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9 Bathroom Cleaning Hacks to Speed Up Your Clean

Cleaning the bathroom is probably everyone’s least favorite chore. Well, we have a handful of cleaning hacks that can help you clean each part of your bathroom faster and easier than ever before.

Bathtub

1. Vinegar and baking soda – Yes! The universal cleaning pair-up can also speed up your cleaning routine. Remove stains from rust and hair dye and remove soap scum in just a few simple steps. The amount of vinegar and baking soda you’ll need will vary based on the size of your tub and the number of stains you have to treat. You’ll want to combine the two ingredients in a bowl until you have a thick foamy paste. Use a mesh scrubber or steel wool to scrub the entire tub. Apply extra mixture to the stained areas and let sit overnight. In the morning, it just rinses away, stains and all.

2. Dawn dish soap – The old standard blue Dawn dish soap is the star cleaner here. Give the tub a good coating of soap and then use a broom (yes! a broom!) to scrub the tub in swift long strokes, using a little pressure until foamy. Let sit for 5 minutes and then rinse away and check for any missed spots to touch up.

Shower Walls

3. Dawn dish soap and vinegar – Mix equal parts of vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap into a spray bottle. Run the shower for a few minutes on hot to heat up the shower space. Spray to coat the surface of the shower walls evenly with the mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes then use a damp cleaning rag to wipe away.

4. Magic Eraser – Mildew stains are the pits and they can be super stubborn. A simple scrubbing with a Magic Eraser removes mildew stains quickly and easily.

Counter and Sink

5. Dish wand – Fill a dish wand with your favorite grime and grease cutting cleaner. The dish wand makes quick work of scrubbing down your sink and counter. Then simply rinse grime away.

Shining Faucets

6. Vaseline or coconut oil – Want shiny, water-repellent faucet finishes? Use a dab of either vaseline or coconut oil and rub evenly over the surface. Use a dry clean cloth to buff away the vaseline or the oil, leaving a shiny finish behind.

Mirrors

7. Shaving cream – Squirt a little on mirror, spread around and then buff away with a clean and dry cloth. This cleaning hack has the bonus of working as a mirror defogger too.

Toilets

8. Peroxide – Pour a half a cup of peroxide into the toilet bowl and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Use a toilet brush to scrub and then flush for a brilliant clean.

9. Coca Cola – Pour 1 can of Coca Cola into the toilet bowl and let sit for one hour. Use a toilet brush to scrub away grime and stains and flush clean.

Who knew your least favorite room to clean could be so simple and easy to care for? These cleaning hacks make the bathroom cleaning chores faster and easier than ever and you’ll have the most sparkling and shiny bathroom on the block with minimal effort.

 

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Avoid Colds and Flu with the Right Fall Cleaning Routine

Fall cleaning is just as important as spring cleaning, if not more so. Why? Because the right fall cleaning routine can actually help prevent your family from catching colds and flu during the season. A clean home is less likely to harbor dust and grime where bacteria, viruses and mold spores can collect. Which household chores should you focus on? We have a list right here for you.

1. Change your filter – While not normally a task we associate with cleaning, changing the air filter in your HVAC system helps prevent dust and dirt from distributing through your home and also helps with allergens. If you have pets, change the filter monthly during the winter months.

2. Wash windows and curtains – Curtains are a common collecting place for dust and dirt blown in from outside. Dirty windows are a good collecting place for condensation in the winter, which can lead to mold and mildew growth. Clean windows weekly. Wash curtains before you turn the heat on for the year and wash them twice more during the colder months.

3. Items you use with your hands – Remote controls, door handles, light switches, cell phones, keyboards and home office desks are all prone to collecting germs from our hands that travel in with us from outside. Clean and disinfect all of these items at least weekly. Another good idea is to make washing your hands the first thing you do every time you come home.

4. High traffic areas – doorways, foyers and mudrooms are hotbeds for germs. Clean down everything you touch with your hands, including coat hooks and door jams and other often overlooked places that get touched.

5. Sinks and toilets – It’s common knowledge that steamy hot bathrooms can be breeding grounds for bacteria, viruses and molds. Scrub down sinks and toilets at least weekly, including toilet seat and handle, sink faucet handles and anything you touch.

