Pets bring such joy to our lives but unfortunately they also bring unavoidable odours, which are not such a joy to put up with! All pet's that live in the home, from cats and dogs to small furries, make awful smells from time to time, and over months this can become engrained in the carpet and furniture. One of the most difficult smells to get rid of is urine which often occurs when young puppies and kittens have accidents but may also be an issue when your pet gets older and loses bladder control. If your pet has urinated on the carpet then no matter how quickly you cleaned it up the smell will linger. In addition to this there are issues such as bad breath in dogs, shedding fur and the overall pet smell that you find in many pet owner's homes. Often it is guests that have to point out pet odours because over time people become used to the smells in their own house, not realising the true severity of it. Luckily there are ways to tackle this issue, but definitely the most effective method to having an odour free home is prevention.

Prevention

Whether it is preventing odour from occurring or preventing it from re-occurring, this is the best method for a long-term odour free home! Odours usually become engrained in soft furnishings and carpets, so with this in mind one of the best methods for keeping your house smelling of roses is to have flooring made from wood, tile or laminate as opposed to carpet. Carpet's soak up urine but also get covered with pet hair which will only add to the unwanted smells. As already mentioned, older and younger cats and dogs are prone to accidents. If an accident does occur on the carpet or soft furnishing, then it is important to act fast to prevent it from soaking in. Quickly get a cloth, towel or tissue paper and drop it onto the pool immediately, then remove it and use another to blot up as much of the liquid as possible. Special care must be taken to ensure your pet has plenty of opportunities to go to the toilet at regular intervals. This may mean letting your dog out twice as often or placing litter boxes in every room. Of course litter boxes and pet cages are often the worst offenders for giving your home an unpleasant smell. Currently there are some good odour limiting litters and pet bedding in the shops and on the internet that will reduce this problem. When emptying litter boxes and cleaning out cages and beddings you should make sure to use an anti-bacterial spray. It is worth spending a little extra on these products for their odour reducing qualities. It is now possible to buy litter trays for cats that are contained, self-cleaning and odour reducing.Bad breath can often be so appalling in dogs that it is difficult to be in the same room as them! This is almost always due to decaying teeth and gum disease, which can be prevented by feeding your dog dried food and occasional teeth cleaning bones, along with regular trips to the vets. If decay is already present then once the troublesome teeth have been removed and the rest cleaned by the vet then the smell will disappear. Cats and dogs often get up to all sorts whilst on walks or wanders and will pick up horrible smells as they go. Regular brushing, grooming and washing will keep this in check.

Removing Odours

It is all very well talking about prevention but if the odours have already taken over your house then it won't be much good to you! Firstly the odours must be removed and this can sometimes be quite difficult. Urine, for example, may not be removed from the carpet even by hiring a professional carpet cleaner! This is because if the urine was not cleaned up quickly enough when the accident occurred then it may have soaked beneath the carpet where the vacuums cannot reach. In this instance the only option is to have the carpet replaced, preferably with a easy-clean floor such as wood or laminate. If this is not within budget then hiring a professional carpet cleaner is the next best thing because this should remove most of the pet smells and pet hair in the carpet. There are some urine removal products such as Urine-Off which can be bought with detectors that show up exactly where the urine is and then you spray on some of the product to remove it. It is far more effective to get products that kill the bacteria causing the urine smell than products that simply cover it up, such as general carpet powers and stain removers that only cover the smell of urine for a short time. For a completely free solution use baking powder or bicarbonate of soda mixed with white vinegar for a temporary solution that is reasonably effective. Apply the mixture to the smelly area, leave it to dry and then hoover it up.Although all of these methods will have some effect the problem will keep reoccurring unless you implement preventative measures to stop the odours returning for good. This means implementing a grooming routine and taking your pet to the vets regularly to ensure that health problems are not causing the odour.