Removing pet stains from hardwood floors doesn’t have to be a pain, nor does getting rid of dog smell and pet odors from your house!
I was born without the ability to smell.
It isn’t something I think about very often. I’ve never known life with the ability, so I don’t know what I’m missing.
I do get sad if I think about it too much…especially as a mother because I have no clue how sweet my babies smell.
But on a typical day, it’s something I never give a thought about.
I know many people are quick to tell me how “lucky I am” but I promise you, I am not lucky to be missing out on the smells of the world…even the bad ones.
A big downside of not being able to smell the bad smells is I can’t tell when my own breath is bad. I can’t sneak a fart b/c I have no clue if it stinks or not.
My dogs have taken advantage of this.
When we first got Levi I worked my butt off crate training him.
He is very well trained!
However, add in some kids and a new house and he is a totally different dog.
I know Chihuahuas are prone to being possessive and I believe he acts out to get attention because he’s not the “baby” anymore.
Anyways. Ever since we’ve lived here he’s gotten worse and worse.
Barking like crazy. Getting into the trash. Basically being annoying all the time.
His biggest annoyance has been doing his business in our dining room.
It is the only area of our home with wood floors (like legit wood…not the laminate stuff) and it confuses me as to why he’d choose wood flooring?
At first, I wasn’t too worried about it and even though it was a better problem than it would have been if he had chosen the carpet: WRONG.
I started researching and found out that dog urine ruins wood floors.
I’m talking have to rip it all out type ruining. This is our forever home. I want to treat it that way!
Over the winter break, I decided enough was enough. We made some changes!
First step: prevent the problem. It’s hard in our busy days to remember to let the dog outside since he doesn’t ask anymore to go out.
I know the “simple” solution would be to be more mindful of putting him out…but I know that isn’t something we’ll stick to. So I moved the food and water bowls outside.
This way, the dogs ask to go out more often.
Since there is no way to keep Levi out of the dining room, we are keeping him outside more often.
So far it’s working well! He appreciates being allowed in more than he did before and the dining room is in much better shape!
Plus it may help him lose a little bit of weight that he’s gained from a house with children who drop food 😉
We all love our furry friends, but let’s face it: between pet hair, smelly dog odors, and household accidents, it can really take a toll on your home, on both carpets and hard surfaces! But thankfully, there are easy, effective ways to remove unpleasant pet odor and get that fresh home smell back!
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The Best Way to Get Rid of Dog Smell: Hardwood Floors
If you have hardwood floors and you also have a dog who has his way with that room…here is how you get the pet smell and stain OUT!
It worked for me and was tough for me to find so I wanted to share it.
Not only for yall but also for myself just in case down the road we deal with this again.
Here is what you’ll need:
- LOTS of paper towels (I think I used three rolls)
- Baking Soda (I used three boxes)
- Hydrogen Peroxide (I used two bottles)
- Spray bottle (we had a beast of a time finding one that worked!)
- Pee-Pee Super Stain and Odor Remover (We did NOT end up using it on the floors…but did on our rug in that room…)
Since we had a chill week over Christmas break THIS was my project.
Last year my project was setting up my new computer and this year it was getting the dog pee out of my floors.
Yes, I preferred the new computer 🙂
Here are the steps to get the floors back to new!
1) Cover the ENTIRE floor (if your whole floor has been affected like ours…or you could just cover the stained or smelly area) with paper towels.
2) Fill the spray bottle with the hydrogen peroxide and spray the paper towels.
You need to wait several hours.
So I sprayed mine down in the morning time and then checked the paper towels every hour.
If they start to dry, spray them again.
I pretty much did another round of spray every hour that I checked.
3) After 4-6 hours of the wet paper towels on the floor…check for dryness and once dry remove them.
4) Cover the entire area with baking soda. Yes. The entire thing!
While we waited we made a fort under the dining room table 🙂
5) After an hour clean up the baking soda.
If you still notice stains, pour more and let that sit for an additional 30 min.
I didn’t need to do that step, thankfully!
How it looked after an hour
Cleaning it up was easier said than done haha.
I don’t own an old school mop!
So I swept it all up over and over and over again. This is still how it looked after a lot of sweeping:
I called Mrs. Charlotte, my mother in law, because she was coming to town that day and I thought I could borrow a mop from her but she didn’t have one either!
She suggested a good ole bucket of water and rags.
So that’s the route I took!
I’d do a session of hand mopping, wait for it to dry, and do it again.
The kids were HUGE helpers during it all. Kye helped lay out all the paper towels, helped clean them up, and they both helped mop up the floor.
With the table out of the room our prize for clean floors was building the biggest train track we could 🙂
It was a full day worth of work but it was SO worth it.
Our floors are like NEW!!!
No more smell and no more worries about being embarrassed if someone else smells it!
Plus they look amazing 🙂
When I bought our dining room rug I got an outdoor one for easy cleaning.
Zach took it outside and hosed it off and legit the water was just running yellow.
So, SO gross.
Thankful we don’t use that room often!!!
Once he got it good and clean we let it dry outside and then covered it in the pee-pee stain and odor remover stuff.
Fresh smelling dining room has arrived!!!
Crossing fingers that Levi continues on this path of good behavior so we won’t have to deal with this again!!!
And I’m thankful to have a great way to have some spotless wood floors!!!
How to Get Rid of Dog Smell From Carpet and Upholstery
The ability to get pet stains out of hardwood floors is a great blessing, but as pet owners, especially dog owners, we know that hard surfaces aren’t the only problem areas for odors and stains.
The biggest and easiest way to prevent dog smell (not to mention dog hair) is to vacuum everything on a regular basis! If your dog sheds a lot, investing in a good pet-oriented vacuum cleaner. This is one of the best vacuums for pets; it even comes with a pet hair attachment for couches and furniture!
Another big way to reduce dog smell is to wash your dog on a regular basis! While you don’t want to overdo it, when your dog stinks, a nice bath is a good way to keep the smell in check. Just make sure your fur baby is nice and dry so you don’t have to contend with another unpleasant odor… wet dog smell!
When it comes to cleaning, no need to invest in fancy upholstery cleaner or carpet cleaner products right away. Baking soda and vinegar are generally all you need for carpet or furniture! If your couch has removable covers that are machine washable, you’re in luck, because you get to throw those bad boys in the washing machine!
That goes for anything else that has cushion covers: pillows, futons, the dog’s bed… if you can remove them, wash them on a regular basis to minimize odors!
For furniture that doesn’t have removable covers, you can put 1-2 cups of white vinegar mixed with baking soda into a spray bottle and wipe down the surfaces of your furniture. For leather, vinegar and water will do the trick. Just don’t spray too much!
If you don’t want to invest in a steam cleaner (though sometimes, those carpets could be due for a deep cleaning like that!) the same baking soda and vinegar or hydrogen peroxide concoction can be used on carpets, with basically the same method that we used on our hardwood floors! It may take a little longer to dry, so it may be time to open some windows, turn on some ceiling fans, and spend the day outside in the fresh air!
You can also use just baking soda by itself on carpet, especially if the odor isn’t as bad or if you don’t want to get your carpets wet right away. If the smells persist, try another round!
Another helpful tip is to check your air filters and change them frequently, as they pick up a LOT of dirt and dander, which carries dog odours. HEPA filters are your best bet, as they catch the most dust, dander, and pollen.
Another good idea for day-to-day good smells is to get a small air purifier or essential oil defuser. These aren’t very expensive and you can put essential oils of your choice in them that circulate a fresh scent.
With a little time and maintenance, you can tackle those at-home pet odors no matter what surface you’re dealing with!
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