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Disaster Preparedness For Your Pets

Each type of disaster requires different measures to keep your pets safe. The best thing you can do for yourself and your pets is to be prepared. Here are some tips for the ASPCA to help you prepare for an evacuation with your family and pets.

Step 1: Get a Rescue Alert Sticker

This easy-to-use sticker will let people know that pets are inside your home. Make sure it is visible to rescue workers, and that it includes 1) the types and number of pets in your household; 2) the name of your veterinarian; and 3) your veterinarian’s phone number. If you must evacuate with your pets, and if time allows, write “EVACUATED” across the stickers.

To get a free emergency pet alert sticker for your home, please fill out our online order form; please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Your local pet supply store may also sell similar stickers.

Step 2: Arrange a Safe Haven

Arrange a safe haven for your pets in the event of evacuation. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS BEHIND. Remember, if it isn’t safe for you, it isn’t safe for your pets. They may become trapped or escape and be exposed to numerous life-threatening hazards. Note that not all Red Cross disaster shelters accept pets, so it is imperative that you have determined where you will bring your pets ahead of time

Step 3: Emergency Supplies and Traveling Kits

Keep an Evac-Pack and supplies handy for your pets. Make sure that everyone in the family knows where it is. This kit should be clearly labeled and easy to carry. Items to consider keeping in or near your pack include:

• Pet first-aid kit and guide book – ask your vet what to include
• 3-7 days’ worth of canned (pop-top) or dry food (be sure to rotate every two months)
• Disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)
• Litter or paper toweling
• Liquid dish soap and disinfectant
• Disposable garbage bags for clean-up
• Pet feeding dishes
• Extra collar or harness as well as an extra leash
• Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof container with a two-week supply of any medicine your pet requires (Remember, food and medications need to be rotated out of your emergency kit—otherwise they may go bad or become useless.)
• Bottled water, at least 7 days’ worth for each person and pet (store in a cool, dry place and replace every two months)
• A traveling bag, crate or sturdy carrier, ideally one for each pet
• Flashlight
• Blanket (for scooping up a fearful pet)
• Recent photos of your pets (in case you are separated and need to make “Lost” posters)
• Especially for cats: Pillowcase or EvackSack, toys, scoopable litter
• Especially for dogs: Extra leash, toys and chew toys, a week’s worth of cage liner.

Step 4: Choose “Designated Caregivers”

This step will take considerable time and thought. When choosing a temporary caregiver, consider someone who lives close to your residence. He or she should be someone who is generally home during the day while you are at work or has easy access to your home. A set of keys should be given to this trusted individual. This may work well with neighbors who have pets of their own—you may even swap responsibilities, depending upon who has accessibility.

Step 5: Evacuation Preparation

If you must evacuate your home in a crisis, plan for the worst-case scenario. If you think you may be gone for only a day, assume that you may not be allowed to return for several weeks. When recommendations for evacuation have been announced, follow the instructions of local and state officials.

Click here to read the entire article on Disaster Preparedness.

How To Safely Travel With Your Pet

Traveling with a pet involves more than just loading the animal in the back seat and motoring off. The ASPCA offers the following tips to help you prepare for a safe and smooth car trip:

• Keep your pets safe and secure in a well-ventilated crate or carrier. There are a variety of wire mesh, hard plastic and soft-sided carriers available. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s large enough for your pet to stand, sit, lie down and turn around in. And P.S., it’s smart to get your pet used to the carrier in the comfort of your home before your trip.
  
• Get your pet geared up for a long trip by taking him on a series of short drives first, gradually lengthening time spent in the car. And please be sure to always secure the crate so it won’t slide or shift in the event of a quick stop.
  
• Your pet’s travel-feeding schedule should start with a light meal three to four hours prior to departure. Don’t feed your furry friend in a moving vehicle—even if it is a long drive.
  
• Never leave your animal alone in a parked vehicle. On a hot day, even with the windows open, a parked automobile can become a furnace in no time, and heatstroke can develop. In cold weather, a car can act as a refrigerator, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.
  
• What in your pet’s traveling kit? In addition to travel papers, food, bowl, leash, a waste scoop, plastic bags, grooming supplies, medication and a pet first-aid kit, pack a favorite toy or pillow to give your pet a sense of familiarity.
  
• Make sure your pet has a microchip for identification and wears a collar with a tag imprinted with your home address, as well as a temporary travel tag with your cell phone, destination phone number and any other relevant contact information. Canines should wear flat (never choke!) collars, please.
  
• Don’t allow your pet to ride with his head outside the window. He could be injured by flying objects. And please keep him in the back seat in his crate or with a harness attached to a seat buckle.
  
