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Pet Lovers: Cleaning Your House for Holiday Guests

By: Author Paris Permenter

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This post is sponsored by TriNova.

Do you have guests coming to your home this holiday season? Whether it’s for a dinner, a holiday party or a week-long visit, we all know that one thought goes through every pet lover’s mind this season: I MUST CLEAN THE HOUSE!

With two dogs and three cats in our home (including one incontinent cat), cleaning is a must. We’re in search of products that can handle:

  • pet urine (and, shudder, poop)
  • vomit and hairballs
  • muddy paw prints
  • shed fur
  • noseprints on the glass
  • the general smell of dogs that our less dog-obsessed guests may or may not appreciate

I’ve worked up a series of six steps I’m taking this year to get from this…

…to this……BEFORE holiday company arrives…

(OK, maybe our house will never look like that…but a girl can try!)

Take a moment and read through my six steps for cleaning your pet-friendly house…to get it ready for holiday company!

Step One: Pick up, Vacuum

First off, pick up everything off the floor. I use a broom to sweep under furniture that can’t be moved as well as corners and baseboards…then the vacuuming begins to remove shed fur. I also vacuum the couches and upholstered chairs.

Step Two: Launder Pet Beds and Dog Toys

Just like stripping our own beds before company arrives, it’s time to clean the dog beds for guests. Take the covers off your dog beds and launder them. Wash plush dog toys as well.

If I find a urine stain on a pet bed, I wash the cover then spray the bed itself with pet-friendly TriNova Pet Stain & Odor Remover, an enzyme-based cleaner that doesn’t mask odors but removes the source of the odor itself, helping to prevent your pet from coming back to that scent to remark it once again.

TriNova’s Pet Stain & Odor Remover is an enzyme-based formula designed to combat organic stains and odors left behind by pets. This safe-to-use spray eliminates messes left by urine, feces, vomit and saliva left on any surface that can be dampened without harm. Upon contact with the problem area, enzymatic bacteria immediately break down stains and odors for a clean surface and a neutral smell.

The spray is easy to use: Spray onto the bed and wait 1-2 minutes. Gently scrub with a rag or soft brush. Blot up any excess product with a dry towel and allow the bed to air dry before you cover it with the laundered pet bed cover.

Can’t wash the cover or just don’t have time before company arrives? Just spray the Pet Stain & Odor Remover right on the bed cover, give it a few minutes, then gently scrub. You’re done!

Step Three: Clean Glass Surfaces

Who else has noseprints on every lower window surface (and especially on the car windows)?

I used TriNova Natural All Purpose Cleaner to remove the smears on the windows–but it also works on toilets, floors, countertops, and more.

An added bonus: the great smell of White Tea & Thyme, thanks to the cleaner’s essential oil. It’s a clean fragrance, not a heavy perfume.

Step Four: Clean Countertops

Countertops are where a lot of the holiday magic takes place so it’s extra important that they be clean, clean, clean. Although our dogs are too large to get up on the counters, I can’t say the same for the cats…so cleaning these countertops is part of my every day routine.

I used TriNova Natural All Purpose Cleaner on our counter–it’s available on Amazon as a two-bottle set along with a premium microfiber towel. Now I’m ready for holiday baking!

Step Five: Cleaning Carpet Stains

OK, let’s face it: carpet stains and pets go hand in paw. We have hardwood floors throughout most of our house but my office is carpeted. Once again, the Pet Stain & Odor Remover is great for those carpet stains–and it’s also available in a one gallon size!

Step Six: Clean the Litterbox Area

If, like us, you share your home with cats, then you know how important it is to deep clean around the litterboxes. For all their neatness, it’s just about impossible for cats to get in and out of the litterbox without tracking litter–and occasionally the waste associated with that litter all over our light turquoise floor…

The TriNova Natural All Purpose Cleaner did a great job removing the sticky urine pawprints that tracked out of the litterbox!

Those are our six steps in getting our house ready for holiday company. OK, it’s your turn to get cleaning…holiday company is coming!

Paris Permenter
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This post originally appeared on DogTipper.com and is the sole property of DogTipper.com.