If you own a pet, you’ll probably need to address, sooner or later, how you aim to keep your sofa in tip-top condition. It’s a well-known fact that pets are drawn to sofas and other furniture, and can easily scratch and ruin treasured items in the home. But, there are lots of measures that you can take to keep your sofa looking fresh when you have pets at home.
Train your pet
One of the easiest and most effective strategies you can take is to be firm from the outset. As soon as your pet arrives in your home, get them to learn that your sofa is a no-go area. Keep reinforcing this until it becomes a habit. Reward them for good behaviour when they stay away from your sofa, and send out a firm ‘no’ if they try to jump up on it.
Give your pet their own sofa!
This doesn’t mean to say you have to go overboard and spend extravagant sums of cash on a sofa for your pet, but you could easily buy a comfortable pet bed or even make your own, so that they have a warm, resting place to relax in. If they have their own little sofa retreat, then they’ll be less tempted to venture onto your sofa.
Scratching temptation
Quite often, one of the main reasons why your pet will love your sofa so much is that it’s possibly made from a fabric that is great to scratch at and sharpen their claws. The problem for your sofa is that it will soon start to look threadbare and in a sorry state, which is highly undesirable. There are a couple of effective measures that you can take to avoid this happening.
Firstly, give your pet their own scratching post. Pets like to scratch, and it’s a natural behaviour. So providing their own scratching post will enable them to keep their claws nice and sharp without causing your sofa to be ripped to shreds.
Secondly, it’s worth considering the type of material or fabric for your sofa. Some materials and fabrics are easier to scratch at, and are therefore more of a temptation. So, if you’re considering getting a new sofa, avoid any made from chenille, cotton, tweed or velvet, which are easily damaged by pet claws.
Keep your sofa clean
If you want to keep your sofa in perfect condition, then you’ll need to keep it clean. Having pets at home will mean you may get pet fur on your sofa, dribble or mucky paw marks. Get into the habit of giving your sofa a wipe down every night to remove excess fur and dirt marks. If you’re choosing a new sofa, go for an easy-to-clean type of fabric such as leather, which is also highly resistant to odour. Synthetic, man-made fibres are also easy to wipe and keep clean.
Consider putting a blanket or throw over your sofa when you go to bed, so that you can be sure that your pet can’t get at your sofa during the night time. If your sofa is a light colour, then be aware that you’ll need to invest extra amount of effort to keep it looking fresh, as lighter colours show up marks and blemishes easier. You may consider scotchgarding your sofa to protect it and make it easier to wipe clean.
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