• Traveling across state lines? Bring along your pet’s rabies vaccination record, as some states requires this proof at certain interstate crossings. While this generally isn’t a problem, it’s always smart to be on the safe side.
  
• When it comes to H2O, we say BYO. Opt for bottled water or tap water stored in plastic jugs. Drinking water from an area he’s not used to could result in tummy upset for your pet.
  
• If you travel frequently with your pet, you may want to invest in rubberized floor liners and waterproof seat covers, available at auto product retailers.

5 Tips to Make Cleaning Fun

If your sense of shame outweighs your desire to entertain, it might be time to step up the housework.

Piles of stuff, a smelly fridge, an oven that needs cleaning, toothpaste on the bathroom sink—if this describes the way your home looks most of the time, finding a few cleaning shortcuts will definitely help you out.

It’s not necessary to spend every day engaged in heavy housework if you know and practice the cleaning tweaks recommended by the pros.

Soaker Method

Spray it down and let the cleaner do the work for you. Often, allowing a cleaner five minutes to soak into a surface will save you 20 minutes of strong elbow grease. The same goes for toilet bowl cleaner when you treat the bowl before bed and swish it in the morning. For odors that just don’t want to leave, Clear the Air products will get your house smelling fresh and clean. Placing a bag or sprinkling granules around the house will completely eliminate those stubborn smells.

Make an Appointment With Yourself

If it’s clutter that has you firmly in its overwhelming grasp, make an appointment with yourself several times a week. Even 15-minute intervals provide enough time to whittle down the piles of mail, toys and dislocated items that belong in other rooms or out of your life altogether. Pencil yourself in on your desk calendar, just like you would a doctor or dental appointment. This way you’ll be more apt to honor the commitment you’ve made to a more organized home.

Make Cleaning Convenient

Imagine how difficult it would be for your mechanic to fix your car without the proper tools. Mechanics have implements that make their jobs easier, such as specialty wrenches, extension arms and more. If you approach cleaning with the same mentality—that it takes tools to get the job done right—the task will take on a whole new energetic feel. Find the products that work best for you and make those little household jobs easier:

• Antibacterial wipes
• Microfiber cleaning cloths
• Specially shaped mop heads
• Over-size buckets
• Handy cleaning caddy

The items mentioned above shouldn’t cost much, but you should also invest in a a high-output, low-weight vacuum, like the ones made by Dyson and sold at department stores.

Hampers in Every Room

If even one person in your family is guilty of leaving a trail of discarded clothes in their wake, keeping a laundry hamper in every room will make life much easier. Those little piles of socks and leggings that were pulled off and tossed in the corner go far in giving your home a disorganized feel. Keep the clothes off the floor and neatly tucked away in hampers.

An Ounce of Prevention

It’s the little things that matter—like one doormat that sits just outside every entrance and a second one that lays just inside. It’s the double whammy of dirt prevention. Removing shoes at the door, Keeping a cleaning tablet dissolving inside your toilet tank and adding a few drops of olive oil to your floor rinse to help prolong the shine on your wood floors are all excellent preventative measures you can take to help cut down on the workload throughout the week.

How To Rent Or Sell Your Home Faster

Preparing to sell your home?

Clear The Air has helped many Real Estate Agents sell and rent homes faster with our product. If a home has any type of odor, chances are it will deter potential buyers or tenants.

Sell or rent your home faster with these helpful tips:

• Avoid strong smells in your home. Make sure to take out the trash, clean out then fridge then use Clear The Air to neutralize any odors. Sprinkle Clear The Air on the litter box if you have a cat and on any furniture that you can smell odor. We also recommend hanging our Odor Eliminator Bags throughout the home 48 hours before you go to show the home to eliminate any odors that may bother potential buyers or renters.
• Enhance your home’s curb appeal. Spruce up the look of the yard by performing regular yard maintenance. Mow the yard, edge the lawn and add some colorful flowers and plants.
• De-clutter your home so a potential tenant can picture themselves living there. We recommend removing personal items like toys, papers, magazines, makeup products, family photos and any knick-knacks.
• Repaint if you have colorful walls. Make everything look cleaner and fresher with whites and light tans. Lighter colors also make a room look better and brighter.
• Make sure your floors are clean. If you have carpet, you will want to get them professionally cleaned. For tile and hardwood, use a floor shiner. If your flooring shows a lot of wear and tear, you might want to consider new flooring for your property.

How To Sell Or Rent Your Home Faster

Trying to Sell or Rent?

Property management companies and Real Estate Brokers and Agents deal with odor issues on a routine basis. Cigarette, pet, musty/mildew, dead rodent, and cooking odors are most common.