6. Radiators and vents – Damp cleaning radiators and vents removes dust and grime that can harbor bacteria and viruses that when you add heat or airflow would have germs floating around your home. You’ll want to damp clean with hot soapy water instead of using a duster, which can leave behind germs even if it removes dust. Clean this at least every few weeks or when you see visible dust.

7. Blankets, bedding, toppers and pillows – Wash all bedding, blankets, toppers and pillows (note: if your washer and dryer are too small, you might have to go to the laundromat for this). Bedding absorbs sweat and skin cells that you shed at night. Not washing your bedding frequently enough can lead to an overgrowth of mites and result in rashes, allergies, congestion and poor sleep. Wash all the bedding before you turn on the heat for the winter, in January and again in March.

8. Carpets and rugs – If you have carpets or rugs, you’ll want to deep clean them before you turn the heat on for winter to remove pollens, dust, dirt, mites and even possibly fleas or flea eggs if you have pets. Deep clean carpets a second time in February or March.

Having the right cleaning routine during the fall and winter months can help you avoid colds and flu for your family Keeping germy or dusty areas cleaned down helps prevent the build-up and transfer of bacteria, viruses and other germs you don’t want to share among your family or get sick from yourself.

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Want to Green Your Clean? Check out these Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products for Your Home

Eco Friendly Cleaning Products | Myrtle Beach

Many ordinary cleaning products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be harmful to you and your family. A major culprit of VOCs in the home are spray cleaners. There are eco-friendly options out there that won’t break the bank and are safer for you and your family as well. Let’s take a look at a few of the popular top-rated options.

Ecoegg Fragrance Free Laundry Egg – Clean your laundry without detergents or chemicals using Ecoegg. Filled with mineral and tourmaline ceramic pellets that break the bond between dirt particles and fabric, this egg helps dirt just wash away. This product is safe for babies, people with sensitive skin and eczema.

LemiShine Appliance Cleaner – One of our most popular blogs is about cleaning your appliances. Yes! The appliances that clean your dishes and clothes need a good cleaning themselves from time to time and LemiShine is a great go-to for this cleaning task. LemiShine is made with citrus extracts so it’s non-toxic and biodegradable and safe for your dishwasher, garbage disposal, clothes washer and more.

Better Life Simply Floored! – Simply Floored! is a natural plant-based floor cleaner that cleans and shines without the need for rinsing and without residue. This floor cleaner can tackle hardwood, bamboo, laminate, vinyl and ceramic tile flooring with ease.

Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Surface Scrub – Toss away that old powdered bleach scrub! This scrub is a non-scratching all purpose powdered cleanser. It contains no phosphates or chlorine so it’s safer for you and the environment.

Skoy Eco-Friendly Cleaning Cloth – This cleaning cloth is a bargain. One Skoy cloth can replace up to 15 rolls of paper towels. It can absorb up to 15 times its weight yet dries quickly to prevent bacteria growth. It’s reusable and safe for the washer, dryer and dishwasher. And when you’re done, it’s 100% biodegradable too.

NatureZWay Bamboo Perforated Towels – These towels, made from bamboo, can be rinsed and reused up to 100 times. They’re tough like cloth while made from sustainable and renewable resources. Appropriate for the dirtiest scrubbing chores and the most delicate cleaning tasks.

Nellie’s Laundry Soda & Products– Shop local, and head over to Oreck of Myrtle Beach, where they carry a line of Nellie’s vegan, non-toxic cleaning products.  You will love them!

You can’t go wrong with a greener clean. It’s better for you, your family and the planet. These top-rated eco-friendly cleaning products are sure to impress and help you green your clean quickly and easily.

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Are You Making This Major Cleaning Mistake?

No matter what your cleaning style is, chances are that you are making this crucial cleaning mistake. It doesn’t matter if you clean a little each day, have a reserved cleaning day or do a deep clean every few weeks, you’re still most likely making this major cleaning mistake. What is it? Grab your magnifying glass as we’re about to look at some very small print.

 

The Fine Print

Some of the most important details can be in the smallest print. Grab the bottle or container of your favorite disinfectant cleaner. Yes, really. We’ll wait.

