Spring is finally here and a new season is the perfect time to refresh and clean your pet’s environment and belongings. Spring cleaning is a great way to assess how well you’ve kept up with your daily, weekly and monthly pet-cleaning tasks, can bring your attention to less obvious pet messes and can serve as a reset if you need it.
HINT: Washing your pet's food and water bowls should be done daily to protect against harmful bacteria that can cause an upset stomach and other digestive issues. Remember to thoroughly rinse off all soap and allow dishes to dry completely before serving your pet's TLC!
Spring Clean-Up for Pets
Deep Clean Crates, Carries, and Litter Boxes: It’s time to give your pet’s safe space or litter box a detailed cleaning, including vacuuming, scrubbing, washing, and drying. Dirt, hair, and debris often find a home in your pet’s crate/carrier, and it is important to give the plastic surfaces a deep cleaning every now and then! Note that thoroughly washing crates or litter boxes can be messy, so you may want to move them into an area that can get a little wet. If you are going to be cleaning a litter box, we recommend wearing gloves.
Put in a load for your pet: Designate a load of laundry in your washing machine for your pet! Gather up all your pet’s bed covers, blankets, towels, and soft toys to be cleaned, follow the drying instructions for each object or allow time to air dry. If you can, use unscented laundry soap as strong smells can disturb your pet.
Hand washes all other items: Some of your pet’s things will need to be hand-washed in hot soapy water, such as their hard toys or collars and leashes. Even a hard-surfaced plastic toy can hold onto germs and bacteria and need to be sufficiently washed after lots of play with your pet. Collars and leashes should be washed at least as often as you wash your pet. You don’t want to put a dirty collar back on a clean pet!
Property clean-up: After you are finished tidying up the inside of your house, it is time to take a peek outside and clean up all pet-related things around your property. You may discover a few toys that had been lost in the snow-filled yard or hazardous items your pup could get into. If you often let your pet outside on their own to relieve themselves, you should do a walk around to pick up your pet’s outdoor messes.
Don’t forget bath time for your pet: Now that your pet’s toys, beds, and collars are cleaned, you will want to make sure your pet is looking and smelling clean too! Every pet’s bathing schedule is different, with some coats needing to be washed more frequently than others, but spring is a great time to reset your washing scheduling and ensure they get cleaned.