If you have Hardwood Floors and dogs

natb22

We have both hardwood floors and 2 big dogs that shed all the time. I'm trying to figure out what our plan will be when the girls start crawling and start trying to walk. I know they will fall alot, the floors aren't great to be crawling around on. I've thought about getting a bunch of big rugs but 1. the dogs shed daily so I guess just vacuum every day? and 2. They are inside a lot, I guess we might just have to start putting them out more? I dont want the girls crawling around on a rug the dogs could be getting other type of dirt or whatever on.

What is your plan/did you do in this situation?

jenkm

We have hardwood floors and area rugs, as well as 2 dogs.  I vacuum a lot.  I also keep the dogs separate from the babies a lot during the day - they each have their spaces and don't run all over each other.  You'll work it out.  Definitely motivates you to keep the floors clean when babies are crawling around!! 

MamaCrystal

Our whole house is wood floors... I'm looking forward to when we move and have more carpet, because I prefer vacuuming to sweeping! ; )

We have a few of these rubber brooms.  They work great for dog hair.  We sweep more than we vacuum because we only have one big rug in the house.  We usually sweep as needed... the kitchen/dining area get swept a lot (1-3 times a day), but the living room and foyer can usually go 2-3 days.

leslie13510

A little bit of dirt and dog hair is not going to kill them.  I'm not saying just don't worry about it and let your floors get filthy, but I wouldn't put the dogs out of their own home (especially if it sounds like they're basically indoor dogs) out of a fear of dirt. 

If it's a season where Big Dog sheds a lot (like right now LOL) I vacuum every 1-2 days, and mop once or twice a week.  During times when he's not losing hair left and right I vacuum every 2-4 days, and mop about the same amount. 

And trust me, once they're mobile and getting into everything, dog hair and dirt will be some of the least disgusting things they ingest.  Riley once pulled the net from a raw pork roast out of the trash can and was sucking on it, during the 20 seconds it took me to go get something from another room.  I didn't even know she could pull up on the trash can.  ::shudders at the memory::  Yeah, dog hair is really no big deal.   

Temp6313048411121614

We have laminate and no dogs, but I still have to vacuum/sweep several times per day, mop 2x/week (it needs it more but I'm obsessive and if I don't limit it I'll mop daily which takes about 2 hours).  I plan on getting a Neato Robotics vacuum (similar to the Roomba but more advanced from what I've read) and run it nightly on the main level while we sleep.  You can do rugs, but I think that would be dirtier than the hard floor (it's not like you could just mop them and I assume you mean big area rugs that wouldn't fit in the washer).  GL.

UsedToBeGoldie

we have 2 very hairy dogs.... they are gated off in the diningroom and kitchen area most of the day - when the kids are up... they don't have access to the kids area during the day.

We vacuum pretty much every day - either the full vacuum, or the hand held Dyson Root 6 that is great for quick touch ups - can go along the whole first floor edges of the rooms to get all the hair that floats to the sides

we have padded flooring on one 1/2 of the living room that is the play area- and a carpet on the other 1/2- that is a cheap one from Home depot- we get a new one every year since the kids and dogs make it so dirty even with cleaning it a lot.

 i don't stress about mess with the dogs/kids too much... when they were crawling a lot i'd swiffer the mat area every other day or so - or wipe it down with some baby wipes while i'm on the floor with them- but otherwise i'm a fan of some germs.

erinruns

I have a dog and a cat, both shed a lot, as well as hardwood floors on my main level.  The animals shed, but your shoes track in a lot of dirt as well.  When the girls were crawling we swept every day, otherwise it was just too gross to deal.  A little dirt won't hurt them, but their clothes got dirty and their hands and feet were dirty, so sweeping was the best thing for everyone.  I also have a handheld  vacuum that I used every day to grab the animal hair.  Worked well!