Hair, dander, dust, and that smell, oh my!
Can we take a minute to talk about something we all, as dog people, deal with every single day?
Hair, dander, dust, and the smells we have to manage are a small price to pay to have our furry ones at home with us. But, dang it's a lot of work sometimes.
My dogs seem to shed constantly. Between Drastic's Malinois undercoat and the Border Collies who dread being touched by a brush, the amount of hair that collects on the carpet and the hair that creates tumbleweeds on the tile is just too freaking much.
Then, a certain Border Collie (View) enjoys rolling in dirt, then he comes in and shakes, sending dust flying everywhere. sigh... So Mr. View gets lots of baths, leaving the fresh aroma of wet dog throughout my home.
Dealing with the shed
I can't be the only one to deal with the never-ending battle of dog hair. So, just in case I'm not the last one to bring home a robot vacuum, I must share my latest addition to my home. Even though I didn't want to do any shopping on Black Friday, I just couldn't pass up on the Shark AI Ultra 2in1 Robot Vacuum and Mop. Her name is Clean Elizabeth, a suggested name from Shark, so I can't take credit for the name. If I rename her, it will be a gender-neutral name.
About the new Shark... Well, let me tell you, robot vacuums have come a long way since my last one, which was the first version of the Roomba. I killed two in a short time with my hair. Sad that I can't even blame the premature deaths on dog hair.
Clean Elizabeth won't allow that to happen. When my hair wraps around the wheels, she stops and the app will tell me exactly what is happening and how to clean it. All of the compartments, filters, and parts are easy to pull apart and clean, and my whole house is vacuumed every day! This is life-changing for me! No, she isn't perfect and will drag the longer Border Collie hair around the carpet sometimes, but other than that it does a pretty fantastic job, so I only need to vacuum once a week and I don't have dog hair everywhere.
If you don't have one, I highly recommend adding a robot vacuum to your life!
Another more obvious way to deal with shedding is frequent brushing. My Border Collies think I'm trying to kill them when I use a brush, so to collect dead hair, I use a grill-cleaning brick, it grabs the dead hair and they appear to be less tortured by it.
Yucky doggy dander and dust
It's rare that I sit on the couch in the morning. It usually means I have a headache or I'm sick or my body is just telling me I cannot do anything else. When I do, at some point, View will stand up and shake and because of how the morning light comes in the window, I watch - in disgust, all of the hair, dust, and dander fly up in the air and slowly fall down everywhere. So gross! So now, I grab a wet cleaning towel and wipe my dogs down every morning and it makes a huge difference. If you don't believe me, find a window and do the light test before and after wiping your dog down. If you don't want to add to your laundry pile, Costco baby wipes do a decent job of grabbing the excess dander.
If like me, you have a dog that is just a bit of a Pigpen, regular baths are your friend.
A dog dryer will help to combat the shedding after a bath. I have an old Metro dryer that looks like this one. I bought it in the 90s and it still works. It doesn't have heat, so there's no risk of burning skin, and it blows out all the loose hair. It's pretty fabulous. But, I'm considering something a little smaller and more convenient, like this one.
Dust, dander, and odor
Honestly, doing all the above, I still have not managed to keep dust out of my house. So a few years ago I purchased 2 AirDoctor 3000s, and I'm super happy with them and how well the reduce dust, dander, and any cooking or dog odors. They are pricey, but often go on sale for about half the regular price, and are worth every cent.
Recently, I went to Coscto needing dusting solution and they didn't have any, so I decided to make my own, and now I'll never go back to the store-bought stuff that is full of chemicals and seems to attract dust.
I found the simple chemical-free dusting solution recipe below online and it's fantastic.
- Combine 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a spray bottle. Shake well to combine ingredients.
- Sprinkle five drops of essential oil onto the mixture (or up to 10 drops for an extra-strong scent). Use any essential oils you like; some popular choices include eucalyptus, lavender, grapefruit or lemon.
- Spray the mixture on furniture that needs cleaning and wipe off with a clean cloth or paper towel when done.
Hopefully, these tips help your life a little bit less hairy. Do you have tips for me? I would love to learn what else I can be doing or how my life can be a little easier, so please share in the comments.
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