You are hereHome / Spring cleaning tips for dog owners Spring cleaning tips for dog owners More in Routine care A place of their own: What to look for in dog beds Before disaster strikes: Have a plan for your dogs How to get your dog into shape Los síntomas de gusanos en perros Why is my dog drooling so much? Dog constipation: Causes, symptoms, and treatments Comments - Rules and Conditions At Cesar’s Way, we strive to be a single pack, and packs have rules, boundaries, and limitations. Here are ours for the comments: No bullying or harassment of fellow commenters. No foul language or obscenities, please. No posting of external links. Also, please note that because of volume, we are unable to respond to individual comments, although we do watch them in order to learn what issues and questions are most common so that we can produce content that fulfills your needs. You are welcome to share your own dog tips and behavior solutions among yourselves, however.
Thank you for reading our articles and sharing your thoughts with the pack!Edit ArticleHow to Clean Dog Bedding With Vinegar Three Methods:Doing a Routine WashCleaning a Foam Dog Bed or InsertKeeping Bedding FreshCommunity Q&A Vinegar is a cheap, easy way to clean and deodorize your dog's bedding. For regular washing, add 1/2 cup (120 ml) of white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) to a wash cycle with hot water, in addition to a mild detergent. For strong odors, add a full cup of vinegar. To wash a full dog bed, fill your bathtub with warm water, detergent, and vinegar, and soak. Keep your dog's bedding fresh by washing it every week or two, and by spraying it daily with an even mixture of vinegar and water.Remove the blankets or dog bed cover from your dog's sleeping spot. Note whether the bedding smells bad enough to warrant a more intense cleaning. Place items in the washing machine. If you notice stains on the bedding, treat them with a stain remover prior to washing.
Pick settings for the washing machine.Add 1/2 cup (120 ml) of white vinegar to the softener dispenser of the machine. Start the wash cycle. If your machine does not have a softener dispenser, run the machine as usual and add the vinegar at the beginning of the final rinse cycle. If the smell on your dog's bedding is especially strong, add a full cup of vinegar to the final rinse cycle.If possible, hang your dog's bedding on a clothesline to dry - the outdoor air will help with neutralizing odors and freshen the bedding. If line drying is not an option, air dry the items indoors or use the clothes dryer. If you choose the latter option, be sure to clean out the lint trap carefully afterwards to remove all pet hair. Avoid using dryer sheets, which may irritate your dog's skin.After washing your dog's bedding in the washing machine, clean the machine to remove any lingering odors or pet hair. Add a 1/2 cup of chlorine bleach. Run a full hot water wash cycle.If your dog's bed does not have removable bedding, you will have to soak the entire bed (or cushion insert) to clean it.
Fill the bathtub full of warm water. Add a capful of laundry detergent and a 1/4 cup (60 ml) of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. To remove very strong odor, add a 1/2 cup of vinegar.Put your dog's foam bed (or the foam cushion insert of the bed) into the bathtub. Make sure it is completely submerged. Soak the bed for 10-15 minutes.Remove the bed or cushion insert from the tub. If weather permits, place the bed outside to dry. If not, place near a heater to dry indoors.To keep your dog's bedding fresh, wash it every week, or every two weeks at most.[8] Purchase a mild detergent without dyes or perfumes, which can cause skin irritation for your pet. Ideally, look for a specialty pet detergent online. Bathe your dog regularly. The best way to keep your dog's bedding clean is to keep your dog clean. Bathe your dog weekly; in the interim, you can use baby wipes to wipe your dog's coat and freshen its fur. In addition, brush your dog regularly to remove dirt, debris, and allergens that contribute to odor.