When you use this cleaner, do you usually spray and start wiping right away? Think about the way you usually use this cleaner. If you’re like most people, you spray it on and wipe it right off and move onto the next surface you need to clean. And that is where the mistake happens.
Let’s dig into the fine print. We warned you that you might need a magnifying glass for this as it is often in the fine print on the back of many disinfectant cleaners. What you’re looking for is a statement that says something like “To disinfect, spray onto surface and let sit for at least ________ seconds/minutes.” The amount of time you let a cleaner stand on a surface before you wipe or clean it off is called the cleaner’s contact time. Contact time is the amount of time a cleaner needs to sit on a surface to kill germs, bacteria, viruses, mold and other nasties that can make you sick.

Why is contact time important? Because if you don’t wait the required contact time stated on the bottle, you might be cleaning dirt and dust off the surface but you aren’t disinfecting it. Isn’t disinfection the point of choosing a disinfecting cleaner? When you just wipe and go without giving the cleaner the proper contact time to work as intended, you end up leaving behind the very germs you intended to kill–or worse, just spreading them around when you wipe the cleaner away too soon.

 

Remembering Contact Time

Life gets busy and when you’re cleaning, you just want to get it over with and move on to the next task. We get it. To help you remember to give a cleaner the proper contact time, we have a little trick for you. First, verify the contact time required for disinfecting on the label. Let’s say the contact time for a particular cleaner you prefer is 60 seconds. Take a black permanent marker and write on the front and/or the neck of the sprayer “60 SECS”. This will save you time as you won’t have to scour the label looking for the contact time with your handy magnifying glass each time you clean while also reminding you to give the cleaner time to sit and do its best work. It’s a simple way to make sure you’re getting the maximum disinfection and avoiding this all too common cleaning mistake.

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Cleaning Tip: Pair Up Your Cleaning Tasks

Pair Up your Cleaning Tasks | Myrtle Beach Cleaning

Some things just go well together like peanut butter and jelly or cookies and milk. Did you know there are cleaning tasks that go better together too? Pairing up certain cleaning tasks can save you time and energy as well as avoid the need for rework a short time later. Let’s see what cleaning pairs are just meant to go together.

Cleaning out the fridge + Taking out the trash – Doing these tasks together keeps your fridge cleared of expired food before it turns into a science experiment and gets it out of the house before it can turn into smelly trash. Few things smell worse than rotting food. Keep that smell out of your fridge and home by pairing up these two cleaning tasks.

Clean your toothbrush holder and soap dish + Running the dishwasher – Your toothbrush holder can build up serious germs and so can your soap dish. When you run your dishwasher, grab your soap dish and toothbrush holder and pop them on the top shelf for a good deep clean along with your dishes. If your soap dish and toothbrush holder are made from a material other than ceramic or metal, check to make sure they’re dishwasher safe first.

Dusting + Vacuuming/Sweeping – Dusting and vacuuming have long been associated with each other but many people argue about which order to do them in. When cleaning, work from the ceiling to the floor, leaving floors for last. This means you dust first then sweep or vacuum, avoiding the need to redo work. If you do your floors first, when you dust, you’ll just redeposit dirt and debris back onto the just-cleaned floors. Yuck!

Clean shower curtain liner + Wash old towels and rags – When you are ready to run a load of your old towels and cleaning rags, toss your shower curtain liner in with the load. The towels will help scrub the shower curtain liner and you can just hang it up after the wash – clean and mildew-free.

Vacuum bed + Washing bedding/linens – After you toss your bedding and linens in the wash, sprinkle some baking soda around on the bed and let sit. When you switch the linens from the washer to the dryer, use the vacuum attachment to vacuum up the baking soda. You’ll have a freshly deodorized mattress to put your clean bedding on.

Pairing up your cleaning tasks just makes sense– especially when pairing up tasks saves you time and energy. We hope these pair-up tips help your cleaning list go faster and easier.  And, if cleaning at all has you a little too stressed, give us a call at the Clean Up Club!  We are here to help!

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Don’t Forget to Clean Your Appliances!

Even appliances that clean other things for us need to be cleaned themselves. Appliances like the clothes washer and dishwasher can become breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria and viruses that can make us sick. Here’s a handy guide to cleaning your appliances.

 

Clothes Washer

Your clothes washer can harbor some serious nasties, such as E. coli and other intestinal bacteria, rotavirus, noroviruses and even Hepatitis A. To keep germs at bay and off your clothes, run an empty cycle on the hottest setting with a cup of bleach. If you don’t use bleach, you can also pour a cup of baking soda into the basin and then pour in a cup of white distilled vinegar. Let it fizz a moment and then start the machine on the hottest cycle. If your washer has a germicidal cycle, that will work also. If your machine is a front loader, make sure to clean down the door seals to prevent mold growth. If you run more than 5 loads of laundry per week, you’ll want to run a disinfection cycle once per week.

