Protect Your Dogs from Harsh Cleaning Chemicals

You care about your dog’s health, but you also care about having a clean house. You know that you need to use powerful cleaning agents to kill germs and bacteria, but you also know that dogs can be sensitive to chemicals that might not bother people very much. Dogs will put their noses and tongues in places where humans would not, and you have to take extra precautions with them.

How do you keep your house spotlessly clean and minimize health risks to your inside dogs? We have some helpful cleaning tips on that very topic, and we hope this information is useful for you.

What Cleaners Harm Your Dogs?

There are many cleaners we use that can be harmful to us and that we take precautions to protect ourselves from. It’s often wise to open some windows or wear a face mask when using certain chemicals that have dangerous fumes, like ammonia. We have been told to be careful about allowing certain chemicals to touch our skin and to wash them off quickly if they come into contact with us. What about our dogs? Which chemicals do we need to be careful about letting them come into contact with?

Some of the most effective cleaning agents and disinfecting cleaners are some of the most toxic to animals. These include hydrogen peroxide, bleach, alcohol, and any component with the word phenol in it. These can release toxic odors or have toxic residue that is harmful for pets.

You might be careful about what kind of cleaners you use and how easily the dog can come into contact with them. But if you start cleaning and then get distracted, your dog might try to lick up the cleaners before you can wash them down or completely get rid of any residue. You have to be careful about what cleaners you use and how you use them. Even those cleaners that are used to get rid of pet odors and clean up their messes might not be safe for dogs. Do some research on any cleaners you are suspicious about and make sure you are making a safe place for your dogs.

How to Clean More Safely

If you have to use cleaning agents that are potentially harmful to your dogs, then you can take precautions in the way you clean. Of course, make sure that the area is well ventilated so that fumes will quickly escape outside. Keep in mind that fumes are more potent to your dogs because of their superior sense of smell. Also consider restricting your dog’s movements while you clean so that they are confined to a room you are not working in until you are done cleaning.

As you clean with toxic chemicals, you will want to wipe up any residue that is left behind. This is especially important in areas of the house where your dog can access and where they might walk or be able to lick. Even if you cannot see any residue from a cleaning agent after using it, you should still wipe the area down with a wet cloth, and then follow up with a dry cloth for even better residue removal.

It is also a good idea to allow the cleaning agent time to dry and dissipate before allowing your dog back into the area you cleaned.

Any cleaning tools you have used need to be thoroughly washed down after use. The mop bucket, brushes, cloths, and sponges that could contain cleaning gents should be rinsed out until there are no cleaning agent residues left. Remember that your dogs can get to these tools as well and ingest harmful chemicals if you don’t use proper post-cleaning tidying up methods.

Use Safer Cleaners

How do you minimize the risk of toxic chemical ingestion to your pets when you clean? You can use the safe cleaning methods we just recommended, but you can go further for the safety of your pets and use cleaners that are nontoxic to them.

We recommend green cleaners and natural cleaners that use less harsh agents. Instead of ammonia and bleach, they use baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar. Your dogs may not like the smell very much, but they should not be harmed by these cleaners. You don’t even have to worry about cleaning up any remaining residue after you are done cleaning, if you are using safe, natural cleaners. It’s still wise to ventilate properly so that no annoying, lingering fumes are left after you clean, especially since your dog’s strong sense of smell will be affected and irritated by those fumes.

If you hire professional cleaning services for your home, be sure to ask them about their pet-safe practices. Let them know you have pets in the home and request that they use natural or green cleaners instead of harsh chemicals. Most  cleaning agencies will be happy to accommodate you. If you hire them for basement cleaning in Dallas or kitchen cleaning in your local area, then discuss ahead of time the cleaners they will be using.

Final Thoughts

Even when you aren’t using cleaning chemicals, your pets can still get in trouble with them. The way you store them is important, and you don’t want to place them somewhere that would be in reach of your pets. Make sure they are in a  secure storage closet or up on a shelf where your pets cannot get access to them.

Your dogs may not be very careful about where they put their tongues, what they step in, and what they clean off their paws. So, you have to be careful about the cleaning chemicals you use and how easily accessible those are to your dogs. With natural, gentle cleaning agents, the risk to your pets is much lower than with harsh commercial cleaners. If you take the precautions we have provided for you here, though, then your pets should be safe and you should have nothing to worry about.