How Do I Clean a Dog Bed Properly?

The best care tip for your dog bed or dog cushion – pay attention to excellent quality when buying. This pays off in any case. Because a high-quality product is durable, easy-to-care, washable, and there are always replacement covers and fillers available.

Why is it Dangerous to Keep a Dog Bed Dirty?

Dog hairs, sand, earth, remains of chewing bones and co. and other dirt are just some of the things that can accumulate and deposit in a dog bed over time. The consequence: the dog bed gets dirty, eventually starts to smell and the dear friend drags dirt and smell happily around the house. Of course this does not have to be and should not be so.

Of course a dog bed cannot be permanently clinically sterile, but you should pay attention to a little cleanliness and hygiene – in the sense of the health of your dog and in the sense of the cleanliness of your apartment.

What Dog Beds are the Most Vulnerable to Getting Dirty?

How deeply dirt, dust, dog hairs and co. settle in the dog’s sleeping place depends on the material of the dog bed. Basically, artificial leather dog beds, elevated dog beds are much easier to clean than fabric or plush dog beds, for example. Fabric and plush beds should have  cover easy to take off and wash.

How Often to Clean a Dog Bed?

To ensure that your dog’s sleeping place is sufficiently hygienic, you should clean it at least once a week. In the rather muddy seasons such as autumn and winter more often, because rain, mud and snow usually cause more dirt to stick to your dog’s paws and stomach.

Over time, a lot of dirt can accumulate in a dog bed. Starting with dog hairs and remains of dog food and chewing bones, to mud residue from walks. Therefore, the dog bed should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a week.

How to Choose the Right Dog Bed to Make Cleaning Easier?

The Right Dog Bed in the Right Place

In general, you can use a high quality dog bed and dog cushion at any location. However, you will make the care much easier if you take the special features of the respective location into account when buying.

Wherever it is humid and occasionally also dirty, a cover made of high-quality nylon fabric is recommended. This fabric is extremely robust and water-repellent. A dry cloth is completely sufficient for daily cleaning. Remove more stubborn stains with a damp cloth. If the bed or cushion is to be used on the terrace or in the garden, a nylon cover is the ideal solution.

Every cover is equally suitable for all living areas. Every high-quality cover is moisture and dirt resistant, scratch-proof and washable (except for artificial leather, which is expressly not washable).

The Right Bed for My Dog

When it comes to care, you can already make life a lot easier when you buy a dog bed. No matter how well a black bed fits in with your furnishings, and a very hairy dog in beige, worlds collide here. If a dog breed is known to be extremely hairy, such as the Beagle bed or cushion should match the color of the respective dog. Of course, this does not make the dog hair less, but it is not as striking. The right dog bed for Beagle, the best pet bed for GSP, or best dog bed for Vizsla – be sure to choose what your dog breed fits best.

Steps of Dog Bed Cleaning

Removing Dog Hair

A bed upholstered in artificial leather or nylon can be very easily cleaned with a vacuum cleaner with an appropriate attachment, as the hairs are only loosely attached. On an upholstery fabric the hairs stick better, but this is also no problem. You can find rubber gloves in fashionable yellow or pink in every place for less than several dollars per pair. Put on a glove and rub over the cover. A hair sausage will immediately form under the glove which you can now easily remove.

Vacuum Cleaning. Vacuuming a pet bed at least once a week helps a lot. Of course, it also depends on how much dirt your dog drags into the basket and how much fur he loses on average. The easiest way to vacuum the bed is with an upholstery brush for pet hair or without a nozzle. This way you can easily remove coarse dirt, sand, earth, fur & co.

A little tip: At best, use a pet hair vacuum cleaner for vacuuming. We have made very good experiences with it. Usually you can also use it for other part of your house to clean them from pet hairs.

Wiping

If you own a artificial leather dog bed, you can still wipe it with a damp cloth afterwards. Use a microfiber cloth for this purpose, as you can still wipe off remaining dirt particles and hairs quite well with it. Please do not use any aggressive cleaning agents for this, it is not good for your dog and pet bed material!

Deleting Spots

Dry dirt can usually be tapped off or removed with a dry cloth. If the stain is more stubborn, use a damp cloth with a soft soapy solution. Do not soak the cloth completely, this does not increase the cleaning power, but only prolongs the drying time.

Washing and Drying

After a certain time, the best dog bed absorbs a certain smell. Your dog will love that, you probably won’t. So take off the cover and get in the machine at 30°C. Use a washing program with reduced spin cycle and a mild detergent. A dog has a sensitive nose and is rather not a friend of French fragrance. The best time to wash the dog bed is spring and summer. At this time it can be dried outdoors. Before drying it, you should give it a little bit of shape.

If necessary, the filling of the dog bed or cushion can of course be washed in the machine. Again, use gentle washing with a reduced spin cycle and a fragrance-free detergent.

Modern PU artificial leather can also be machine washed. However, please make sure that the artificial leather cover of your dog bed is really suitable for this purpose. If it is washable, the same tips apply as before.

3 Tips for Keeping Walls Clean Around the Dog Bed

• Always dry your dog well after a walk and place a towel in front of the front door so that you can rub your pet’s paws and belly well clean before you go into the apartment.
• If the dog bed is placed against the wall, sooner or later it will come into contact with the dog. A dog bed with a border is less likely to make the wall dirty.
• If the wall next to the dog bed is still dirty, you can apply a transparent wall protection foil. It can be easily washed off with a damp cloth.