 

Clothes Dryer

The same germs that can build up in your clothes washer can transfer to your clothes dryer on your laundry. You might assume that the high heat of the dryer would kill any microbes but that isn’t true. If your dryer has a germicidal cycle, that will work to get the heat high enough to kill the germs. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to disinfect your dryer with a solution of vinegar and water. Just be sure to wipe out the bin several times to ensure you remove all of the vinegar. And don’t forget those door seals!

 

Dishwasher

Newer dishwashers have a setting for a germicidal or sanitizing cycle that make quick work of de-gunking this appliance. If yours doesn’t, make sure to clean down the seals with disinfectant to prevent mold growth at least weekly. Then clean out the food trap, replace the filter (if possible) and clean down the front of the machine. Inside, place a bowl containing a cup of baking soda on the top shelf and leave it overnight. This will help absorb any lingering odors trapped in the machine. In the morning, pour a cup of white distilled vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and then run it on the hottest cycle possible.

 

Refrigerator

Ideally, your refrigerator could use a good scrub down at least once per week, especially to disinfect the handles and door seals. It’s important to clean the drawers, shelves and walls of the fridge as well. Lots of items stored in your fridge such as raw veggies, raw meat, cold cuts, cheeses, eggs and hot dogs can carry and spread listeria. Even more concerning is that listeria thrives in cooler temperature environments like your fridge. Use disinfectant wipes to clean down handles and door seals. You can use hot soapy water to clean the drawers, shelves, interior walls and exterior of your refrigerator.

 

Microwave

The worst hotbed of germs for your microwave is the handle. It gets so germy that you should use a disinfecting wipe to clean down the handle and touchpad after every use. When you see any kind of food debris inside, clean the inside of the microwave with hot soapy water or at least a few times per month. If you have stuck on grime, cut a lemon into four sections and place into four dishes and each lemon piece covered with water. Run the microwave with the four dishes of lemon and water for 4-5 minutes to steam loose the stuck-on grime. Afterward, carefully remove the hot dishes and wipe down the inside of the microwave.

When it comes to cleaning, it’s important not to forget the appliances that help do the cleaning for us. They, too, can become gunked up with germs, viruses and even mold. Keeping them clean helps them do their own cleaning jobs more effectively.

 

 

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Cleaning with Essential Oils While Keeping Kids and Pets Safe

Essential Oils for Cleaning

Cleaning with essential oils not only makes your home smell good but also can help kill germs. However, some essential oils can be harmful to children or pets. You can clean with essential oils safely when you choose oils that are safe around pets and kids and use as small of an amount of essential oil as possible. Let’s take a closer look.

What are Essential Oils

Maybe you’ve heard about them but aren’t really sure what they are. Essential oils are the super concentrated oils extracted from plants. Many plants produce essential oils with anti-microbial properties that help kill bacteria and fungi in your home. When mixed with a DIY cleaning solution like vinegar and water, it can really super charge your cleaning and get rid of that vinegar smell.
Note: Do not add essential oils to commercial cleaners you buy in the store, many of the chemicals used in those formulations can interact with essential oils and turn a safe cleaner into a toxic one.

Essential Oils to Avoid Around Kids & Pets

When choosing essential oils to clean with, it’s important to note that too much of a good thing is still too much. Use the most minimal amount of any essential oil needed. Because many families have both pets and children, we’re listing oils to avoid for both types of family members. Common essential oils to avoid using around children, but mainly pets, include (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Pine
  • Tea Tree
  • Lemon
  • Orange
  • Clove
  • Peppermint (This can cause serious respiratory distress)
  • Thyme
  • Wintergreen
  • Eucalyptus (Appears on some lists as potentially harmful)

Common Sense Safety Notice: As with any substance you use around pets and children, if you have concerns, talk to your veterinarian or pediatrician. If accidentally ingested, call the Poison Control Center at 800.222.1222 for instructions and have the bottle of essential oil handy when you call to provide any information needed.

