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If you’re allergic to cats, then your home should be a safe haven for you. This should be a place where you can relax without having to worry about your allergies kicking in and making you feel ill. If, however, you’re about to move into a new place and the last owner kept cats, then you could find that you’re living with the previous feline occupants even after they’ve moved out.
This can be a big problem if your new home has some carpeting. Even if the previous owner gave the place a thorough vacuuming before moving out and you go over it again when you move in, your allergies may be triggered by residual traces left by the cats that vacuums just can’t deal with. What are you up against here?
If you’re a savvy allergy sufferer, then you probably already know that you aren’t really allergic to cat hair itself. On its own, cat hair is relatively harmless. However, cat hair can trigger allergic reactions if it contains dander or traces of a cat’s saliva or urine.
Outside cats may also have brought bits of pollen or other allergens inside on their fur. If the cats that used to live in your home regularly rolled around the floors over a long period of time, then your allergies may be triggered by hair that is left embedded in the carpet.
Cat urine contains proteins that cause allergies in some people. While your new home’s carpets look clean enough and don’t smell like a cat’s toilet, you don’t have any guarantees that the cats who lived in your home didn’t ever have any accidents on your carpeting.
If they did and the previous owner didn’t clean up the mess thoroughly at the time, then traces of urine may still be in some rooms in your house. If you’re particularly sensitive to this, then it could set off your allergic reactions.
Dander is tiny, dead skin flakes that naturally fall off fur when a cat washes itself. While harmless to most people, dander contains traces of a protein, Fel d 1. This protein is a primary cause of cat allergies in humans.
The problem with dander is that it is hard to spot and can settle deep down into carpets. It isn’t always easy to clean up.
Chances are you have dander in your new home’s carpets if cats lived there before you. If enough of it is around, it may even make your allergy problems worse. For example, you may spread it into the air when you vacuum your carpets or even when you just walk around your home, making it more likely that your allergies will flare up.
To minimise the risk of having allergy attacks in your new home, have your carpets professionally cleaned. This should take all cat traces out of your home so you can breathe easy in an allergy-free environment.
Bear in mind that not all steam-cleaning treatments can deal with all the problems that the previous owner’s cats may have left behind. For example, basic steam-cleaning may be able to deal with cat hair and residual urine; however, it may not completely get rid of dander. To fully clean your carpets, you need a deep allergen clean that targets dander as well.
At Davali Chem-Dry, we use microscopic carbonation to lift dirt and allergens from your carpets, providing a deeper clean than a steam cleaning can. To find out more, contact us today and ask about our cat allergy carpet cleaning services.
