Submitted by sneakybee- t3_113g4b1 in Washington
We have a doormat, towels by the door (muddy Washington backyard), awesome vacuum, and our most recent addition is a steam mop but somehow our dusty crusty GSD/lab mix still gets our home as dusty crusty as she is!
Admitting defeat, that's my solution
I have two Roombas one for upstairs and downstairs. I have a battery Dyson for the stairs and other tight places. I also have a roomba mop that I use for upstairs since it’s all hardwood. The Roombas go everyday.
Seriously, a robot vacuum running every day when you leave will absolutely change your life. I was skeptical until I got a refurbished one off of Amazon, and seeing the dust and hair it picks up from all the corners and rugs every day has made it completely worth it.
I was skeptical too until I finally got one. They are so worth it especially if you have pets.
Yup our friends got one some years ago. I watched that thing many times and we finally got one. We have 3 herding dogs so while it was doing a gret job it also takes a beating from being herded.
This is hilarious! My dog is scared of it, so I only run it when we leave, but he still gets nervous about the activation tones it plays as we’re walking out.
I'd use the Roomba but with 3 herding dogs you can guess where that goes. Chaos Roomba herding !!!!
Setting up to be robot friendly can help them be more effective. Think about where they get lost/stuck and make sure you don't have carpets with tasseled edging. Consider upgrading to the ones that can dump their dust collector at a docking station and go back to work.
This, and get the Brava for mopping. You’ll still need to vacuum and mop periodically, but your workload will be reduced about 90 percent.
lol, I have two full size dogs 85 and 87 pounds respectively and I feel your pain in trying to keep the house clean considering those big dirty paws and the daily amount of hair they both seem to shed. To that end, I have two big floor mats at both the front and back door to first catch the muddy paws before entering the house.
Then I have 3 separate vacuums not including the shopvac. Two of them are uprights, with beater bars to best de-fluff the couple of rooms with area rugs and a canister vac for the hardwood floors. Then there's the roomba which I let loose after I vacuum otherwise it would choke to death on the daily amount of dog hair these two dirty dogs drop every day!
oh, yeah, then there's the swiffler and the mop...
We replaced all of the grass in our back yard. Most areas we covered with paver flagstones, and in the side yard we covered it with playground bark. When it rains, the dogs get wet but they don’t get muddy. It’s made a huge difference.
My mother has a lab that loves to be in rain and roll around in mud/dirt. The only solution she found was instead of cleaning up or implementing some sort of dirt protection was to actually train the dog to let her wipe them down. Basically she trained her dog to sit when coming through the doggy door so she could wipe them off with a towel. Was incredibly better than cleaning after, half the time, and not bad to train considering the dog already knew sit! If you have the time and ability that’s an option that might help out!
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The secret is constant cleaning.
Vacuum/mop at least once a week, a hose in the back yard when it’s warm enough, and constant brushing. The hair can’t go everywhere if you put it in a bag first
Fellow Washingtonian here! Proudly owned four big, active dogs throughout my lifetime, all who loved to swim and chase a tennis ball in our mostly soggy weather. Also live in an Asian household so of course hoomans have to remove shoes before entering so we hold similar clean feet standards with our pups. With our three prior dogs, I used baby wipes on all four paws and their private parts before they entered the house. Not very environmentally friendly, but Costco was a lifesaver for buying those wipes in bulk. With our current Chessie, we keep a plastic kiddie swimming pool (the blue one for toddlers that’s about 3’-4’ wide) on our back deck, filled to about an an inch or two with fresh water that our girl has learned to “walk through” after every potty or walk, we then just towel dry her feet and privates when she comes in. Keep a clean towel by the door just for this purpose. With the freezing cold snap we’ve been having, the kiddie pool turns into an ice skating rink, so we instead keep a small bucket of water under the back porch light which mostly stays unfrozen, just so we can dip her feet in and rinse off any dirt. All of our dogs knew the drill and patiently waited at the door until they were “cleared”, LOL. They knew they were welcome to lay on our couch, bed, etc without fear of us finding mystery brown smears anywhere. It’s a little more work every time they go out and come back in, but less labor to keep your entire house clean overall. Roomba was helpful while we were away at work, as well as regular weekend vacuuming with Dyson Animal. Love our steam mop for the hardwood floors.
Bissell Crosswave ftw. Water proof blankets on furniture/couches. Pros: your stuff stays clean. Cons: may resemble a homeless encampment. Also, get carpeting and sub it with hard flooring and use ruggables if needed.
