It doesn’t take long for pet toys to get dirty. 

The pet hair, saliva, and stains that stick to toys can quickly become gross. Your pets can inadvertently spread the mess throughout your house when they drag their dirty toys around.

You can prevent this problem if you clean your pet’s toys at least a few times per month. This will stop saliva and dirt from spreading, and it will also sanitize the toys. 

8. Clean The Cage

Many pet owners keep their pets in cages overnight to prevent them from getting into trouble as they sleep. However, some pet owners mistakenly forget to clean their pets’ cages because they don’t think of them the same way as their furniture. This is a mistake,as dog cages can quickly get full of saliva, pet hair, and stains they drag in from outside. 

You can do yourself and your dog a favor if you clean the cage twice per month. Some pet owners clean their dogs’ cages weekly, and that’s even better. 

9. Groom Your Pets

Grooming your pets is just as much about cleaning your home as it is about cleaning them. Unkempt, overgrown hair can quickly cause a nuisance throughout your home. The longer you go without grooming your pets, the worse the mess will become. 

Dogs and cats naturally shed, but you can stay on top of it if you brush their hair a few times per week. A daily brushing is most effective, but it’s okay if you don’t have time to do that. It’s also worth taking your pets to a professional groomer every 4 to 6 weeks.

They have the skill, experience, and tools to thoroughly groom your pets. Not only will they look and feel great afterwards, but they will also smell great. That alone is worth it if you’ve ever smelled a dog that’s gone months or even years without grooming. 

10. Empty And Clean Your Litter Boxes

Many people know and hate the smell of a home with litter boxes that smell foul. Whether you have a self-cleaning litter box or a standard box, you must clean it regularly. Dump and replace the litter in the boxes at least once per week to reduce the odor. 

However, you must clean the boxes monthly, or else the urine smell will persist even if you put fresh litter in. Each month, empty your litter boxes and thoroughly wash them with soap and water. Some people even use white vinegar to remove stubborn odors. 

Spray the box with water, turn it upside down, and let it drain. Let the box dry in the sun or use towels if you’re on a tight deadline. Refill the box with fresh litter and repeat this process each month. 

Summing It Up

Wash your bedding, mop your floors, and vacuum your carpets weekly if you’re a pet owner. You must also clean your pet’s food and water dishes daily, and clean your litter boxes weekly. Use a pet hair removal tool to remove stubborn pet hair from tricky spots, like the corners of rooms. 

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• Why Is My Self-Cleaning Litter Box Not Working?
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