Dogs don’t sweat, so how can they smell? And even more importantly, how do they stink up your house so badly?
Oils on their skin, bacteria in their ears, scents from their anal gland, and leftovers in their teeth all contribute to the distinct smell of your dog. These are factors that never go away, even with an occasional bath.
The question remains of how to get rid of dog smell in your home — especially when they naturally produce the scent of a dog all the time.
To get rid of dog smell in your house, start with regular cleaning to keep the smell to a minimum. You can also hire local house cleaning service to come in and do an entire deep clean of everything, including floors, walls, and furniture to make your home sparkling and shiny again.
If you don’t want to spend money on deep-cleaning services, you can try these tips to keep the dog smell contained to your furry friend as much as possible.
1. Start With a Bath
Beginning with the source of the smell — your pet — will eliminate loose hairs and give you a fresh start before cleaning. Put your dog outside if it is a nice day to keep the wet-dog smell from further infecting your home.
Your dog can dry and sanitise in the sun while you get to work. With Fido out of the way, you can start by cleaning the dog’s things.
2. Gather Your Dog’s Belongings
It’s time to disinfect everything your dog loves if you want to eliminate dog odour. Their bowls, toys, blankets, and even leashes can be cleaned to remove bacteria and dander.
By removing these items first, you can make sure that more odour doesn’t get released into the air while you are cleaning everything else.
You can throw fabrics in the washer and clean hard objects like bowls with a non-toxic cleaner. Set everything outside once it is clean to free up some space for more cleaning.
3. Get Washing
Fabrics hold smells more than anything. Grab any fabric that is washable and detachable like couch covers, pillowcases, curtains, sheets, and even clothes. Toss them in the washer once your dog’s belongings are finished.
Wait to put the fabrics back until you are done cleaning to avoid re-contamination.
4. Sweep the Floors
The most effective way to get rid of dog odour in your house begins with hair. Hair can carry dander, dirt, and oils that spread throughout your house.
So before you go crazy with the vacuum cleaner, get excess hair up with a broom. This will limit the number of times you will need to empty your vacuum, as well as keep large clumps of hair from blowing around.
Sometimes vacuuming can miss the messiest spots and blow them under the furniture. Sweeping is much more efficient for very hairy dogs.
5. Get Out the Mop
Put the vacuum on hold once again, because mopping gets even more dirt and leftover hairs. Hard surfaces may contain invisible paw prints and grime from your dog’s romp in the park.
Mopping also disinfects to really eliminate bacteria-causing smells.
Open the windows after you mop to quickly dry the floor, release the odours, and let in some fresh air.
6. Vacuum Time
Now that the floors are clean, how to get dog smell out of the carpet? A good vacuum cleaner is a necessity when you have a pet (and carpet).
Make sure the suction is unclogged, the container is empty, and the bristles are on the lowest setting. Then start your engines and don’t miss a spot.
Go over areas where the dog tends to sleep and play several times. And don’t forget under the furniture, over shelves, and on top of lampshades. You can use an attachment to vacuum furniture that cannot be washed.
7. Use an Air Purifier
Sometimes bacteria and bad odour just linger in the air. Wondering how to get rid of dog odour completely and continuously? Get a high-quality air purifier.
This will pull dander and even hair directly from the air before it latches onto floors and furniture. It’s especially great if you or friends and family have allergies to dogs.
An alternative to air purifiers is house plants that naturally filter the air. But, you can’t rely on plants to suck up dog hair.
8. Do a Black Light Test
When your pet is home alone, there is no telling when and where they may have used your carpet for a bathroom or waste bin.
A blacklight can show trouble areas that may need professional cleaning. Steam cleaning these areas can get urine or throw-up that has set into the fibres of carpets and rugs.
You can even check the furniture to see how to get dog smell out of the couch. Couches can be steam cleaned as well.
But, if you have an old couch covered in spots, then it might be time to get a new one. And this time, use a couch cover.
9. Paint with Odour Sealer
If you find that your pup lifted his leg onto your walls, then an odour-sealing paint will at least remove the smell.
Your only other option would be to replace the drywall, which can get costly and be a lot of work.
10. Add Some Fragrance
Once you’ve done all that you can do and your house is super clean, add a fresh scent to finish.
All-natural candles or incense can cover any lingering smells, especially once you let your dried pooch back into your clean house.
But How to Get Rid of Dog Smell When You Don’t Have Time to Clean?
Keeping up with your dog’s mess and odour is a big job to tackle if you have a busy life, as most people do.
Cleaning occasionally for special events is fine, but how to get rid of dog smell in between?
You can book a weekly cleaning with us to keep your house smelling dog-free all the time.
