Cleaning Up Muddy Pawprints

This has been a week of rain in the Austin area, due in part to Hurricane Odile. Although the downside is that it caused flash flooding in some areas (not here), the rain was much-needed after a long, long drought.

But, as we all know, rain means mud. And mud means muddy pawprints.

How can you keep your home and car free from those muddy pawprints? Here are our tips for keeping your world as mud-free as possible in these muddy months:

Laundry Stains

Got muddy pawprints on your jeans after a dog walk? For particulate stains like mud, first remove the excess. Get off what you can, allow the mud to dry and then brush as much of the remaining mud off as possible, without rubbing the mud into the fabric any more than possible. Next, pre-treat the stain, wash, and make sure the fabric is thoroughly rinsed. If there are still traces of mud, don’t dry the fabric but pre-treat again.

Got mud on your dog walking sneakers? Again, get the mud off as much as possible. Use a brush to remove the dried mud, then pre-treat. Wash the sneakers on the gentle cycle.

The best offense is a good defense when it comes to car stains. We use a Kurgo Cargo Cape in our Jeep to keep muddy paws off the upholstery in our cargo area, which is always folded down for the dogs. If your dogs are in the back seat, check out the Dog Hammocks; they protect not only the back seat but the floor and the back side of the front seat as well. Kurgo also sells bucket seat covers, bench seat covers, and even car door guards to protect the interior of the back doors from those paws.

Rug Stains

Sooner or later, those paws will track in mud and the first place it usually winds up is on the carpet or rug. Similarly to mud on sneakers, allow the mud to dry then vacuum as much of the dirt as you can. For the remaining stain, use a little dishwashing detergent and gently scrub out the stain. Pour white vinegar on the stain and then sprinkle with baking soda. The baking soda will fizz and bubble up the stain. Next, use a white cloth (so you don’t transfer dye onto the carpet) to blot up as much of the stain as you can, putting a weight on the cloth and leaving it for awhile for more absorption. Continue this process until the stain is all gone then rinse with water and blot dry.

Preventing Muddy Paws

Of course, the less mud your dog tracks into your home and car, the less dirt you’ll need to clean. Be sure to keep the fur between your dog’s paw pads trimmed short. Not only will it help prevent mud from sticking to fur during these autumn months but, when winter rolls around, that will also prevent the formation of painful ice balls between the toes. Similarly, keep your dog’s nails trimmed to prevent any additional mud from hiding there. We always keep an old towel by the door and both Irie and Tiki know that when we say “let’s do paws” it’s time to stop for a paw cleaning before going indoors!

Kurgo is a DogTipper sponsor. As always, we only share products that we use with our own pets.