We have three animals in a rather small house, a border collie and two long haired cats. The animal hair and dust that collects is insane. You could sweep daily and would never know the difference.
The problem is that regular sweeping does not do anything. We also don’t have a regular vacuum. Can anyone recommend an easy way to get all the animal hair in the house on hard wood floors?
Would a swifter be best, or a vacuum?
Thanks.
Go for a cannister vac; they are lightweight, so you can zoom through the rooms quickly. Also, take your pets outside when you can to groom them; it will cut down on the hair. There really isn’t any way around daily cleaning, or the buildup is insane. I can recommend one, tho: bagless is pretty great, and you want a good filter because of the dander (it looks like dust and clings to everything!!) Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765-040 (*est. $200)
A swifter would be good for quick everyday and then a good vacuum and a mopping weekly.
A dry-style swiffer would help for quick touch-ups during the week, but a vacuum will do a much more thorough job. Don’t get a regular upright vacum because their "bare floor" settings generally do a lousy job of hard floors. A canister vacuum will do a better job (think ShopVac but with slightly more cushion on the end to avoid scratching the floors). Don’t get a Swiffer Wet Jet, or any other chemical-spraying sweeper, as the chemicals are toxic to your pets.
For the most thorough cleaning, invest in a steam cleaner. My mother-in-law bought one at a home show to clean up after her Alaskan Samoyed (he tracks so much dirt into the house on a daily basis!) and she loves it. Shark sells one for $80 – about half the price of the one she bought, though I haven’t been impressed by Shark’s quality of stick vacs so not sure I’d recommend it.
First of all, you need to cut down on the accumulation of hair and dust – it will make everything else that follows easier.
Your dog is double coated, he’ll shed like mad twice a year, while for the reminder of the year he should be fairly light shedder. During shedding season, take an undercoat rake and brush him out for several days, clearing out the undercoat as much as possible. Follow each brushing session with a natural bristle/pin brush to catch the loose hair. The rest of the year, brush once a week for about 30 minutes.
Also, Borders tend to trap dirt in their coats, so, make sure you towel him off or brush him out briefly before he enters the home.
Brush the cats while you watch TV – its therapeutic 🙂
Also, make sure that your dog and cats get all of their fatty acids to prevent unnecessarily dry skin which adds to the dust in the house. An occasional can of mackerel should help with that or get some salmon oil and put it on their food.
As to the floors: Vacuuming is a must. Follow it with a Swiffer. I use a Dyson (and I swear by it – it has cut down on my vacuuming time) and there is nothing more handy than a Swiffer. However, I would not sweep up dry as that will only agitate the dust and make it airborne. If you don’t want to use the cleaning solution every day, simply put some water in a spray bottle and lightly spray the floor to bind the dust to the floor so you can actually remove it when swiffering.
Last but not least, change your furnice filter regularly and often. It makes a difference in the air quality and dust accumulation. Also, when you vacuum or sweep, turn on the fan of your central air (if you have that) as it will activily exchange and filter the air and while you are cleaning a lot of dust becomes airborne.