How to Keep Muddy Paw Prints off the Carpet
It is stormy season here in the Northwest and more rain means wet and soggy ground. A result of that wet and soggy ground is mud, mud that gets tracked into your home. It is likely that some of the mud is going to end up on the floors inside your home. While there are many culprits who can track mud into your home your four-legged friends are masters at it because they don’t wear shoes.
It can be tough to let your dog out the door in wet weather, but you don’t need to keep your pets under lockdown indoors or give up on having clean floors. Just follow these tips to keep both your pets and your carpets happy.
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Foot Soak Tub
If you have a hose spicket near one of your exterior doors keep a small plastic tub nearby to fill with water and give your dog a quick foot soak before they go back into the house. It doesn’t have to be large just big enough to hold a small amount of water to dip the dog’s paws into to rinse them off.
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Dog Wipes
Carry some paw friendly wet wipes with you while you are out and about. Baby wipes are gentle and can even help get mud out of other items like clothing if your pooch jumps up to love on you with muddy paws. You might also be glad you have them with you for many other uses while you are out and about; say maybe for wiping down a dirty dog park bench.
More: How to keep pets safe and carpets clean this Thanksgiving
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Rubber Boots
Yes they make rubber rain boots for dogs. They may seem silly but they are actually very handy. They are made to function just like rain boots on a human, to keep the feet clean and dry. Some pooches may take some time getting used to dog rain boots, but once they do it is much easier to just slip the boots on and off than to clean dog paws. You may even get a kick out of your dog trying to walk around in them the first few times.
Read More: Clever Tricks to Keeping the House Clean
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Spot Cleaner
Life is adventurous and messy and it is not unlikely for a muddy paw print or two to actually make it to the carpet despite your best prevention efforts. The best thing to do is clean the muddy prints as soon as you see them. The fresher a stain is the easier it is to remove from your carpet. You can either use a spot treatment from the store designed for mud and pet accidents or you can mix up some hand dishwashing liquid and warm water. Use a clean white cloth or paper towel dipped in the soapy solution and blot the mud from the outside working toward the center to avoid spreading the stain. When the mud is lifted, grab a new cloth dampened with just water and rinse all the cleaning solution from the carpet. Follow with a dry cloth or cloths layered over the damp area and weighted down with something heavy to remove as much moisture from the carpet as possible.
If you find yourself with a muddy mess that just won’t come clean give the experts at All Kleen carpet cleaning a call. We have a team of highly trained friendly carpet pros ready to get your carpet back in its best shape. You can even make an appointment online.