A clean carpet contributes to better air quality around the house. Thus, you should keep your carpet cleaned every time. Regular vacuuming will apply with occasional deep /professional cleaning. However, the frequency of wash will change if you happen to have pets or small children in the house.

So, how often should you clean the carpet if you have pets? If you have pets in the house, it is recommended that you steam- clean the carpets at least after 4 to 6 weeks. This, you can do by yourself. However, the carpet will still need professional deep cleaning at least 3 to 4 times per year. Apart from this, you will need to vacuum it daily, or at least 3 times a week.

In this article, we delve deeper into carpet cleaning with pets around, and other related questions. Keep reading for more insight.

How and When To Clean the Carpet If You Have Pets

As we have seen, a carpet that accommodates pets will accumulate more dirt at a high rate. Thus, it will need regular cleaning to maintain a clean environment in the house.

Below is how you should go about the cleaning process.

• Vacuuming

You should ensure vacuuming your carpet at least 3 times a week. It will help remove debris, pet fur, dander, and debris from the surface of the carpet. Normally, we would recommend daily vacuuming, but this would shorten the lifespan of your carpet. However, if you have any family member with any serious allergies, you may not evade daily vacuuming, especially if you own pets.

• Stain/Odor Removal

If your carpet retains certain stains or odors from pet accidents such as urine, you have to deal with them immediately. For stains, you may use your regular detergent mixed in water to blot out the stain. Be careful not to use bleach or any product that may cause discoloration or fading on your carpet.

For the odors, the baking soda trick will do. All you will do is identify the smelly spot, apply some baking soda on it, and let it sit overnight or for 24 hours. You will then remove the residue by vacuuming.

For stains and odors, you have to deal with them immediately; otherwise, the stain may become irreversible, and would you tolerate the smell of urine on your carpet for a week or until the next deep cleaning session? I bet not.

• Deep Cleaning/ Steam Cleaning

Still on the issue of pets, make a habit of steam cleaning the carpet after 4 to six weeks. This will be very helpful especially if you have some family members with allergies. Steam cleaning monthly will be great at removing any dirt that vacuuming cannot remove.

Deep cleaning will be necessary 3 to 4 times a year. Here, you can call in a professional carpet cleaning company to ensure the carpet is cleaned thoroughly so that you have a fresh start with your carpet.

What Dirt Do Pets Put On The Carpet?

When you have pets running around in your house, expect your carpet to get dirty faster than a carpet in a house without any pets.

Below is some of the dirt bound to accumulate in your carpet if you have pets.

• Dirt from outside– if your pet goes outside, it will track in dirt because a pet is not a human to go outside with shoes and leave them at the door when getting in. And even if your pet is always locked inside, it can still step on indoor dirt like spilled milk and spread it all over your carpet. Thus, with a pet, expect dirt such as mud on your carpet.
• Debris collected from the yard– if your pet goes outside, its fur can trap debris such as grass, twigs, and even mulch from the yard. Once it gets back in and lies down on the carpet, the debris will fall on the carpet.
• Shedding of air– if you own a cat or a dog, then you know that these pets do shed their fur from time to time. Again, this means that your carpet will be full of hairs.
• Dander/skin cells– animals do shed their skin cells. With time, the pet dander will accumulate on the carpet and even bring about allergies.
• Fluids and oils– your pet may get into the habit of curling up in a specific spot. That spot will be prone to the oils secreted from the pet’s skin. Additionally, your pet may get sick and accidentally urinate or even vomit on the carpet.

Judging from the above, if you own a pet, your carpet cleaning routine has to change because your carpet will be accumulating more dirt faster than those households without pets.

How to Take Care of Pets to Minimize Pet Dirt on the Carpet

While regular cleaning of the caret is advised, pet owners can observe certain practices to minimize carpet dirt brought about by pets.

Consider the practices below.

• Whenever your pets step outside, make it a habit to wipe their paws right before they step into the house. While at it, inspect the fur to ensure they don’t carry in debris from the yard.
• Practice regular grooming of the pet. Grooming here involved bushing the fur to get rid of any hair about to be shed, and giving it regular baths to get rid of dander and excess oils from the hair and skin. Also, remember to keep the claws trimmed so that they don’t tear your carpet and upholstery as they play around.
• You can avoid accidental dirt such as urine, vomit and poop by keeping your pet healthy and potty training it early.
• You could consider using an area rug on areas with high traffic. Ensure that the pet spends most of the time on the area rug.
• If your pet keeps messing around, then you can consider confining it to one place. This could be a room without a carpet. You do not have to confine them permanently; you can decide to lock them up only when you are away.

How Do Carpets Impact Air Quality

Dirty or poorly maintained carpets will lower the quality of air around the house. In fact, if you fail to clean your carpet regularly, the air quality inside the house can even be worse than the air quality outdoors.

Unclean carpets can bring about health issues, given the mixture of smog and allergens present in the air. Especially if you are sensitive or if you have certain allergies, you can start by improving air quality in the house by keeping your carpet clean.

See Also: Do Air Purifiers Remove Pet Hair?

Related Questions

Is it bad to clean your carpets often?

Certain factors determine the frequency of cleaning carpets. For instance, if you have pets and kids, the carpets will get dirty more quickly, calling for more regular cleaning. However, in the absence of kids and pets, you can stretch out the cleaning intervals. Professional cleaning will extend your carpet’s lifespan. However, if you clean it with the wrong methods, you will be shortening its lifespan.

Which is the best way to clean carpets?

The best carpet cleaning method is steam cleaning, which will remove over 90% of engraved dirt. Dry cleaning will also do if you want the carpet back in use quickly.

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