I use a vaccum cleaner, swiffer and i always have a box
of babywipes at the front and back door to wipe their
paws.
I don't use alot of chemical cleaning stuff, because one of my rotties has allergies.

Christine

What products, tools or methods have you found easy & effective for cleaning up, what seems like an endless supply of dog/cat, hair & muddy footprints?

tools: Dyson animal Vac, (I don't have one but many of my dog/cat owner friends do and swear by it)
Swiffer,lint brushes a must.

Method: do the above every day, LOL.

I'm into prevention :-)

When it's raining or snowy out, the dogs exit through the kitchen door but we come back in through the cellar and laundry room. That way they can shake and leave wet footprints on the concrete floor in the workroom part of the cellar, and I have plenty of old towels in the laundry room to wipe them down with. Wet coats can be hung to dry in the furnace room. This makes a big difference in the frequency of washing the black (ugh) slate kitchen floor.

I brush one dog outdoors every day. (Have 3 + a foster). I usually vacuum one room every night, but also keep french doors to living room and sunrooms closed to dog traffic. In the event of a busy week and unexpected company those rooms are always clean. Cats still have access (single pane of glass removed in doors), and I keep fabric squares (silk or brocade napkins) on the chair seats to collect any cat hair. Just scoop those up when company comes.

3 cats and 3 or 4 dogs at anytime means my house is not pristine by any means. Toys scattered everywhere and tumbleweeds happen. I'm determined to teach a 'pick up your toys' command at some point, just have to figure it out :-)

I cant live without my DUSTBUSTER,great for those little touch ups when you dont feel like dragging out the whole vaccum (even better now that I have a baby bunny who turds everywhere,LOL)

Vacuum twice a day. Wipe up kitchen and laundry room floors at least once a week with mild disinfectant and water.

The days I dread are rain days. I usually go through 10 large beach towels between putting one down in front of the entrances and exits and toweling all three dogs dry. If the rain lasts a couple of days, I am washing and drying a couple of times!

Have you tried to teach the bunny to go in the litterbox. My SIL had a bunny that did its business in the litter.

Labmomma...we have only had the bunny a few days,and it is a baby.I read that they are easier to litter train after a year old. Right now the bunny lays all relaxed in the litter box,LOL!!! I have tried making his home nicer and stuff,but he wants to sleep in the litter box.
First a gerbil that refuses to run on a wheel (we bought 3 different ones and he wouldnt use any of them) Now a bunny who thinks his litterbox is his bed.
If it werent for this dustbuster I dont know what I'd do,LOL.
But he is so cute,he is worth it.I will keep trying.

Coolmama from the bunnies we had in the past they kind of decide where they want to go to the bathroom and you put the box there. They won't go way out of their way to get to a litterbox like cats will. After they are using it regularly then you may slowly be able to move it to a better spot. Also be sure that his regular bedding and whats in the litter box are very different to help him tell the difference between the two. Be sure if bunny is a male to get him fixed. Male bunnies spray just like male cats but it smells even worse.

Like everybody else has said so far I do a lot of vacuuming. I really want a Dyson. Can't stand the Oreck we have but MIL lives with us and keeps buying the things so I can't really justify having two vacs in the house. I'm trying to throw stuff out as it is.

Lisa

I have a dyson, and I use it everyday. We have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 kids, so I pretty much have too. We also have off white tile, wood floors and area rugs. The dyson cleans them all, and it's pretty easy (there is a switch you hit to go from floors to rugs). Sometimes I get "fur tumbleweeds", but not very often. I usually spot clean the tile with a damp towel about once a day. I do a full mop once/twice a week. I try to brush the dogs outside, weather permitting. My four year old DD loves to help brush, so it can actually be pretty fun, we also have a shedding blade, which both the dogs love. You wouldn't believe how much dead hair you can get with that. DD then leaves little piles of fur "for the birds to make nests" lol! Like cynthia, my house isn't pristine, but I'd trade a spotless house for the love I receive any day.

We had a litterbox-trained male rabbit for 12 yrs and he never sprayed. I have never heard of rabbits spraying.

anyways, we litterbox trained him but putting his poo in the box. After a little while he figured it out.

Once, he escapted from his hutch and a neighbor found him eating her lettuce. Well she scooped him and and brought his to the animal shelter. When we found this out we ran over there and were able to pick him up and bring him home. He was there for one night and the shelter folks were worried because he hadn't gone to the bathroom yet. Well, he didn't know WHERE to go! The first thing he did when we brough him home was to jump in the litterbox!!
Also, rabbits chomp through cords VERY easily. Make sure all electrical and phone cords are out of the way when your bunny is allowed to run around the house!

-renee

I have no carpeting in my house. All wood floors and I love my robot vaccume. I turn it on and it goes all over the place and picks up all the dirt and hair. They are amazing machines. I have to empty it every time I use it because I have 4 cats and a dog.
Lois

I've seen the commercials for the robot. Does it really work well? I only have experience with the thing that cleans the pool and that thing seems to have no rhyme or reason in the way it moves. It also takes forever to clean the whole pool. Approximately how long would it take for the robot to clean an 8 by 11 foot room and does it just wander around or does it go in some semblance of order or pattern?

Thanks.

Dyson, Dyson, Dyson.

