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Cleaning with Vinegar: 8 Uses for Dog Households

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I love vinegar as a cleaning supply. It’s an inexpensive, green solution that doesn’t add unwanted chemicals into our home. While the smell of vinegar can be strong, it’s nothing like the chemical/perfume smell of many cleansers that will irritate my asthma. If you’re wondering if vinegar is safe for dogs, the answer is yes, vinegar is safe to use as a cleanser in pet households to clean everyday messes without dangerous chemicals .

While I love using vinegar for cleaning, dogs, however, don’t share my love of vinegar. While the scent of vinegar is not a problem for them physically, they just don’t like it. Because of that, vinegar can serve as a natural deterrent if there’s an area you’d like your dogs (or cats) to avoid.

When diluted, the smell is much fainter, and vinegar can be a great tool for cleaning without chemicals. There are many great ways to use vinegar around the house that will keep you AND your pets happy!

Cleaning with Vinegar

Clean deposits out of the pet fountain.

We rely on well water that’s very hard, creating mineral deposits on all the pet bowls and the fountain.

Much like you might clean your coffee maker to remove deposits, running vinegar through the pet fountain then rinsing (and rinsing) with clean water prevents it all from getting clogged by lime deposits.

Remove litterbox odor or training pad holder odors.

Whether you have a plastic puppy pad holder for training pads or pee pads for a senior dog or a litterbox for your cat, vinegar is a great solution for natural cleaning.

We keep our litterboxes in rotation; when we change out the litterbox, the box goes outside for a deep cleaning and airing for days before returning to the house.

Pour a quarter inch of vinegar in the box and let it sit overnight; when done, pour out the vinegar (great for killing weeds naturally) and wash the litterbox completely to remove the odor.

Mop with vinegar to clean naturally.

We mop with vinegar as well, adding about a cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water (some people also add a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid).

Not only does it clean without chemical fumes but you don’t need to worry about your pets getting it on their paws.

Mop with vinegar to deter fleas.

Help deter fleas naturally by mopping with vinegar, also a great way to kills bacteria, mold, and germs.

About half a cup of white (or apple cider) vinegar in a gallon of water works great. The smell dissipates quickly.

Pour in the washer’s rinse cycle.

Pour half a cup of white vinegar into the rinse cycle when you’re washing pet bedding to also prevent fleas naturally.

Spray problem areas with vinegar to repel dogs, cats and more.

Do you have a problem area you’re trying to keep your dog away from when possible? A plant that you don’t want her near?

Mist the area (but not the plant) with undiluted white vinegar (so the smell is much stronger than mopping water). The smell with naturally deter your dog from the area.

Have you had a problem with your dog marking an exterior doorway? Give it a spray to cut the odor and discourage your dog from returning to mark the same spot.

Clean countertops with vinegar.

White distilled vinegar is very inexpensive and disinfects as it cleans.

We keep a spray bottle filled with a mix of about 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water to clean our kitchen counters (which the cats have a habit of walking across).

Spray around bowls to discourage ants.

Vinegar also discourages ants so it’s a great natural product to spray around your dog bowls during the summer months when ants might invade.

Vinegar products are easy on the environment–and on your pocketbook–so they make a great choice for pet households!

How do you use vinegar in your pet home?

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Cleaning with Vinegar: 8 Uses for Dog Households
Paris Permenter
This post originally appeared on DogTipper.com and is the sole property of DogTipper.com.