Pet dander is hard to eliminate from our homes, especially if our pets spend a lot of time indoors and have long fur, and if you’ve got allergies, it can trigger reactions in many of us. While you’re not experiencing an allergic response to the pet’s hair or fur, you’re in fact having a reaction to the protein in the pet’s dander, saliva, urine in the hair or fur that collects the dander. However, whatever the science shows, it can make life a misery for pet owners.
Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to significantly reduce the amount of pet hair and dander in your home, and significantly reduce any allergic responses you or other members of your household may typically experience.
Here’s how:
Clean your home regularly
By keeping your home as clean as possible, you can limit pet hair and dander and make life more comfortable for everyone in it. Try doing the following:
- Washing bedding weekly
- Vacuum non-washable items such as comforters
- Steam clean and vacuum drapes
- Sweep and mop hard surfaces weekly
- Vacuum carpets and rugs daily
Remove pet hair from floors, carpets and furniture
Use the tips below to effectively remove pet hair from your home:
- Hard flooring – use an electrostatic or microfiber dry mop to trap and remove pet hair, dust and particles
- Carpets – with a pumice stone or device for de-shedding your pet, try running it across the surface of the carpet to collect hair for easy vacuuming or picking up by hand
- Furniture – have your pets sit or lie on blankets on your furniture to prevent the transferral of hair. For removing pet hair, put on a damp rubber glove and run your hand over the item of furniture to collect it.
Groom your pets often
Bathe your dogs weekly (or as per your veterinarian’s guidance) to reduce the amount of pet hair they shed, and brush them in between washes to stop excess hair from being spread all over your home.
Have your HVAC system professionally cleaned
Ducts often contain contaminants such as dust, debris, dander, pollen and bacteria, and when not cleaned regularly, simply circulate throughout your entire home, as well as begin to make the air smell bad. Having your ductwork cleaned every 2 years is recommended for households with indoor pets.
Use a professional cleaning service
We all lead busy lives nowadays, and what with our jobs, family responsibilities, social lives and everything in between, there isn’t much time left for cleaning. However, a clean home is important for both you and your pets, so if you’re struggling to keep your home as clean as you’d like (especially if you share it with pets), you should try hiring a cleaning service, who will come in and clean as often as you wish.
Pets bring us so much joy, but their dander can bring us so much misery. Enjoy sharing your home with pets and not experiencing allergic reactions by hiring a cleaning service; the simple and cost effective way to have a clean home, all of the time.