Essential Oils for Cleaning

An easy DIY cleaner you can add essential oils to is a solution of white distilled vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio. For every 2 cups of solution, use 5-10 drops total of essential oil–using as little as needed. Again, essential oils are super concentrated so using too much of any oil, even one safe for kids and pets, can cause a serious reaction for them and for you. For many essential oils, the safety or the danger is in the dose. Here is a list of helpful essential oils for cleaning that are generally safe in minimal doses:

  • Clary Sage – Smells woodsy and has antibacterial and antifungal properties.
  • Geranium – In germ killing tests, geranium essential oil killed 12 out of 12 types of fungi and 22 out of 22 strains of bacteria.
  • Lavender – Effective against disease-causing micro-organisms and also environmental fungi and bacteria. Lavender is easy to overdo so be careful with this one.
  • Lemongrass – Gives a lemon-y smell without using lemon essential oil (citrus essential oils are harmful to pets). In efficacy testing, Lemongrass oil killed 22 of 22 types of bacteria and 12 of 12 types of fungi.
  • Arborvitae – This oil is extracted from the evergreen tree and is particularly useful for cleaning wood furniture and floors. It also repels insects and is proven to kill both E. Coli and Salmonella.

This list is not exhaustive as there are literally more than 100 different types of essential oils out there, however, it covers some popular ones that are generally regarded as safe to use for cleaning in homes with children and pets. Essential oils can amp up the effectiveness of your time spent cleaning and make your home smell wonderful.

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Are Your Cleaning Products Damaging Your Health?

Are Cleaning Products Damaging Your Health?

A recent research study has shown that household cleaning products, particularly spray cleaners, can damage lung tissue as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes per day for twenty years. These findings demonstrate that the chemicals you use to clean your home matter more than many people realize. Most people know basic cleaning hazards to avoid such as not mixing ammonia and bleach (it releases toxic, deadly fumes), however this recent study shocked homeowners and the cleaning industry. Let’s dive into the study and what the results mean for you and your health.

The Household Cleaners and Lung Damage Study

The study published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine followed 6,235 people beginning with an average age around 34 for 20 years. The study measured lung function over time and included both men and women, some of whom were also cleaning professionals. The study had a few significant findings. First, that exposure to household cleaning chemicals, especially spray cleaners, significantly damaged lung tissue and lung function over time. Second, the biggest decline in lung function was found in women, who typically do a larger share of house cleaning tasks.

Previous studies have already established a link between household cleaners and higher asthma rates. However, this newly reported study is the first to measure long-term exposure and make the connection between household cleaners and a diagnosis of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). COPD is also the lung disease most commonly associated with cigarette smoking.

What Does it Mean for Your Health?

The findings of this study are important to your overall health. Experts recommend using eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaners (vinegar and water is a great natural cleaner) and avoiding the use of harsh chemical cleaners in your home. As spray cleaners result in airborne droplets of chemical cleaners that are easily breathed in and absorbed by the lungs, it’s best to avoid spray cleaners. If you do need to use spray cleaners or harsh chemicals, wear a protective face mask over your nose and mouth during use and make sure the space is well-ventilated.

Of course, The Clean Up Club is always available to take care of your cleaning chores for you. We have a range of cleaning options and services to fit your needs and protect your health.

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Cleaning Tips to Rid Your Rental Property of Smoking and Cigarette Smells

Rid Your Rental Property of Smoking and Cigarette Smells

Removing smoking and cigarette smells from a home is one of the most difficult cleaning tasks there is. Cleaning the entire home is the key. In some cases, it might be necessary to take steps beyond cleaning to get your home or rental smelling fresh and new.

1. Curtains and Blinds – Take down curtains and blinds for cleaning. For curtains, make sure they are washable and if so, wash them in hot water with laundry soap and a cup of vinegar per full load. A quick word of caution: vinegar can have a bleaching effect when poured directly on fabrics. It’s best to add the soap and vinegar to the basin and let it fill with water before adding the curtains to avoid causing color fading. If curtains are dry-clean only, consider replacing them with washable curtains. The chemicals used in dry-cleaning can contribute to poor indoor air quality in your home. For blinds, soak them in the bathtub in hot soapy water for 15 minutes, scrub with a fine brush and hang to dry. Allow blinds to dry completely before putting them back on the windows.

2. Wood, Tile and Linoleum Flooring – Clean with a mixture of vinegar and warm water, or a cleaning solution intended for that specific surface (particularly when dealing with wood floors). Change the water frequently and use a gentle brush to scrub in corners and along walls. Clean baseboards, door frames and doors while you’re cleaning floors as they often can be cleaned with the same cleaner as the floors. It might take a few full rounds of cleaning the floors to eliminate the smell completely.

