Ownership of a pet can bring you great joy and has been shown that it can even improve your mood and mental health. When your dog or cat becomes your best friend and a member of your family, they will usually share your home with you and often your bed for sleeping. But you don't want your home to smell like it has been overrun by a pack of dogs or cats. You can take some action to keep it clean and smelling nice. Here are some tips to help you clean up after your pet and to keep your home clean and maintained.

Prevent Odors

One of the most common complaints from pet owners is the smells that can accumulate inside your home. A big part of the pet odors comes from your carpeting that gets soiled and stained from urine and feces. Cat urine has a much stronger smell than dog urine but both can contribute to a bad odor in your home when you don't keep up on the cleaning of your carpeting.

Keep your carpets clean by always cleaning up urine spots as soon as you find them. Press a rag into the spot to absorb as much as possible, then spray an enzyme cleaner into the spot. Unfortunately, not all spots are discovered right away and will need a deeper cleaning to remove them.

Your carpet cleaning professional can clean your carpets to remove some of the toughest stains from pets. Let them know any specific areas your pet has accidents, and they can apply a stronger cleaning solution to remove all odors. Then, a deodorizing and water-resistant treatment to your carpets can help you keep odors at bay.

Protect Floors

Pets can also be hard on your floors, especially solid surface floors, such as hardwood, laminate, and vinyl. Your pet's claws can gouge into the floors when they try to gain traction, which can leave small scratches that build up over time to make your floors look dull and worn.

If you are ready to switch out your flooring, you can invest in a pet friendly surface, such as bamboo or cork. Otherwise, do what you can to protect your floors by placing rubber-backed rugs in areas of higher pet traffic, such as down hallways and around corners. The rugs will help your pet get better traction on the floors, which can reduce the occurrence of injury, and protect your floors from damage.

Learn more about pet odor treatment today.