Real Estate is often slow selling/renting or discounted due to odor issues. It has been reported that approximately 5-10% of all listing have odor issues that may impact the sale. Clear The Air Odor Eliminators are an easy, inexpensive way to solve the problem and get your property sold or rented.

Here are some tips to get your home sold or rented faster:

• Eliminate odor from your home and make it smell good. Smell is very powerful and instantly sets the tone for your potential buyer’s experience in your house.  Use Clear The Air’s Odor Eliminators to get rid of any embarrassing odors lingering in your home.
• Clean your house and keep it clean. If you are planning to live in your home while it is on the market, you have to make daily cleaning a part of your plan.  A dirty home will give the potential buyers sense that the home is not well taken care of and can keep them from coming back a second time to look at your home with an offer.
• Fix the broken stuff.  If little broken things are visible, your potential buyers start wondering what other maintenance issues your home might have and get scared.
• De-personalize your home.  Want potential buyers or renters to imagine themselves living in your house?  Then take you out of it.  You have got to take down your personal photos, scrapbooks, take down from the mantle the carving of your last name.  Buyers need to see their family living here…not yours.

How To Eliminate Pet Urine Odors

Clear The Air’s helpful tips to eliminating pet urine odors.

Cat & dog urine odor is one of the strongest and toughest odors to get rid of. Most products on the market are wet and must come into contact with the urine to remove the odor.

This means if you have urine that has soaked into the carpet you must pull up the carpet and pad and soak the carpet, pad and floorboards. What a mess! With Clear The Air Cat & Dog Urine Odor Eliminator just sprinkle the granules on top of the carpet leave on overnight and vacuum in the morning and the odor is completely eliminated. Works well on all surfaces pulling the odors out of tile and concrete. It also will completely eliminate the odors from your litter box and no one will know you have a litter box in the house!

Clear The Air is made from an all-natural mineral, is non-toxic and biodegradable and safe for Planet Earth.
It is also safe around children and pets even if eaten.

Directions to Eliminate Cat Urine Odors From Litter Box:

• Add granules to bottom of litter box, add litter, then add additional granules on top.
• Add ½ cup of granules each time litter is changed, scooped or as needed.
• Will prolong the life of your litter.

Eliminate Urine Odors From Carpets, Wood Floors, Tile, Concrete or Furniture:

• Remove feces and excess urine.
• Sprinkle granules over area until dry granules are present on top. Also works well on old dry urine odors.
• Leave overnight, then sweep or vacuum.
• Clear The Air pulls odors from carpet, padding, and subfloor.
• Typically one application will eliminate all odors; occasionally a second application is necessary.
• One canister covers 100 square feet.

How To Prepare For Unexpected Holiday Company

Quick and easy clean home tips.

Clear the Air knows that during the holidays, company can stop in unexpectedly and we would like to share some quick cleaning tips to make your home look its best in just a few minutes.

• Remember, if you have a cat, sprinkle some of our Cat Urine Odor Eliminator on the litter box before company comes over.
• If you have a small animal cage, place an Odor Eliminator Bag in the cage or around it (don’t worry, our products are 100% non-toxic).
• Did you get a puppy and there are accidents around the house? Clean them up then sprinkle our Carpet/Furniture Odor Eliminator, leave on for 24 hours then vacuum up!

Any other odors you aren’t sure about? Ask us, we’re happy to help! Here are some cleaning tips you can do quickly before company arrives:

• Clean the counters with a spray bottle: If you have a lot of dirty counters to clean, spray at the same time. Here’s how. With a spray bottle in one hand and a paper town in the other, spray each counter in a clockwise manner. Then, start at the beginning and wipe without ever missing a beat. It’s a more efficient way to do it and quick too.
• Clear the Clutter: Do you have a lot of loose papers or bills sitting around your office desk or in the kitchen area? Grab a large plastic bag and fill it. Stuff it with the papers a handful at a time. Then, over the next week, sift through it when you are relaxed and you have time.
• A few minutes per room: Take five minutes to clean each room of your house. Sound like a waste of time? Well, it isn’t. Most people can pick up a room, vacuum and load a dish washer in five minutes. So try it. You’ll be surprised at how much cleaner your house looks in under 30 minutes.
• Dishwasher tips: If you wash your dishes prior to throwing them in the dishwasher, it’s time for a change. Through technology and science, dishwashers and dish washing detergent/liquid is much more powerful. So quit washing your dishes before you “wash” your dishes. Rinse them instead. Then, with two hands, pick up two dishes/cups/silverware and place them in the dishwasher at the same time. It’ll help you load your dishwasher in a more efficient manner.
• Make vacuuming count: If you tend to run your vacuum over the same spot two and three times, stop it. Pretend you’re in a race and you have to cover each area of your carpet in singular motions. Do this and you’ll complete this chore quickly.

