Many of the clients we work with have pets – a welcome addition to the home, but they do bring their own challenges to household cleaning and hygiene.
Pets are very popular in the US. It is thought that 37-47 percent of households have a dog, and 30-37 percent of households have a cat (this translates as roughly 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats according to the American Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
The risks with animal ownership are issues such as ringworm which can be passed from animal to human; and the more serious toxoplasmosis, a parasite found in cat feces which is dangerous to pregnant women, and toxocariasis, an infection in dog feces caused by worms which can lead to blindness.
If you own a little or large bundle of fluff, here are some tips for how to juggle pets and home hygiene.
Simple hygiene is the first goal – washing hands and ensuring your children do after handling and feeding pets is good practice.
Cleaning out pet litter trays should be done by adults (unless a woman is pregnant). Feces should be scooped out on a daily basis, and the litter changed three or four times a week – daily, if there is more than one cat using it.
Keep cats off kitchen surfaces and dining tables if at all possible. It’s best to deter this behaviour from the beginning, but if you put foil on the tops of your surfaces this can discourage cats as they don’t like the feel and noise of it.
Never leave food out in the kitchen and on surfaces, as this will encourage your cat to jump up, looking for food he can steal!
Cat and dog hair is a real issue in homes so regular vacuuming is a must, but there are also other ways to pick up stubborn hairs. Running a balloon over a carpet or rub will help pick up hairs because of the static electricity, as can sprinkling the surface with a light coating of baking soda and then vacuuming. Grooming your pet regularly also helps reduce hair shedding.
If you cat or dog has a little accident in the house, make sure you clean it up as soon as possible. It is also important to use a product which contains ingredients that will get rid of the ammonia in urine because pets will return to the same place to pee if they can smell it. (Remember, their sense of smell is much more powerful than ours.)
Here at Budget Maids we provide cleaning services in Olney, a maid service in Potomac or cleaning services in Columbia and surrounds (ie VA and most of Maryland). Why not give us a call today and let us help you with all your house hygiene needs?
