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Keep your home clean with new pet products

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By Laurie Denger, Staff Writer 7:30 PM Friday, September 11, 2009

You love your pets. But even you have to admit, they are stinky, messy, hair-shedding little piles of love.

You put up with the dirt and grime they bring into your home because of what they bring into your heart. But that doesn’t mean you have to live in a pig pen just because you have pets. There are lots of new products out there that will take care of the hair, dirt and smell that pets also bring into your life.

Arm & Hammer has a new cat litter deodorizer spray that leaves that smelly fact of feline life a secret to anyone coming into your home.

It works on all kinds of litter and doesn’t affect clumping. It dries instantly and coats the litter. And it’s safe around pets. Arm & Hammer suggests using it every time you scoop, daily and to freshen box if you are expecting guests.

It comes in 16-ounce fluid bottles and sells for $3.49.

Arm & Hammer also has lots of tips for keeping a house with pets clean at www.armhammerpets.com.

And Dyson has a new handheld vacuum called the DC31 Animal that picks up all the hair left behind by your pets.

Unlike other handheld vacuums that lose power quickly, this one has a digital motor that spins five times faster than a Formula 1 race car engine, according to Dyson.

This handheld improves on the last one but has several of the same attachments, for rugs, and the great feature of a drop door to empty the dirt and hair you have collected. The lithium battery also recharges a lot faster than the previous model.

Start looking for it in the stores this month. It sells for about $269.99.

If you want to combine being green with being clean, there are also options.

Lots of people worry about their pets — who eat off the floor, lie on the floor and come into contact more closely with traditional household cleaners — getting exposed to harsh chemicals.

Clean + Green products may be the only eco-friendly aerosol pet cleaning products around, according to the company that makes them.

The products, which come in carpet cleaners, upholstery cleaners, furniture cleaners, litter box fresheners and even a de-skunk coat cleaner, are made by SeaYu Enterprises — www.sea-yu.com and are sold at WalMart, PetSmart and Pet Supplies Plus locally.

Clean + Green promises instant results to permanently clean pet stains, get rid of odors and do it all in an all-natural, 100 percent biodegradable and recyclable way. The products are nontoxic, nonflammable, noncarcinogenic and will not damage the ozone layer.

And another entry into the green category is What Odor?, an eco-friendly odor eliminator that has 40 essential oils to break down odors. It is 100 percent biodegradable and safe around kids.

It can even be poured into the laundry and run through the dishwasher or used in steam vacuum cleaners.

What Odor? comes in a 6 ounce bottle for $10.99 to a gallon container for $59.99.

Visit www.what-products.com/products or call (800) 791-5916 for more details and to order.

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