Drooling Over the Miele C1 Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner

So, I bet you never expected to come to our blog and get a love story about a vacuum cleaner....

Our baby!

Guys, as bonkers as this sounds, one of the best gifts I've ever received was our Miele Polaris vacuum cleaner. It is worth every stinkin' cent that was spent on it. Not only has it survived the abuse of two cross-country moves, it still works just as well as the day we got it 5+ years ago. Light-weight and easy to use, it's also whisper quiet and doesn't scare the living daylights out of Paddington or the toddler.

In very exciting news, Miele is rolling out a pet focused vacuum cleaner - the Classic C1 Cat & Dog Canister Vacuum! They sent us a press release with all kinds of details about the fancy filter and cleaning radius which all sound fantastic (even though we don't exactly know what they mean).

Like all Miele products, they are on the more $$ side ($599), but long-term we would definitely recommend this investment. The filters/extra bags are also reasonably priced and on par with other less expensive vacuum cleaners on the market (thank goodness!).

Bottom line: if it works as well as our Polaris, and you need a new vacuum, you'd crazy not to consider upgrading.

The C1 Cat & Dog is available from local and online retailers - for more info visit www.mieleusa.com or hit them up on social media.

Bissell SpotBot Pet Review

This review really should be entitled, "My Best Friend is a Carpet Cleaning Robot."

First off, I want to be clear - we were NOT compensated for this post. We spent our own cold hard cash on this purchase, and its was worth every cent.

Even the best-trained, most-housebroken dog, will have the occasional indoor accident. And trust us, the only sadder thing than your dog having a stomach bug is cleaning up the symptoms...

One of our neighbors recommended the Bissell SpotBot Pet to us earlier this summer when we were on the hunt to find something to help keep our carpet clean. While we used to be hardcore fans of Nature's Miracle, we found it was leaving some weird residue on our carpet (blame our building for installing super cheap flooring, sigh). Neighbors, who have a puppy, swore by their SpotBot, and since we had a 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon we picked one up earlier this summer.

Our magic duo! 

It has been a godsend. Not only has it removed older "surprise" stains we've discovered, but it works amazingly well on fresh stains. We use a combination of the Pet Stain & Odor and OxyClean formulas in our cleaner, and it has lifted everything out of our carpets 100% of the time. In addition to getting out the yucky, it also removes dirty and all kinds of other gross things you can't see -- case in point, check out the nasty water that will be left over. We vacuum religiously and the water is still an awful dark color. Ewwww...

Featuring a combination of brushes that deep clean into the fibers of your carpet, the SpotBot Pet also has a hose attachment you can use for hard to reach places or extra scrubbing. We have yet to try it out, but it's on our list of Fall Cleaning activities. 

Super compact and light enough to easily haul around apartment, once I get started cleaning the carpets I can't stop... It's also worked wonders on non-pet related stains (hello carpet, meet coffee...).

Doing a quick search, it looks like Jet.com is currently offering this model at a super good price ($107). BB&B also tends to regularly have coupons, which also can be used towards the purchase of this product.

What do you use to keep your carpets looking clean?

NOse Offense = No More Unwanted Smells!

We've been loving the gorgeous fall weather in NYC! Sunshine, a cool breeze-- what else could a gal and her pup ask for? While it's been very pleasant during the day, it's been getting a little chilly at night, and with the windows closed, we've been noticing some new scents... Ah eau de dog bed...

Though we're diligent about cleaning Paddy's dog beds on a regular basis (please note the plural: dog BEDS), sometimes before we have guests over we like to spruce things up. That being said, we try to avoid scented air freshening products since the smell can be overwhelming. Let's be honest, if they're that way for us-- can't imagine how intense it must be for Paddy's sensitive nose. A lot of spray/air-freshening products can also contain a slew of not-so pet-friendly chemicals. BOO.

Luckily, the dad and daughter team behind NOse Offense have developed an amazing scent-free solution that actually neutralizes odors instead of just covering them up. (And they're based in NYC, yay!)

Approved for use on water safe fabrics including curtains, carpets, clothing and blankets, it can also be used in litter boxes, cages, carriers, pet living and sleeping areas, as well as on hard surfaces, such as wood or plastic. Spray once or twice in the air or identify the source to spray directly onto/into the affected area. Made from safe, non-toxic, organic and biodegradable ingredients, it is also 100% free of enzymes, alcohols, phenol & phenol derivatives, phosphates, phthalates and of course fragrance.

After taking out the trash we also gave the can a quick little spritz and were amazed about quickly it neutralized any leftover odors!

For more information and to pick up your own bottle, visit their website (32 oz. retails for $14.99).

Ewww (no really, in a good way!)

No matter how chi-chi your pup is, accidents happen.

Luckily, Ewww Pawsitively Clean™ by Bissell® is here to help you with the clean up. 

As anyone who's lived with a pet knows, there's nothing worse than coming home to a "mess". Fortunately, the surprise waiting at home for us last week wasn't of the #1 or #2 kind (our little Barkista ate something that just didn't agree with her). Unfortunately (and predictably), this little accident happened on the carpet...sigh.

Getting pet stains out of carpets is a notoriously un-fun job. We've tried many different cleaning options, and while some have rocked, others have not been as successful. Luckily for us,  Ewww Pawsitively Clean™ by Bissell® made the cleanup easy. Designed to "permanently remove organic stains from urine, feces & other accidents," it's all business and gets to work right away deodorizing and getting rid of the stain. One application of Bissell's enzyme powered formula and we were done, and unlike other cleaners, it didn't leave behind that "I've-just-cleaned-my-carpet" tell-tale smell.

Safe to use on any "water safe" surface (i.e. carpets, upholstery, pet beds, litter boxes, etc), it slightly bleached out the area we treated(definitely make sure to do a spot check), but won't stop us from using it again-- the results were just that awesome. And let's be honest, there's nothing worse than lingering pet odor-- we'll take mild discoloration any day. We also tried it on an older "spot" that we had treated previously with another cleaner, and found that it got rid of any residual nastiness and left our carpet truly looking like new. (Yay!)

To find out where to pick up your bottle of Ewww Pawsitively Clean™ by Bissell® ($11.99 for 32 oz), visit: http://www.pawsitivelycleanpet.com/where-to-buy/

What's your favorite "Ewww" mess cleanup trick or technique? 

xoxo The Barkistas

Disclaimer: Samples were provided by PR for review. Please see our disclaimer for more information.