We love our pets, but the messes they make are a different story.
Unfortunately, messes are a fact of pet parenthood, and one particular type of mess — the muddy, dirty mess — can be especially difficult to clean. Planning ahead for the inevitable roll in a muddy puddle can help, as can knowing a few tips and tricks for cleaning dirt, mud and other soils from hard surfaces and fabrics.
With the help of experts, we’ve rounded up everything you need to clean up after your pet has tracked a big muddy mess into your home or car.
The essential products for cleaning dirty, muddy pet messes
We asked pet experts — from vets and dog trainers to some of Underscored’s own pet parents — what pet-friendly cleaning products they swear by when taking care of dirty, muddy pet messes.
When choosing a floor cleaning solution, it's especially important to pick one that's pet-safe. Our pets spend a lot of time on the floor, making them more susceptible to complications from exposure to unsafe cleaning agents. Nicole Ellis, a certified professional dog trainer and Rover pet people panelist, recommends Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner, which she says, "does the job without leaving residue of any kind behind."
With five dogs at home, Julie Keck deals with pet messes on a regular basis. The human behind the super-popular Jackson The Dalmatian Instagram account, she relies on Quick Shine’s floor cleaning solution to keep five dogs’ worth of dirt and grime at bay. “We have mostly hardwood floors in our house,” she says, “so we have to mop pretty regularly. We use Quick Shine products because they have no harsh chemicals and are safer for pets.”
A mop is an essential tool, and not just for keeping floors clean — it's also the thing to reach for when mud splatters get on walls, baseboards and other hard-to-reach places. The O-Cedar EasyWring spin mop was the top pick in our review of the best mops.
"I love the wet-dry vacuum from Tineco and use it weekly to keep our floors clean of paw prints, mud and anything else the dogs (or me) tracked in," Ellis says. "I will say this has made a massive difference in our home and I can’t recommend this product enough."
“I love the Bissell Crosswave because it’s a vacuum and a mop in one,” Jess Rona, a celebrity dog groomer and judge on HBO Max’s “Haute Dog” says. A hybrid vacuum-mop tool is a great choice for pet owners because of its versatility. They’re more cumbersome than traditional upright and handheld vacuums, but they also offer more cleaning power.
Floor-cleaning machines were recommended by all of the experts we spoke to, and indeed, they're one of the best cleaning investments pet parents can make. Dr. Philippa Pavia, a VP of medical strategy at Bond Vet, relies on a small Bissell rug cleaner that she says, "works like a charm on spot-cleaning."
Of course, your home isn't the only thing that needs to be cleaned when your dog gets into a muddy mess — you'll also need to clean the dog itself! Stephanie Griffin, our senior digital content strategist, has a cavapoo named Teddy who she says “loves the beach and anything that has to do with grass or mud,” making regular baths a must. She uses the Aquapaw Dog Bath Brush to bathe Teddy after a messy romp.
Teddy also “digs his claws into literally everything," prompting Griffin to invest in a paw cleaning system.
Dirt, mud and other types of soil, including grass, are protein stains, so when you need to remove those stains from clothing and other launderable items, an enzyme-based stain remover like Krud Kutter Sports Stain Remover is what you want for the job.
How to clean muddy paw prints and splatters from floors and walls
Mud is a tricky thing to clean, because cleaning mud is a bit counterintuitive. You may want to reach for an all-purpose cleaner, but resist that urge — introducing liquid, whether it’s a cleaning agent or plain old water, to dirt or mud will cause flooding, meaning the stain will spread.
Instead, use a barely damp cloth, sponge or mop to do the first pass on muddy floors, walls or baseboards. Then, once the visible mud and dirt have been cleaned, you can go over the area with a liquid cleaner, like a pet-safe floor cleaner or diluted dish soap solution, as the final step in cleaning a muddy mess. For more tips on floor cleaning, check out our complete guide to cleaning every type of floor.
How to clean dirt and mud from fabrics like clothing, towels, carpet or upholstery
Dirt, mud and other soils are protein stains, and they are best treated using an enzyme-based stain treatment product. Just as with muddy messes on hard surfaces, take care not to flood a soil stain on clothing or other textiles, as introducing too much liquid will cause the stain to spread.
To remove dirt, mud, grass or other soil stains from carpet and upholstery, start by vacuuming the area. Then, if needed, either spot-treat any remaining stains using an enzyme-based stain remover, or do a deeper clean using a carpet and upholstery cleaning machine. Our guide to cleaning carpet has more tips on how to clean carpet and upholstery.
Create a muddy dog emergency cleaning kit for the car or entryway
Pet parents, especially those with active dogs who love to make outdoor messes, can plan ahead for those inevitable messes by creating a small emergency cleaning kit to leave in the car or by the door your pet most often uses to enter the home.
“Handy items to keep in a pet-cleaning kit include pet-safe wipes, a clean towel and your favorite pet-safe cleaner,” Ellis says. Ahead, we’ve rounded up everything you need to create the perfect emergency cleaning kit for your pet.
A lightweight trunk organizer is the perfect container for an emergency cleaning kit. Look for styles with adjustable dividers and handles for easy carrying, especially if you want to make one kit that can be carried from home to car.
Pet wipes can do double duty to clean a muddy dog and any surfaces in the home or car they may have mucked up. Ellis uses wipes from TrueBlue, which she likes because "they’re made of natural ingredients that help soothe the skin and fur, leaving it feeling and looking clean after our adventures — which also helps keep my car and home a lot cleaner!"
A towel is an essential when building an emergency cleaning kit; use it to towel off a wet and/or muddy dog, or throw it down on the seat of the car to protect upholstery from a dirty dog.
Ellis recommends keeping a pet-safe all-purpose cleaner like Clorox Free & Clear in the emergency cleaning kit to address big messes on the go.
In addition to a towel for your pet, it's also a good idea to keep a few microfiber cloths in your cleaning kit for wiping up messes as they happen.
Paper towels are also handy to stash in an emergency cleaning kit. Super-absorbent shop towels are a great choice because they quickly absorb a variety of liquid messes, and the box dispenser makes it easy to grab what you need.