DH and I own a building maintenance company and these are all we use now. I have DCO7's, DC14's and an Animal Ball.
They come all come with an attachment that has red felt on it which works wonders for removing pet hair from furniture. Personally, I wouldn't buy another Animal or Ball as they don't seem worth the $. I stick with DC07 & 14.

They really are work horses surviving the constant commercial use they are exposed to, not to mention the abuse I am sure my employees subject them to!

At home I vacuum 1 - 2 times per day and once a week I detail all the edges with a crevice tool.

I use a commercial dust mop for my hard floors which I do daily. Especially in the kitchen which is where the dog door is. The kitchen counters, sink, stove top are cleaned everyday. All other surfaces are dusted once a week.

I vacuum the furniture 1 - 2 times per week depending upon the hair. If you don't let your pets on the furniture it'll cut back on hair on it but won't eliminate it if your pet sheds!

Once a week I also clean the ceiling fans as these are wonderful at recirculating pet hair that has settled on it and the tops of other items which I also clean once a week. These are door frames, picture frames, top of cabinets, fridge, etc, etc.

Ofcourse I don't do all my once a week tasks in one day, I split them up over the week and then they don't take up that much time.

Once a month I clean all the shelves in the pantry, cabinets and linen closets as they also seem to get dusty.

My wooden blinds could probably use it more, but I hate cleaning them so they only get it once a month. Also, beause I hate doing it, I dust the baseboards once a month.

Air purifers really help cut back on the dust, along with frequently changing your air filter and having the ducts prefessionally cleaned periodacly.

I use a large "Track Off" mat outside their dog door and a small kitchen mat inside their dog door which helps with the muddy footprints. You can find these track off mats at a commercial janitorial supply store. They really do wonders if you keep them vacuumed!

Hope this helps!

Awe geez the adams. You're making me really hate that dang Oreck.

Lisa

Sorry Lisa!!! :-)

I also have a Dobe, it is really is incredible the amount of hair they shed! He has a gorgeous coat, but sheds like crazy!

If you have a two story home maybe you could then justify two vacs?

Ouch, you guys are making me look like a pig! How do you find the time for all that cleaning? I barely feel like I have time to do the dishes everyday!
We have an oreck air cleaner and I LOVE IT. It picks up so much dander and fur it is GROSS!
Other than that I vacuum and sweep whenever I get a chance. I also only use non toxic cleaners just in case my dog decided he wants to lick the floor or something stupid. Also we bought a steam cleaner for the rug, which really works nicely. We use hot water and it cleans very well. For my laminate floors I run a damp microfiber cloth over them and it picks up all the fur!

The best thing when I had my dog was an upright cordless vacuum for the vinyl floor...it was a godsend! I always wiped my dogs feet before he came inside the house after doing his business...I vacuumed every single day and bought a little upright steam cleaner that I used every couple months.

Was planning to lurk, with a cup of tea, to unwind after a long shift. Reading how much the adams do, each week, wore me out. As hard as I try, I can never get that much cleaning done in a month. Think I'll just go to bed.

Shady - You give me far too much credit! :-) Really, I have a smaller home and just do a little bit at a time so it only adds 10-15 minutes here & there. I have 3 dogs & 2 cats, I'm not allergic to any of them but I have bad allergies in general so I really have to keep up on minimizing the fur / dirt floating around.

Also, fortunatly I have a 2 story home and my dogs spend most their time downstairs so most of my cleaning efforts are focused down their! I also have a very contemporary decorating scheme going on, the open space & minimal accessories make it easy to clean quickly. :-)

I keep Brawny paper towels in business!

Please be careful when using any cleaning product around your animals. Especially if you are using a spot remover or carpet cleaner, these products can make your animal sick. Even the sprays we use in the garden can cause cancer or other health issues. Remember our animals are closer to the ground and are getting more fumes inhaled - it just can not be good.
PS - I point to the vaccum cleaner and my dog automatically goes into the other room to hide until Im done

LOL @ pointing at vaccum cleaner and dog hiding....

I have hardwoods through the whole house and use the Hoover Floormate- it scrubs the floor with water and solution and slurps it back up. Between 2 kids, DH, and 3 furbabies I use it daily.
I have carpeted stairs and of course anyone that has to have an accident will go on my stairs. I bought a Bissell carpet machine thingy, not sure what its called but I love it. Its about $90 at Target, and you can buy a pet formula to use in the machine. Once again, I LOVE IT!
I keep a schedule of when everything is to be cleaned and stay on it. Also all 3 furkids get a bath once a week. I suggest checking out www.flylady.com Its a great way to get organized and get the house cleaned and keep it clean using baby steps.

Labmomma, I have the Roomba Discovery series. They are just amazing. It will clean up to 1 1/2 hrs. Mine usually quits after 45 min. It will be full then. It will clean under anything high enough to get under. It has virtual walls to keep it from entering any area you do not want cleaned. It docks itself after it finishes and then recharges itself. It goes everywhere. It really is amazing. Check with Amazon to see if they have any factory
reconditioned Roomba's for sale. I only paid $139 for mine and it has all the bells and whistles. I don't know how I got along without it.
Lois

I use a velcro-type brush, on upholstered furniture to remove cat hair. A robot sounds really good to me since using a vacuum is difficult for me. Is it the next best thing to a maid??? For area rugs, I use a scrub brush.

My ears perked up at the thought of a robot. Can anyone share more info? Please.