If you've been around here for anything length of time (and most definitely if you follow me on Instagram), you've probably picked up on the fact that I love our cats.
A lot.
Look at them....what's not to love?!
Oh, I know! Cat hair. It is the bane of my existence, my constant nemesis, a battle that I fight each and every day.
Oh, I do mind. I mind a lot.
Luckily for me, I've found three products that I can't live without. And I mean that. If one of these suckers break...I'm replacing it the same day. Anything help me keep our floors cat hair free with very little time and effort is a necessity in my eyes.
First up is the Eureka Quick-Up Cordless. This little stick vacuum is SOO handy for vacuuming touch-ups throughout the week. And since it's cordless, doing a quick once-over on the floors takes less than five minutes, and picks up the majority of the cat hair that the boys rip out of each other when the wrestle shed each day. We keep it on a charging mount hung in the garage, so it's easily accessible and always ready when I need it. I like to run it every day.
The only negative I've found is that they tend to die after a year or two (but remember, I run it almost every day). At less than $35, I don't mind replacing it.
But, I'll admit that sometimes I do dream of upgrading to a Roomba. The thrill of coming home to an already-swept house is pretty tempting....
Plus, maybe this would happen.
Anyway, for my heavy-duty vacuuming, I'm in love with the Shark Navigator Professional. I'll admit that this vacuum took some getting used to. At first, I found it to be very heavy compared to my previous vacuum, but I fell in love once I got used to it. I like that it has settings that can be used on our carpets, hard flooring, and furniture, so I can remove cat hair from every surface without swapping tools.
The suction on this thing is amazing...it actually grosses me out to see how much dirt, dust and hair (I'm as bad as the cats) it picks up. I know that many people swear by and pay more than double for The Big D Vacuum (you know which one I mean). Personally, I think they're nuts. One could not possibly need more suction.
Don't get me wrong....this thing isn't cheap. But it's significantly less then it's closest competitor, and takes care of biznass.
And my final 'must-have' for keeping clean floors in spite of my hairy little monsters is the Shark Professional Steam Pocket Mop. Before I owned this thing, I dreaded mopping the floor. It took forever and it was hard work!
No more. All I have to do is push this around my house, letting the steam do all of the work for me. It's insanely easy, and I love that the steam sanitizes my floors. Because let's face it: cats might be clean animals...but they're still animals running around the joint...so the floors need to be sanitized.
Here's my routine to keep the floors clean and the cat hair under control
-Run the cordless vacuum for about 5 minutes each day.
-Run the heavy-duty vacuum twice a week (I usually only bust out the furniture attachment once/week)
-Steam mop once a week, usually on the weekends.
Keep in mind....this is my ideal week. There are plenty of days when I'm tired, or busy, so I skip the day's cordless vac job. I'm not a slave to it, but this is the routine I try to keep. It works for me, and generally keeps our floors looking like this...
....rather than like this...
What are your must-have cleaning products?? Do any of you fight the battle of home vs. pets?
Totally worth it.
omg, such cuties! mine both have long hair and i end up with piles on my hardwoods, which i hate. i usually brush them with a furminator (have you heard of that thing? crazy, i can make a new cat with the amount of fur that is brushed off them with that thing!)
ReplyDeleteWe DO have the furminator! I don't use it often enough, though!!
DeleteAwww they are baaaaabies! Em, I am very impressed with your vacuuming. Here is how we do it... The goal is to use the big vacuum (our only vacuum) once a week. Sometimes we get lazy and don't do it for 2 weeks. There is cat hair everywhere. But there ALWAYS is. Like even if we vacuum, there is hair the next day! I should get one of those little $35 ones you have! That would be soooooo quick. I'd totally do that 5 min a day.
ReplyDeleteYou should! It's awesome!!
DeleteThe pet hair that surrounds me of late bothers almost enough to vacuum it. But the pregnancy has convinced me that napping and lazily lying on the sofa is a much better choice. Think I better sweet talk the hubby.
ReplyDelete