OT: Cat experts and allergies, I need your help!

[llcoddington]

DH and I are buying a house! We close Sept. 30th. We are super excited! The current (and original) owners have two cats and DH is SEVERELY allergic to cats. (He take Claritin but it's still bad.) We knew they had cats going in but decided to give this a try because we really like the house!

So, we are planning to remove and replace the carpet and pad, have the vents cleaned, buy an air purifier, clean everything (walls, baseboards, etc.) Possibly replace all the curtains they are leaving. Is this all necessary? Is there more we can/should do? They have lovely existing carpet (the house is less than three years old) but DH REALLY doesn't think he can live there even if we got the carpet professionally cleaned. Do you think he is right? Would cleaning it work? (Would be a whole lot cheaper!)

I have to say that cat allergies are so frustrating! I feel frustrated for Dave. This really does affect our lives.

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[momma_boo]

Since he is severely allergic, I think your best bet is to replace the carpet and pad to make sure there are no traces of hair/dander left in the home. Definitely get rid of any curtains/window treatments that the previous owners leave behind. I'm quite allergic to cats and it always amazes my SIL when I start sneezing 5 minutes after I go into her house since she constantly cleans.

I can't think of anything else you can do. It sounds like you've thought of a lot already.

Oh, big congrats on the house, though!

[llcoddington]

These people have a perfectly clean house too! And DH still about passed out after two hours of inspection yesterday.

Hmmm...they have some wooden blinds. Do you think we will have to replace those or just clean them really well? Would washing or dry cleaning the curtains work? They have some of those papery looking blinds and I'm sure we will have to replace those. This is going to be a lot of work, but by the time we finish, this house will be the cleanest place imaginable! This is forcing us to scrub every inch!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[ritacheetah]

I guess it couldn't hurt to TRY cleaning the carpets and curtains. It may work. I think there is some kind of professional treatment you can do to carpets to get the allergens out. Then if that doesn't work, tear up the carpets. It couldn't hurt to try cleaning first, huh? (although your DH might think differently since he is the one who would have to suffer if it doesn't work).

Hopefully it will work out! Good luck!

Tracy
Mom to Victoria
12-30-04

[llcoddington]

We have debated back and forth whether or not we should try cleaning the carpet first, but after 30 years of dealing with cat allergies, DH is leaning toward doing everything we can up front. I am trying to understand and be sympathetic. I cannot even imagine!

I think we could sell the carpet...it's in perfect condition.

For the curtains, I think we will try cleaning. Especially if they are just machine washable!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[rottiemom]

First off congrats on the house! We plan to expand ours in the spring (house prices in our area have gone crazy, we couldn't afford to buy our existing house much less a bigger one) and moving sounds much more appealing.

I suggest that you take everything up, from carpets to curtains. No matter how clean the house was kept cats (and their fur & dander)tend to get everywhere. We just went through this with the condo that my mom is moving into. My brother is severely allergic so he was our "canary"...if he started sneezing it wasn't clean enough. You could try washing the curtains but I'd just get rid of them & start fresh. Those carpets have to go, don't waste your time getting them cleaned. You'll need to clean the fllor underneath the carpets as well. You should be able to wash the blinds & keep them. We even took the racking out of all of the closets & washed them in the bathtub (found fur up against the walls). All is well at my mom's place now, no sign of cat & my brother can breathe freely. Since your husband is going to be living in this house you don't want to take any chances on not cleaning enough.

Good luck and have fun!

Nina

[kransden]

You will not ever be able to clean the carpets enough to get the dander out of them, so rip them up. The curtains, if they are machine washable, should be fine. Put them through the washing machine twice without any detergent on the longest cycle in warm or cold water. Don't over pack the washing machine. Then wash them with detergent like normal. Try a set, if it works, you have saved yourself a bunch of money, if not, you have only lost a couple hours of your time and some water. If they are dry clean only, send one set to the cleaners and see if works for your dh.

Congratulations on the House!

Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[doubleL]

Lana,

Congrats on the house! We are in a similiar situation. We just put a bid on a house too and I have cat allergies. Since I didn't get them until later in life I am in total denial about it. Actually they have gotten pretty bad. DH says we must take out all the carpets in the new house, but I am the one saying well let's give cleaning them a try first.

However in your situation, if you DH has had severe allergies for a long time, and he wants new carpets, I would buy them no questions asked.

Have fun decorating!!!!

Lou

[Dcclerk]

As someone who is severely allergic, I agree that you have to get rid of the carpet. No matter the cleaning, it always got me. The previous owner of our house had cats, and we tore up the carpet, pad, any curtains,... everything. And I really needed all of that to go. However, we kept the wooden blinds and they, like the doors, etc., were all fine with some good cleaning.

Sorry for the frustration. As someone who has always been allergic to cats, I definitely have no love for them, but I'm sure it must be frustrating for someone who doesn't have our problems.

[llcoddington]

Kerry,

Did you use anything special to clean the walls, doors, etc? I have seen special products but I don't want to waste money if water or vacuuming the walls would work just fine. Did you have the vents cleaned (if you have forced air)? Do you have an air purifier? How long did it take for you to be ok in the house?

We have even wondered if we would need to repaint. I hope not- they did a beautiful paint job!

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[sarahfran]

Lana,
I'm seriously allergic to everything (I have asthma and used to have to get 3 allergy shots per wk). Just wanted to mention that I've always had a really hard time with new carpet... there are fumes and fibers coming off them for a couple of weeks. So if you can replace the carpets well before your move it would be great.

To put your mind at ease a little, the body does amazing things to adapt to its surroundings. My sister was severely allergic to cats, and then fell in love with one and adopted him. She could barely breathe, had terrible, swollen eyes and a hacking cough for about a month, and then became desensitized to the allergens and has been fine since. I've had similar issues with new pets in my family.

Depending on how cheap I was feeling, I might actually consider trying to live with the old carpet... it wouldn't be a pleasant adjustment period, but it would probably happen. Of course I'd clean the heck out of it all...

Good luck! Congrats on the house!
-Sarah
Mom to Dylan, 8/18/03

:) Motherhood is such a joy! :)

[bunnisa]

I second the recommendation to have the ducts cleaned out. Friends of ours did this when they bought the house of a cat owner and, no exaggeration, there were 30 lbs of cat hair in the ducts! Enough for a new cat or two! ick.

Bethany
It's a Boy!
William Eric
6/03