Use a vinegar-based deodorizing spray. Fill a spray bottle with an equal mixture of water and white vinegar. Spray your dog's bedding on a daily basis to keep it smelling fresh. Avoid spraying before your dog's usual bedtime or nap times so the bedding has adequate time to dry.One of my worst childhood memories was returning home from vacation to find our house had been infested with fleas. We had been gone for a couple of weeks in the summer, and the infestation was unaccountable. My family had a dog, but she was an outside dog, making the invasion even more perplexing. This past summer, that nightmare was revisited. It was a particularly bad year for fleas, at least in my area, and I had a very bad tendency to come in from walking my dog and sitting down on my own bed to take off my shoes and walking clothes. I would wake in the morning to find myself itchy, and it wasn’t long before I discovered I’d been bringing fleas and other tiny, biting insects in from my dog walks.
I got in the habit of removing my outer garments, shoes, and socks before entering the house, and I had to completely disinfect my room and wash my own bedding frequently for the rest of the summer. Those of you who live in heavily wooded areas or have dog beds inside the home may have similar experiences, making the question of how to clean a dog bed of critical importance. Not only will you be sparing your dog any unnecessary torment, but the skin you keep safe may be your own! As we know, most dogs are not so delicate or discriminating as we are about how they interact with the world. They are adventurous and curious animals who will step anywhere and stick their noses in anything. Shake as much as they will before entering the house, dogs also unwittingly track in dirt on their paws and unknowingly invite insects and allergens in their hair or on their skin. Bathing your dog is all good and well, but they spend a great deal of time in their various beds and nesting spots where the things they bring in can stay behind.
You don’t have to let them linger! Whether your dog sleeps inside or outside, it’s important to know how to clean a dog bed as well. How to wash a dog bed should be a primary consideration when you are selecting from the range of commercially available dog beds at your local pet or department store. Check the tags on dog beds to see whether the recommended method of cleaning is feasible and practical for you, your home, and the time you have for cleaning. All too often, people buy a dog bed on impulse because it is cute or it fits with their home decor. When the dog urinates all over it a few nights later, they find, to their cost, that the bed itself or the insert is soaked and is either not compatible with their washing machine or not recommended for their dryer. There are, naturally, as many different kinds of dog beds as there are different kinds of dogs. My own dog sleeps outside, and, depending on the time of year, has between one and three quilts that she carefully arranges each night to nestle among.
No matter what kind of bedding your dog uses, if you are time-conscious and prefer to machine wash, it is critical to select an appropriate disinfectant solution or detergent. Once a month or so, I will put each quilt into the washing machine and then into the dryer, making sure to use detergent that is dog-friendly. After all, without opposable thumbs, Tina drags her quilts around in her mouth, and many cleaning products may contain chemicals harmful to her. In the brighter and warmer months, I’ll wash and then air-dry them. Ventilation and sun exposure are key for air-drying. Techniques for how to wash a dog bed are as varied as the bedding materials themselves. The process of cleaning a dog bed can be as simple or as time-consuming as you want it to be. If the bed is a one-piece item and is too large for machine washing, take care to vacuum it first, then go over it with a lint roller or duct tape, particularly on the areas the dog has most frequent contact with. This will remove as much hair and as many particulates, dander, allergens, and potential insect eggs as possible before washing.
Wash it thoroughly in hot water with a dog-safe detergent or disinfectant solution before airing it dry. Beds with outer zip covers and foam inserts present their own challenges. If you select a dog bed with an outer cover, you may want to enclose the insert, particularly if it is foam, in a bin-liner or large trash bag to prevent outside agents or stray urine from reaching the insert in the first place. If you’re not so fastidious, machine wash and dry the cover once a month, and vacuum it between washings. Soak and rinse foam inserts in your bathtub or shower in hot or warm water and allow it to completely air dry before restoring the cover. Ring out foam inserts many times before drying to ensure that mold and mildew do not take root. Since dogs have a number of bedding options, we ask you, the Dogster faithful, to share your techniques for washing, cleaning, and maintaining a dog’s bed! What kinds of beds do your dogs use? What kinds are the easiest to clean? What are your approaches and methods?