You love your animals, but you don’t relish their tell-tale scents. Luckily, there are ways you can keep your home smelling fresh without giving your furry friends the boot. Before lingering pet odors set into your home and belongings, learn how to remove pet odors and keep them at bay with these tips.
6 Steps to an Odor-Free Home
- Suck it up.
Begin with a thorough vacuum of the area to remove pet hair and dander. - Sprinkle on a little “magic” dust.
Baking soda packs an awesome odor-absorbing punch and is free of VOC-laden perfumes and chemicals that are bad for your health. Sprinkle some onto your carpets after a thorough vacuum. Let it sit for a few hours, then vacuum it up, repeating whenever odors start to reappear. - Toss it in the wash.
Area rugs, throw blankets, and machine-washable draperies and linens are easily deodorized in the washer. Start by adding a 1-lb box of baking soda to your regular detergent, air-drying items in the sun when possible. If you can still smell pet odors, rewash with an enzymatic cleaner. - Seek and destroy surface odors.
Vinegar and essential oils offer an environmentally safe and effective way of cleaning and deodorizing surfaces in your home. Safe for use around kids and pets, simply fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, adding 10-20 drops of essential oil. Then, use the solution to spray and wipe down any hard surfaces in your home. As pets are more sensitive to essential oils than humans, never use them undiluted, and never allow animals to ingest the oils. If you are diffusing the oils instead of chemical air fresheners, use only a few drops, and don’t diffuse them for an extended time, researching the most appropriate oils for your species. Popular anti-bacterial essential oils for pet odors include:
- Lavender
- Eucalyptus
- Tea Tree
- Lemongrass
- Lemon
- Peppermint
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Investigate old messes.
If the cleaning methods above don’t seem to be tackling pet odor issues, you may have overlooked an older pet accident. Black lights are a great way to identify dried-soiled areas. (Your nose will confirm.) Once hidden messes have been found, proper cleaning will lead to success in removing pet odors. In the case of carpets, upholstery, and other non-machine-washable fabrics where biological matter has dried in, professional cleaning is recommended. Common errors can cause pet odors to permanently set, and increase the risk of permanent damage. - Obliterate odors with ozone.
If odors refuse to leave, an ozone machine might just do the trick. Cost-effective and safe, ozone generators disinfect and deodorize without the need for irritating chemicals. Unlike stable oxygen molecules containing 2 oxygen atoms, ozone is composed of 3 atoms. The third easily detaches/attaches to substances, altering their chemistry. Ozone machines are available for purchase or rent, or you can pay a service to tackle the task for you. Ozone treatment takes anywhere from 1-12+ hours depending on the size of the area. Many opt for a service, as ozone machines are not operable when your home is occupied by people, animals, or plants. Services can also provide fans and ventilation equipment necessary to assist ozone treatment, ensuring every crack and crevice is reached and the building is properly aired out to decrease exposure to ozone, boosting its conversion back to oxygen.
Is home starting to smell like a zoo? The IICRC-certified experts at Rainbow Restoration® are equipped to handle the smells of man or beast. To get started with carpet and upholstery cleaning for your home or to learn more, request an appointment online or call us today.
