Your pets bring joy into your home on a daily basis. Unfortunately, they can also bring unpleasant odors that seem to cling to everything and everyone.

If you're looking for a successful way to combat pet odors, take a look at these quick tips to help your home be less stinky.

Deodorize Your Carpets

Your pet spends a lot of time on your carpets or rugs, and this allows pet dander and odor to work its way deep into the fibers.

If straight out replacing your carpets with hardwood or laminate flooring is out of the question, or over your budget, there is a way to freshen up your carpet between routine cleanings. 

Simply sprinkle baking soda onto your carpets and rugs, and let it sit for an hour or two before you plan on vacuuming.

The baking soda will sink into your carpets and neutralize the acidic odor compounds. In turn, this will help remove pet smells from your carpets when you vacuum the baking soda up. 

Keep Your Pets Off the Furniture or Protect It

Although you may want to invite your dog or cat up onto your furniture, you have to understand how much your furniture's fabric can trap pet odors.

If you decide to let them up on your furniture, leather is better than most fabric for repelling odors, and metal is easier to clean and maintain than traditional wood.

If having your pets snuggle up to you is more important than stinky odors, the next best thing you can do is add a cover or a throw rug for your pet to lie on. That way you can clean this covering once per week to cut down on smells that collect in your home.

Wipe Your Furniture with Dryer Sheets

If keeping your pets off the furniture is not an option, or you don’t like the looks of couch covers, a neat trick to keep these areas smelling fresh is to use a dryer sheet on them.

By rubbing dryer sheets across the cushions and backs, it will pick up some of the pet odors and a lot of the pet hair, while leaving behind a fresh smelling scent

Use an Air Purifier to Keep the Air Fresh

An air purifier is an easy and cost-effective way to freshen the air in your entire home, and it can also cut through common pet odors.

As this device runs, it cycles air throughout the home through a set of filters, and these filters catch and remove pet odors, dander and hair the air. 

If you choose the right filter, it can trap and remove up to 99% of the airborne contaminants present in your home. In turn, you should notice cleaner air and fewer pet odors.

If you never heard of an air purifier before, you’ll be amazed at what it can do for you as a pet owner. There’s a lot of good information on this topic and how it relates to pets at Home Air Quality Guides. Give it a look when you have the chance to find out how an air purifier can transform the air inside your home when you live with cats or dogs.

Air purifiers are not only great for reducing pet odors, but eliminate pet dander, allergens, bacteria and more too.

Reclean Old Pet Messes with an Enzyme Cleaner

If your pet left a pet on the floor or piece of furniture and it wasn’t properly cleaned at the time, it could be the source of lingering odor.

The best thing you can do here is go back to these areas and reclean them with an enzyme cleaner. Enzyme cleaners are amazing for pet messes because they break down the proteins in urine, feces and vomit.

Simply spray old pet mess locations with the enzyme cleaner and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before blotting it dry with a clean cloth.

Add Vinegar to Your Laundry

If you have pets, there’s no doubt that your clothing and bedding has picked up their smell.

Unfortunately, normal laundry detergent doesn’t always get rid of these pet odors that latch onto your fabrics. To fix this, all you have to do is add a ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar to your laundry load and it will strip the linens of any pet odors.

Wash Your Pet’s Bedding

Does your dog or cat have its own comfy bed cushion? If so, it’s probably a major source of pet odors in your home.

Many people don’t know this, but a majority of pet beds are machine washable.

So, make it a routine to clean your pet’s bedding at least once per month and also be sure to add in a ¼ cup of vinegar with the laundry detergent like we suggested for linens above to really get rid of all of the smells.

To dry the bed, tumble dry in the dryer or let it drip dry outside.

Clean Your Pet’s Toys

Like bedding, your pet’s toys are also breeding grounds for offensive odors. Plus, many of these items are scattered throughout the house, emitting foul odors everywhere.

In addition to washing your pet’s bedding each month, toss in your pet’s toys too. Another option is the wash them by hand in the sink. Just remember to hot water, laundry detergent and apple cider vinegar to really get rid of those stinky odors.

Be Smart About Your Cat's Litter Box

Your cat's litter box can be a large source of pet odor if you don't take care of it and maintain it properly.

If you have multiple cats, but can't have one litter box for each cat, consider cleaning the waste from your main box on a daily basis. The faster you can get rid of the waste, the less odors will travel around your home.

Baking soda can also be used in the litter box as well. You can sprinkle baking soda into the cat's litter to help neutralize odors between cleanings.

Your cat's litter box location is also important, and you want to put it away from the main gathering areas in your home. It should also be slightly larger than your biggest cat, so your felines don’t kick the litter out when they're using it.

Finally, enclosed litter boxes are the best route to go for controlling pet odors. Sure, some may be a little harder to clean than the open top box type, but the reduction in smells is worth the small bit of extra hassle.

Give Your Dog a Bath at Least Once a Month

Your dog may hate water, but giving them regular baths and brushings once a month will help to cut down the amount of odors and dander they leave around your home.

If they drool, brushing their teeth can help cut down on the bad breath smell they may leave as well.

If you can't bathe your dog regularly, consider a grooming service. This, along with regular home upkeep, will help reduce the odor levels. 

For animal lovers, pet odors come with the territory. However, you can use a few simple tips and tricks to reduce the amount of pet odors that are present in your home.  This will lead to a happier, healthier living environment for both you and your pets for years to come!