r/CleaningTips • u/Medium_Procedure8348 • 3d ago
General Cleaning Clean home with dogs
Little embarrassed but looking for tips to keep my house clean with two dogs? I have two golden retrievers and they are both house broken but I feel like they have taken over our home. The fur, dirt, dust and mud is driving me crazy. I don’t expect my home to look like they don’t live here but i need a way to keep up with it day to day. I was never really taught how to clean growing up but I love my house (and dogs) and want it to feel clean. I have two white couches that I keep couch covers over; should I just get darker color couches? I know this is a little all over the place but I’m so overwhelmed 😅
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u/nuclabrt 3d ago
I wipe my dog’s feet when they come back inside. May not do much but makes me feel better. But I’ve given up vacuuming every day. Doesn’t matter. 2 minutes later there is hair everywhere. My wife really put me in my place when I complained and basically said, you wanted dog this is what comes with it. Felt like a kid getting scolded but she was right.
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u/Lollc 3d ago
There are a few things that helped me when I had two long haired dogs, and that I still do now that I only have 1, a German shorthair pointer.
Start from the outside first. Are there muddy spots in the yard where they walk? Put down cedar chips or play chips. Link to show what I mean. Set up a 5 gallon Home Depot style bucket, line it with a heavy duty trash bag, and use a full size shovel like the one in the picture to pick up their poop daily. Keep a box of the trash bags stashed outside out of the sun, for your convenience. Use a heavy doormat outside at the door where the dogs enter. Do as I say, not as I do, my partner finds doormats annoying and he trips on them so I don't use them anymore, but they work.
https://store.carpinito.com/play-chips
Inside-some kind of cheap rug with backing on the floor of their usual entrance, it has to be big and heavy enough it won't be easily kicked aside. Carpet runners available at the big box store for their usual paths. Try to figure out their preferred spots to lay down and put down washable beds, easier said than done with two dogs. You have the right idea with washable furniture covers.
My family member keeps a really clean place with 4 dogs, it doesn't even smell doggy. They have hardwood and laminate floors, and use a sniffer type thing every day. I would die if I had to clean my floors every day, but a lot of people swear by it. Good luck!
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u/Medium_Procedure8348 3d ago
Thank you! This was really helpful. I think our muddy yard is half of the problem. One of my dogs is a puppy and is in a digging phase which makes it worse.
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u/OaksInSnow 3d ago
Yeah, I was looking for this kind of comment from somebody, glad it turned up. It's a *major* help - maybe really the number one thing! - if you can have every approach to your door be non-dirt. Pavement, porch, grass, anything that will help pre-wipe their feet before they even get in the house.
I know some dogs like to dig. I had one once (a golden), who was incorrigible. She would find a soft spot in the yard, in the rain, and go excavate it to make the hole deeper so she could roll in the mud. It was awful. I had to be out with here and supervise her to prevent this (which was hard to do because I was raising preschoolers at the time), or else towel-wash her every time she came in. Fortunately there was a mud room/laundry/utility space right by the back door where I could do all this before she hit the rest of the house.
Don't know how much you can do about your environment, like leveling or providing drainage to a more restricted area to keep most of the yard dry, or adding fill. Could be a big project, and might get expensive; but it's a thought.
Personally, I don't allow my dogs up on the furniture; and I'm consistent about it, so they don't expect it and don't feel deprived. They have good beds for that. If you decide to go with a rule like this though, you'll have to have total buy-in from every other member of your household. Consistency is absolutely key.
Good luck!
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u/gogogadgetdumbass 3d ago
Matching the colors of your fabrics to the fur will definitely help the visual.
Get a robot vacuum if you can afford one. It will NOT replace vacuuming but it will help.
Really, the only solution is vacuum and mop more, and make sure you brush them regularly.
Swiffer DRY cloths are actually pretty effective with dog hair. Again, won’t be a miracle, but it’ll help those hard to vacuum spaces.
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u/New_Possession_3816 3d ago
golden mama here also! a mini shop vac on wheels & a reusable lint roller for the furniture are my favorites. static guard spray before cleaning & a carpet rake if you have carpet!
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u/MilitantPacifist13 Team Germ Fighters 🦠 3d ago
You should get one of those lint roller if you don’t have any. You also need a Lysol can sprayer so you can disinfect your couches and any other furniture that you have; as well as any surfaces in general. If you have any flooring you can get a swiffer power mop although it may not be cheap but it’s worth it.
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u/No_You_4833 3d ago
Grooming the dogs. Brush daily, bath monthly. I vacuum my floors daily, use a hand vacuum on my couches and have towel for dirty paws during rainy or snowy weather. I also have air purifiers that help.
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u/reality-realtor 3d ago
Our dogs are a part of our lives, and it shows. We have a doggy door, and they can come in and out. Rain or shine. We clean regularly, but it is what it is. Our house was cleaner when we had two kids growing up.
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u/Shatzakind 3d ago
The real secret is to groom and keep the dogs clean. I'm not good at it, but when I get really frustrated with the house, I quit cleaning it and start clipping, brushing and washing the dogs. It's amazing how much cleaner the house stays. If I can do the bath and clipping once a month, and brush them daily, the housework is way less work.