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Nathalie Sari - Tiertraining & Verhaltensberatung

This article was written by TOBALIE in cooperation with Nathalie Sari - Tiertraining & Verhaltensberatung

A clean home provides well-being for humans and animals. Admittedly, just because you don’t wipe dust or scrub the floors every day doesn’t make you a litterbug. You don’t have to be a clean freak to run a hygienic household. The tendency to over-hygiene can also be unhealthy in the long run. Nevertheless, you should pay attention to a certain level of hygiene besides from spring cleaning, especially if you live in a shared household with animals.

Cleanliness without chemicals

Floors and furniture should always be maintained with natural cleaning products wherever possible. There are enough helpful alternatives to chemical cleaners. Dogs and cats may lick the floor or lick their paws after walking on the freshly wiped floor. Some cleaners can cause serious health problems or, if taken, even death. If you do use such products, always wash with sufficient water and take special care that your pet does not come into contact with the harmful substances and vapors.

A clean home is a happy home

With a few simple hygiene measures, your household will become an oasis of well-being for you and your four-legged treasure.

  • Remove hair regularly: Dog and cat hair on furniture and floors can be very annoying. Especially the barbs of certain breeds of dogs and cats get stuck in upholstered furniture and textiles. So-called lint rollers help you to remove the hair from your clothes, for upholstered furniture covers are helpful. The floors should also be vacuumed or wiped about once or twice a week. Brushing your furry darling regularly will also help prevent dirt. If you have an allergy, the cleaning should be done by other family members or helpers.
  • Removing food leftovers: If your treasure spills a little of his chow while eating, spreads his menu across the floor or plays rather more with his water than drinking it, let him have fun. Nevertheless, you should remove the food leftovers afterwards, because it tastes better from a clean place to eat. After all, in a restaurant you wouldn’t like to see the leftovers of a previous meal on the tablecloth either. In this way you also avoid the accumulation of germs that can lead to health problems.
  • Cleaning bowls: Just as unappetizing for animals are dirty bowls with old, dried up food and bowls with stale water. Bowls should be cleaned daily. Use natural detergents and always provide your pet with fresh water.
  • Clean the cat litter box: Cats are very clean animals and pay special attention to clean toilets. Therefore, you should change the litter every few days and clean it from lumps every now and then so that your sweetheart feels comfortable and doesn’t make mistakes in protest or even look for a new place in your apartment for the big or small business.
  • To dust: The fight against house dust is a particularly important aspect of hygiene in the household. Especially electronic devices magically attract dust. Anyone who regularly dusts all smooth surfaces and uses the vacuum cleaner regularly will make life more difficult for dust mites. Here too, special attention must be paid to allergies.
  • Clean covers: Textiles that are shared by humans and animals (e.g. couch, seat upholstery) should be cleaned at regular intervals. And your four-legged friend’s favorite cuddly blanket should also be put in the washing machine from time to time.
  • Avoid the formation of odors: Don’t let your wastebin brim over before you throw it away. Organic waste in particular causes strong odors that might also bother your animal roommates. The same applies to the dishes as well as to the loo.
  • Drying paws: If your fur nose has rolled around in the mud outside or frolicked in the wet leaves, dry his paws well before he is allowed to walk through the apartment again.

Which cleaning products are suitable?

Make sure to use cleaning products that are suitable for animals. Most of the common cleaning products are poisonous for our animals. Advice such as “Keep out of the reach of children” points to chemicals. Especially ingredients like chlorine, bleach, ammonia and benzalkonium chloride are dangerous.

Natural alternatives:

  • Soda: This natural scouring agent is effective against limescale deposits and can also work wonders as an oven cleaner or can be used for clogged drains when combined with vinegar.
  • Vinegar: Has an antibacterial effect and can be used in many ways. Vinegar also works very well against unpleasant odors.
  • Curd soap: Can be used for stains on textiles, but should be removed well afterwards.

Symptoms of poisoning

Depending on the amount and type of poison ingested, the symptoms may be as follows:

  • Salivation
  • Vomiting
  • Tremble
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Apathy
  • Gluttony
  • Irritations of the skin

In case of emergency remove the cleaning agent residues as quickly as possible from the animal (rinse with lukewarm water). Take the cleaning product with you and make your way to the vet.

Hund staubsauger

Summary

Proper hygiene in the household is an important issue for pet owners and should not be underestimated. With a few simple steps you can create a comfortable home for you and your pet, where you both feel completely comfortable. A clean home is not only more beautiful, but above all serves our health. Even if you are one of the lucky people who have a cleaning assistant, there are a few things you should do every day. The effort remains manageable and your four-legged partners will also be grateful to you.