You love your pets, but sometimes you feel like it’s hard to keep your car clean with a dog.
There are many easy ways to clean your car, even if your furry friends shed a lot! The best part is that it doesn’t take much work to ensure your car keeps looking and smelling fresh.
Here are some of the most helpful things you can do to keep your car clean or to clean up your car after your pet.
Preventative Actions
1.Groom Your Dog
One of the best ways to keep dog hair out of your car is to regularly groom your dog’s pelt.
Dog hair, like all animal hair — humans included — is in a constant state of growth. You may wonder why some dogs have such short hair if that’s really the case.
Each hair follicle produces hair at a different rate. After the hair has grown to a certain length, the hair follicle will detach the hair and begin growing a new one. Hair follicles all function independently, dropping their hair at different times.
You can keep your dog’s hair from getting everywhere by regularly taking your dog in for grooming.
2.Get a Seat Cover
A great way to keep your dog’s shedding contained is by getting a seat cover.
A dog seat cover can be attached to your seats semi-permanently or until you don’t need them anymore. They are easily detachable and can often be machine-washed.
Car seat covers are a great solution for your dog because they are good at keeping your dog contained to one part of the car and add a barrier between your dog and your car’s seats.
You can get seat covers to fit almost any seat in almost every type of car. They can also be as covering or sparse as you want. If you don’t want to contain your pup in a basket of a seat cover, you could always get one that just covers the seats and keeps the foot space open.
3.Bathe Your Dog Regularly
Like grooming, giving your dog regular baths can help keep the fur count low.
Using the right shampoo and conditioner can really cut back on the amount your dog sheds. Look for de-shedding shampoo to lather on your dog.
Be sure to brush them out afterward, too! When you bathe your dog, you may knock some hair loose that doesn’t get washed out with the shampoo. Giving your dog a gentle brush after a bath will help remove all those loose hairs, keeping your dog feeling fresh and shed-free!
4.Old Blankets or Towels
Keeping your car clean is as easy as laying a blanket on your seat.
This may not be the most trendy method in car care, but it works. Old towels and blankets perform the same function as a car cover, only they don’t stay on as well.
This can be a quick temporary method to keep hair off your seats. Just make sure to secure the blankets or towels to the seats well!
5.Get a Car With Leather Seats
Dog hair is a lot like fabric. It’s light, small, stringy, staticky, and easily sticks to soft fabric surfaces.
An easy preemptive way to keep your car clean of dog hair is to get a car with leather seats.
The hair your pet sheds is less likely to catch on a smooth leather surface. The hair that your dog will shed can be easily gathered up or wiped off.
In addition to leather seats, non-fabric floor mats could reduce the amount of hair that can collect in your car. At the very least, cleaning your car mats will be easier.
Cleaning Tips
6.Clean Your Car Regularly
If you’ve gotten used to bringing your pooch along with you in your car and don’t care a lot about your car getting a little messy, just remember to clean your car out every few trips with your dog.
A little dog hair is rarely a problem. You just want to keep what's there contained. Set time aside each month to vacuum your car and change the air freshener. Not only will your car look and smell clean, but you’ll also feel better when you get in your nice clean car.
7.Keep Poop Bags in the Car
Your dog is likely potty trained enough not to go in the car, but accidents happen.
Keep some bags available in your car, just in case. Besides, it’s always good to have poop bags handy!
8.Keep a Lint Roller in Your Car
Lint rollers are a great way to keep hair out of your car. They are small, portable, and pick up most of the hair that gets on your seats. Removing hair with a lint roller can be an excellent substitute for vacuuming.
A lint roller isn’t as powerful as a vacuum, but it can quickly make the hair levels in your car much more tolerable. You’ll thank yourself for keeping one of these handy the next time you want to do a spot clean!
9.Use Baking Soda for Odors
Have you noticed that your car is starting to smell more like your dog than the air freshener you keep replacing? Maybe it’s time to tackle the odor a little harder.
You can sprinkle the seats and floor with baking soda or a carpet deodorizer to dampen and remove any smells your car has picked up.
10.Have Sanitizer Wipes Handy
You may not have to use sanitizer wipes for your dog too often, but they are a great thing to keep handy.
If your dog has any accidents, you don’t have to wait for problems to get worse before you can deal with them. Sanitizer wipes are great for cleaning up smelly messes and spot cleaning places your dog may have drooled or sneezed on.
Sanitizer wipes are also great for cleaning other messes or wiping down frequently used surfaces.
Plush Paws Products Has Your Car Covered
If you are looking for anything to keep your car clean with a dog, we literally have you covered! We have an assortment of car seat covers for almost every type of car and seat.
Shop car seat covers now and keep your car looking, feeling, and smelling clean.