A bowl of "taxes" (kibble) and a towel next to both entries, tile floors, and a small ShopVac instead of a standard home vacuum.
Wet towel and multiple wipes between wet dry. Or hose. My GSD loves mud.
I wash my dogs paws (Pittie’s) when they come in. It took a learning curve but they expect it now. I also recommend chenille door mats and I wash it about every other day (gets put into an already existing load). We also wash the couch covers and shampoo the rugs weekly.
This should be much higher. My wife started making me do this with my dog. We hated it at first, but now he expects it and our house is very clean. Check their belly too if they have a long coat.
Western Washington rancher here with an Australian Cattle Dog. I brush him from time to time, towel him off in the mud room on the way in and it sure helps to run him through the bath monthly in the winter. We have 2 vacuum cleaners as well.
I use my tears to clean
Good idea, been looking for something to do with my tears! 😂
Brush the dog and sweep. 1 water bath a week and 1 shampoo bath every 2 months...also make sure your feeding your dog high quality foods and maybe even a supplement. I know it sounds like a lot but I have a GSD and the hair is non stop. I do all that for her and it brings the shedding down a bit.
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto. We love our new robovac.
I have an air purifier similar to this model which is on sale ATM. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/filtrete-370-sq-ft-true-hepa-air-purifier-black/6472746.p?skuId=6472746 I like that it has screens that catches a lot of hair and dander that I can vacuum out.
When looking for a small carpet cleaner, I discovered that Bissell makes something called the Bark Bath. Basically a hand held dog cleaner! I don’t have one, though. Can’t attest to whether it would be worth the purchase.
Rinse my golden off with the hose when needed before I bring him in.
We taught ours to wipe his feet on the doormat when he comes inside. Not only is “wipe your feets” a crowd pleaser of a trick, our floors are awesome.
How did you teach this?! Would love to do this.
I stopped him on the mat, used my hands to physically wipe his little paws on the mat, and just repeated “good wipe your feet” over and over while feeding him treats. He figured it out after like two five minute attempts. And if a stubborn-ass dachshund can do it, whatever breed you have can totally learn it.
We don’t even have to tell him to do it anymore… he comes in through the dog door from outside and we hear vigorous foot wiping on the mat til he gets his treat.
Buy the best furnace filter, and possibly a few other purifiers or even box fans and felt for the worst parts of the house. Highest R value you can afford.
We have 5 dogs! 130lb, 75lb, 55lb, 50lb, and 5lb (we're a combined household lol) the two big ones shed like mofos, ones a huskey!
Between two roombas and the air purifiers that house is under control with the need for human sweeping/vaccuming 2x a week, just dont look under the couch lol. We live in seattle with a big backyard.
It is crazy how much dust and hair a simple fan will catch, if it weren't for the air purifiers I don't think any of our PCs would work due to said dust and hair. That and keep their paws properly groomed, our doodles paws get caked in mud when his hair is long.
Also plant agressive growers anywhere its muddy; grass or clover are common. Also put down blankets or a bed where the dog chills that can be washed weekly.
Towels by the door to dry their paws after every time they go outside. Also frequent vacuuming and mopping. Also we’re losing this war.
https://libman.com/products/microfiber-dust-mop
You need one of these in your life. Dry, it will sweep and collect hair/dirt quickly. Washed out and wet, use it on the walls first (it cleans textured walls really well) then to wet mop/ sweep the floors all at once.
I've also used it to wash the roof of my car.
This is actually a great idea! I’ve been searching for something easy and light weight to help clean our textured walls, as mud ends up on them as well despite toweling the dogs when they come in. Thank you!!
Fake grass.
I’ve got a German shepherd and a goldendoodle. No muddy paws. So easy to scoop. And just hose it off when they get the runs.
How often are you cleaning/hosing the grass and is there a smell?
We’ve considered it, however our neighbor on the other side of the fence has fake grass and often as soon as we step into our own yard there’s a VERY noticeable stench of urine coming from it.
Would love to hear the answer to this too!
Um, you kind of have to take that as part of the deal.
We have two air purifiers and I highly recommend investing in a wet/dry vacuum. Truly a game changer
Roomba!
Here I have hardwoods, but when I'm done renovating my house I'll have luxury vinyl.
When he comes in from being outside if it's muddy, I've taught him to wipe his paws (he does spins on the welcome mat).
I vacuum the dog hair off of the sofa, but the sofa is also gray so his black hair isn't so super obvious.
But the big one is the Roomba. He (the vacuum) goes around and does the main floor every day. In addition to that, he goes and vacuums by the kitty litter another three times (with an optional fourth), and one additional time through the guest bathroom. Love my Roomba. When my house is done I'll have one on each floor.
