Dog Fur and Viewings

You get a call from your real estate agent informing you that a very interested potential buyer wants to look at your home and needs to know whether you could you be available in an hour. You have done your best to keep your home looking clean and tidy for these types of impromptu visits but your dog doesn’t seem to be cooperating at all. It’s spring time and he is shedding his fur like crazy all over the house, the furniture and your clothes! It’s an endless task of trying to handle the fur that you can see flying through the air as soon as you start to sweep or dust. Here are a few suggestions to help you keep the fur to a minimum, especially when your home is on the market during shedding season.

Keep a lint roller handy

Stock up on some lint rollers at the dollar store and have them placed in strategic places around the house where you know your dog spends a lot of time. While clothes brushes work as well, lint rollers are sticky and capture the fur like a pro. They can be used for both clothing and upholstered furniture quickly in the event that you get a call from your agent for a viewing.

Brush your dog as often as you can

If you’re used to brushing your dog every day or every second day, you’ll want to step up your brushing routine a notch and give him more frequent brushes. This is the best preventative medicine you can use in this case and will help keep the shedding down to a dull roar. If your dog’s like most, he’ll also appreciate the extra time you give to him.

Dust – then vacuum or sweep

Make sure that you do your dusting before your sweeping or vacuuming since the dog fur is going to be swirling down to the floor from your dusting efforts. If you have a window air conditioner make sure that you turn it off while you’re dusting so that it doesn’t blow the fur around. It should also be turned off when you’re working on the floor so that the fur on the floor doesn’t get too stirred up and sent flying around the room.

For furniture that can stand getting wet, use a damp cloth to do your dusting instead of a dry one. This picks up a lot more fur and deposits it right onto the cloth.

Make sure that you keep a lint roller right by the front door so that you can give your clothes a final go-over before answering the door. Although you may not be able to hide all of the dog fur, especially at this time of year, you can keep it down to a bare minimum by using the tips listed above.