How To Remove Odors From Your House

Many different odors can emerge throughout your home.

Thankfully, Clear The Air can eliminate all those odors, no matter how bad they smell! Please share with us how Clear The Air has helped eliminate odors in your home by commenting below.

• Refrigerator Odors: Place one to two of our Odor Eliminator Bags in your refrigerator and let our product do its magic. Of course, taking out any old or spoiled food from your fridge will help take the odor away faster.
• Cat Litter Box: Add granules to bottom of litter box, add litter, then add additional granules on top. Add ½ cup of granules each time litter is changed, scooped or as needed. This will prolong the life of your litter, along with making the odor unnoticeable to your nose and your cats!
• Doggie Smell On Carpets/Furniture:  Remove feces and excess urine then sprinkle granules over area until dry granules are present on top. Our product will also work well on old dry urine odors. Leave product on overnight, then sweep or vacuum. Clear The Air pulls odors from carpet, padding, and subfloor. Typically one application will eliminate all odors; occasionally a second application is necessary. One canister covers 100 square feet.
• Cigarette and Cigar Odor:  Hang 1-2 Earth Care Odor Eliminator Bags in each room that smells like cigarette smoke. One bag will cover 50-100 square feet. The odor will be eliminated in 24 hours. One bag will last 1-2 months, if room is heavily permeated with smoke odor the bag may need to be changed more often at first.  If odors are particularly strong or room has been smoked in for years sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Carpet and Furniture granules on carpets and furniture. Leave down 24 hours and vacuum. Odors will be completely eliminated. One canister of Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Carpet and Furniture covers 100 square feet; one bucket covers 900 square feet. Granules can also be placed in ashtrays and cigarette butt receptacles.
• Basement: Hang 1-2 bags in basement. One bag cover up to 100 square feet. Bags will continue to eliminate musty odors for up to 3 months. If odors are strong (or you have had a flood) also sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Concrete or Carpet granules on floor, leave down 24 hours and sweep or vacuum. Odors will be completely eliminated. One canister of Clear The Air Odor Eliminator For Concrete or Carpet granules covers approximately 100 square feet.
• New Carpet: Some new carpets contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted as gases when they are first installed. When exposed to VOCs people may experience a wide range of symptoms that can include nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. Sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator granules over entire carpet. Leave down 24 hours and vacuum. When granules are down it is best to have some ventilation in the room such as a window open. One bucket covers 900 square feet. Also hang 1-3 bags in each room. Bags will last 3-4 months; we recommend you leave the bags up to continue removing new carpet odors. One bag covers 100 square feet.

How To Eliminate Odors Around The House

Many different odors can emerge throughout your home.

Thankfully, Clear The Air can eliminate all those odors, no matter how bad they smell! Please share with us how Clear The Air has helped eliminate odors in your home.

Refrigerator Odors: Place one to two of our Odor Eliminator Bags in your refrigerator and let our product do its magic. Of course, taking out any old or spoiled food from your fridge will help take the odor away faster.

Cat Litter Box: Add granules to bottom of litter box, add litter, then add additional granules on top. Add ½ cup of granules each time litter is changed, scooped or as needed. This will prolong the life of your litter, along with making the odor unnoticeable to your nose and your cats!

Doggie Smell On Carpets/Furniture: Remove feces and excess urine then sprinkle granules over area until dry granules are present on top. Our product will also work well on old dry urine odors. Leave product on overnight, then sweep or vacuum. Clear The Air pulls odors from carpet, padding, and subfloor. Typically one application will eliminate all odors; occasionally a second application is necessary. One canister covers 100 square feet.

Cigarette and Cigar Odor: Hang 1-2 Earth Care Odor Eliminator Bags in each room that smells like cigarette smoke. One bag will cover 50-100 square feet. The odor will be eliminated in 24 hours. One bag will last 1-2 months, if room is heavily permeated with smoke odor the bag may need to be changed more often at first.  Granules can also be placed in ashtrays and cigarette butt receptacles.

Basement: Hang 1-2 bags in basement. One bag cover up to 100 square feet. Bags will continue to eliminate musty odors for up to 3 months. If odors are strong (or you have had a flood) also sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator for Concrete or Carpet granules on floor, leave down 24 hours and sweep or vacuum. Odors will be completely eliminated.

New Carpet: Some new carpets contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted as gases when they are first installed. When exposed to VOCs people may experience a wide range of symptoms that can include nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. Sprinkle Clear The Air Odor Eliminator granules over entire carpet. Leave down 24 hours and vacuum. When granules are down it is best to have some ventilation in the room such as a window open.