3. Carpet Flooring – Carpet flooring is a bit tougher, depending on the age of the carpeting and the length of time it was exposed to cigarette smoke. You can try a strong carpet and rug cleaner if you prefer to DIY but it’s possible a professional carpet cleaning will be required. In very difficult cases, it might be necessary to replace the carpeting and underlying padding to permanently get rid of the odor.

4. Walls and Ceilings – Many resources advise washing down walls and ceilings with ammonia and glycol to remove cigarette and smoking odors. However, these are very harsh chemicals and when not used in a properly ventilated area, can cause damage to lung and nasal tissues. A safe alternative is to use a vinegar and baking soda solution made of one cup of vinegar, a half cup of baking soda and two cups of warm water. Clean in small sections and finish each section by wiping clean with a separate fresh damp sponge. It will likely take 2-3 passes of the entire room to remove the odor. In difficult cases, it might be necessary to repaint the walls and ceilings. If this is the case, talk to the paint store about a primer and sealant that can seal the odors first before you paint. This will help prevent the smells from leaching through your new coat of paint.

5. Air – Your indoor air can also have lingering amounts of “third-hand smoke” that can cause breathing difficulties for you and your family. While you can’t exactly scrub your air, an indoor air purifier is a great investment to remove cigarette and smoke odors. Most models also help remove allergens, dust, bacteria and viruses too.

Eliminating the odors of cigarettes and smoking from your home or rental property can take a lot of effort and time. If you need help, the Clean Up Club is available to help you clean up any stinky situation.

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8 Quick Cleaning Tips for Homes with Pets

Cleaning tips for homes with pets

We all love our pets–we just don’t love their mess! It’s not just the normal shedding and dander but also dirt and mud tracked from outside, food-related messes and litter scattered around. We’ve got the top tips to help you keep your home with pets clean and fresh.

1. Keep up with a regular mani/pedi routine – Both cats and dogs should have regular and frequent feet cleaning and nail trim sessions. First, keeping their feet clean prevents the spreading of dirt and debris through the house. Second, keeping their nails trimmed helps prevent damage their nails could cause to flooring and furniture. Nails can create scratches or gouges that end up being a catch spot for dirt and dust to collect.

2. Add a lint roller to your cleaning supplies – Lint rollers aren’t just for your clothes! You can use them to de-fuzz curtains, lampshades, furniture and throw pillows.

3. Keep a spare pair of dry rubber gloves handy – For surfaces too fuzzed-up for a lint roller to handle, slip on a pair of dry rubber gloves. Slide your hand along the surface and the fur will clump up into a ball you can easily remove and toss in the trash.

4. Invest in a robot vacuum – There are a number of robot vacuums on the market to choose from (Roomba was one of the first). Invest in one you can set to run on a regular schedule and set it up to run daily! Just make sure to keep up on maintenance of your robot vacuum so it keeps doing the floor work for you instead of spreading more work all over the floor.

5. Blankets are great for your pet’s comfort and your cleaning list – Chances are that your furry family member has certain places they like to nap (and have a build-up of fur). Place a blanket or even a folded up sheet in your pet’s favorite nap spots. They’ll enjoy the comfort and you’ll enjoy just tossing it in the wash for easier clean up.

6. Set up the kibble area for easier cleaning – Whether you have a dog or cat, the spot where their food and water dishes live can become a major mess. Use a rimmed tray under the food and water dishes to catch the bits and drips where they dribble their kibble for a cleaner food and water station.

7. Keep a set of paw cleaning supplies by the door – During times of crummy weather, dogs are more likely to track in mud and muck on their feet. Keep a set of paw cleaning supplies by the door, such as paw wipes, towels, paper towels and of course, treats for your pup so they fuss less over paw cleaning when coming in from outside.

8. Place doormats inside and outside of your door – Even though your pup can’t exactly wipe his feet, the extra mat space gained from having door mats both inside and outside helps capture more dirt and debris from his feet so less gets spread through your house.

Keeping your home clean and fresh when you live with pets doesn’t have to be an endless chore! Our 8 tips help you keep your home cleaner easier so you can spend more time snuggling with your furry family member than cleaning up after them.