I have 2 cats and one lab-staffy mix with a pebble walkway that catches every single pine nettle that drops. I sweep every morning and vacuum every week and have just accepted that it's a never ending cycle. Living minimally helps, and less rugs (easier to sweep). Blankets on the couches are a must as well. I have one room (the office/guest room) they're not allowed in, i need ONE space not covered in animal hair and pine nettles and weird dirt (dirt or poop? dirt or poo???) and drool - it helps!
Rotation of washable ruggables by the door and treats when they come in so they stand on the rug to get toweled off. Have not figured out the solution to shedding yet tho. Fur, everywhere.
We use Earthrated wipes for our dog anytime he’s been outside. Our vet thinks it’s good to remove allergens from his paws anyways
Big giant golden retriever. 1) hard floors and a roomba. 2) Mats at the doors. 3) Towels to wipe dog's feet at the doors, when he's muddy. 4) Washable slipcovers on the couch. 5) I started using the furminator and it gets his shedding downy undercoat really well
Mud room.
Start with the right dog, a dog with fur that sheds dirt (but that also will shed instead). Never given mine a bath. Ever, as not needed.
Have a dedicated routine when coming in from the outside. Always go to same spot, sit down, wait, wipe paws, legs, belly, etc. Do this not only when wet and dirty, but ‘as needed’ until routine is in place.
For backyard access, dog always in via basement door, and there’s a long runner of scrap carpet that captures the initial stuff. Then a sit by that (same) dedicated spot for wiping off before proceeding upstairs.
For shed fur; only thing that truly works reliably is a central vacuum. I have a Roomba, but it fills up in less than 30 minutes and emptying - and cleaning it - takes longer than just to vacuum with the central. It’s still a fun gadget though
We have an indoor and outdoor XL rubber doormat, and when it's wet I also have a towel on the floor where my pups sit and I do a "paw check" to clean off any dirt.
We do not have carpet so that's been a lifesaver. Roomba runs once a day and I have one of those spray mops that I spot clean with throughout the week, and do a full house mop once a week. Pups also get paws rinsed off once a week and a full bath once a month. We only have one rug in the living room and that gets steam cleaned about once a month as well.
Even after all that our floor is clean for about 30 minutes and then it's game over. Best of luck to you!
I have 4 dogs. I vacuum daily, wash their bedding 2-3 weekly, they gets baths 1x monthly. Never ending cycle. But they are loved🥰
Vacuuming constantly.
Lab gets a swim and vigorous toweling off weekly, which seems to help with stink and loose hair. She also has a dogloo that is filled with cedar shavings ( find at farm and garden store) that covers any other stink with cedar scent.
GSD owner here… I used to have a Neato robot vacuum but recently got a Roborock S7 MaxV and it made my life a lot easier. It’s camera avoids all the toys on the floor, the mop is far from perfect but makes the floor shine. And what I thought was silly turned out to be my favorite feature… self emptying!
I have two 100lb dogs (and two cats) One dog with a short coat and the other with a double coat. I vacuum everyday. Also vacuum my baseboards and edges and under the furniture once a week. I keep towels and a washable rug at my doors to stop the mud. I “hot mop” (Boiling water, hottest tap water, spoon full of powdered tide and some bleach) 1-2 times a week. I bought a Chom Chom roller for my couches and I vacuum them about 1x week too.
It’s a never ending process, but vacuuming daily really helps I have found out.
**I bought a Bissell hardwood floor vac for pets and it’s literally the best purchase I have ever made for a vacuum and these dogs and hardwood floors. I too have 3 vacuums and I use the one with the rollers on the carpet, furniture, edges and baseboards.
You vacuum and wipe down couches every day then steam mop every few days. Having a mostly hard floors throught the house helps too.
They live in their own house outside and have their own fenced in yard
Roomba
Blast the fucker with a hose before letting them in
We have a shower downstairs so if paws are too dirty for the towel I say shower and both pups head there to get their paws sprayed off. This isn’t a perfect method though and that’s where the big green shampooer comes in!
Build a kennel and don’t let them indoors.
Period. They’re animals, not people. They have nice warm fur coats. They will wallow in cow shit and dead fish if given the opportunity. They will even eat human shit.
Not every dog has a “nice warm fur coat” or will “wallow in cow shit and dead fish.” Very interesting way to participate in a discussion about cleaning
baconinspace t1_j8q3jo5 wrote
That’s the best part: you don’t.