Removing Pet odours in home

MaddyWaddy

Hi All,

I am hoping you can give me some tips. I have 2 dogs and a cat but I am aware that the house becomes very pet smelling (well my mum tells me it does)

We have recently forked out for new carpets throughout and I've been using shake and vac but going through one a week. I use flea powder too but not quite as often.

Anyone know of any cheaper alternatives?

Many Thanks
MaddyWaddy

Tiglath

Can you borrow or get hold of a Vax? That'd give you a deepclean wash every once in a while, on top of the shake & vac.

chaliepud

Not particularly moneysaving but I'm a big fan of scented candles (Partylite do the best ones, that actually keep smelling until they are gone). I have also discovered a company called Scentsy which sells plug in wax burners, they have hundreds of scented waxes to choose from and the bonus being that you can leave them switched on when you go out as they don't get very hot and can't start a fire like candles can.

Obviously the cheapest most moneysaving way to keep your house fresh is to open your doors and windows...when it's warm enough anyway!!!

babyshoes

I use bicarb in litter trays sometimes when I really need them to not smell bad. I suspect you could mix it with the shake & vac to stretch it, though it may be more difficult to suck up with the hoover as it is quite a fine powder. Vinegar is a good deodorising cleaner for hard surfaces such as litter trays.

Oil burners, air freshners and other scented products will help to cover the smell, but not remove it. I have a 'carpet freshner' which I use when the carpet is clean enough not to need hoovering, but would benefit from a nice smell when I am expecting guests - it can be overpowering though, so use it sparingly!

At the end of the day, pets do smell a bit - as long as you don't find it excessive I wouldn't worry too much. I have (neutered) ferrets and find their 'personal' smell is not offensive, but if I don't keep on top of cleaning the litter box and changing bedding often enough that's when the smell builds up. The same principle applies to most other pets - their normal smell isn't horrible, but a cat litter tray or wet dog smell can be nasty!

missrlr

If you have new carpets then the problem may be pet bedding I usually wash every week and make sure damp animals are left to dry on hard floors not carpets. Just a thought

suzeesu2000

Baking powder is brilliant as a carpet deodoriser, you don't have to waste your money on fancy stuff. Use baking powder to deodorise mattsses too, no wetting either.

Sprinkle liberally on the carpets and leave for a good 15 minutes at least then just hoover up. Also as it's not chemically enhanced with scent it won't cause any allergies or problems to your animals.

krlyr

Be careful with Shake n Vac, it can often cause adverse reactions in pets and then it's a nightmare to remove all traces from the carpet. Bicarbonate of soda/baking soda is a lot more natural and less likely to cause a problem, and works well as a deodouriser.
Another couple to use - vinegar or lemon juice. White vinegar smells a bit milder and shouldn't stain like malt might, but do patch-test any materials first. I kept a spray bottle with 50:50 lemon juice and water to mist of the curtains and sofa at our previous house (new house has blinds and a leather sofa) to freshen them up, lemon juice is a natural deodouriser.
You can also pop a shallow bowl of any of the above in a room to help deodourise.
Be careful with cleaning products that contain phenols as these can be toxic to pets, especially cats, and be careful with essential oils for the same reason.
Hoovering regularly, cleaning pet bedding (add a little bicarb to the wash to help with smells) or keeping spares to rotate (blankets on top of beds can help prevent you having to wash the whole thing so frequently - or consider a wipeable bed e.g. faux leather, or even something like the Tuffies range that can be hosed down) and giving the house a good airing (I like to fling both of the kitchen doors open for a while every weekend, regardless of weather, to air out downstairs where the dogs are)
Biological washing powder is also good for pet odours - especially little 'accidents' indoors as it breaks down the ammonia better than many household cleaners. Just be careful using a new detergent for washing pet bedding or soft furnishings that they lay on - dogs can have allergies to washing powders too!

Also, a non-cleaning related tip but look at your pets' diets. Food can play a huge role in pet odour, when I switched my dogs to raw feeding, many people commented on the lack of doggy smell. Cheaper foods can often give dogs a slightly musty smell, as well as a slightly greasy coat which can then leave residue on soft furnishings. An optimum diet and regular brushing with the appropriate brushes will keep their fur in good shape and reduce the smells and the amount of fur they shed.

katholicos

Funnily enough, today i noticed a decidedly doggy whiff and using a spray bottle, filled it two thirds full of water and drops from a few of my aromatherapy essential oils. Gave it a shake and then proceeded to spray the carpets, air, sofas etc. later today and it smells much better.

[Deleted User]

My DDs smallest dog lexi ( a mini Jack Russell)goes nuts scratching if she uses carpet deoderiser it seems to affect her skin so DD uses bicarb which seems to be OK, her bigger dog an alsatian has a longer coat so it doesn't seem to bother him but the little one with a very short coat she has to be careful as the poor little thing gets badly affected.These two are a hoot as Ollie (the older big do) is Lexi's bed as she snuggles down on top of his back to sleep :)

Lizbetty

Do be careful when using biological powder on carpets, it took the colour out of ours Worth spot testing just in case.

I have had No Vac foam for pet odours which is great on carpets - it dries and takes the smell away, but we do have to be careful as one of our dogs chews her paws which I think is to do with dust mites and she seems to be the allergic type, and so I prefer to use bicarb. I'm not sure where the cheapest place is to bulk buy bicarb though? It does seem quite expensive in the supermarket.

hermum

I also want to mention the shake & vac allergy problems a lot of animals suffer from, the plug in air fresheners can also affect pets.
Open the windows & doors as much & often as you can.
When I notice my dogs smell in the house, I clean the paintwork down, that masks it for a while.
Wash anything washable, suite covers,. cushions, throws & their beds as often as you can.

http://www.summernaturals.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=80

You can buy bulk bicarb from above, or google, lots of online places.
Or be like me, don't have people in the house, if they're easily offended. Anti social or what?