We all love our furry friends; they’re usually the center of our families, filling homes with joy, laughter, love, and… pet dander. These microscopic flakes from their skin can trigger a variety of uncomfortable allergic symptoms. If you’ve found yourself with a constant runny nose, watery eyes, or even asthma symptoms after playing with a pet, you’re likely dealing with animal allergies.
Reducing pet dander is a critical step towards ensuring everyone living in or visiting your home can breathe easy and co-exist with our animals without allergic reactions.
While reducing pet dander can feel like a losing battle, the right strategies can make managing pet dander a simple part of your regular cleaning routine. This ensures you and your loved ones can enjoy the company of your pets allergy-free.
Understanding Pet Dander and Why It’s a Problem
To better treat your home for pet dander, it’s good to have a clear understanding of what pet dander is and why it is a problem for allergy sufferers.
So, what exactly is pet dander? Contrary to common belief, pet dander is not just pet hair. It’s the microscopic flakes of skin shed by animals with fur or feathers. Along with fur and feathers, these tiny particles of skin can become airborne, taking flight whenever your cat leaps off the sofa, or your dog gives a good shake. When inhaled or coming in contact with the skin, receptors of our immune system identify dander as an allergen, causing an allergic reaction in some individuals.
For those battling pet allergies, pet dander in a home can significantly impact their health and comfort. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) estimates that allergies to cats and dogs affect 10 to 20% of the world’s population. Symptoms can range from mild discomfort to severe health issues.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the most commonly experienced allergy symptoms due to pet dander include sneezing, a runny or stuffy nose, and red, itchy, or watering eyes. In worst-case scenarios, exposure to pet dander can trigger severe asthma symptoms, leading to difficulty in breathing.
Now that we’re well-versed in how pet dander sneaks into our noses, eyes, and throats, let’s move on to ways we can minimize its presence in our homes and reduce allergy symptoms.
DIY Measures to Get Rid of Pet Dander
1. Regular Brushing of Pets
You might notice that with every stroke of your dog’s fur, there’s a fallout of loose hair. What you cannot see, however, are the countless flakes of dead skin cells along with it. The first step to minimize dander is regular brushing of your pets. Not only does this help keep your animal’s fur soft and manageable, but it also dramatically reduces the amount of dander shed. It’s best to do this outdoors, if possible, to keep the airborne allergens from entering your home.
2. Using HEPA Filters in Vacuum Cleaners and Air Cleaners
When looking for a vacuum cleaner, opt for one with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter is designed to capture tiny particles, including pet dander, providing a more thorough clean. Similarly, air purifiers and air filters fitted with HEPA filters can filter pet dander (among other allergens) from the air, reducing airborne allergens and helping allergy sufferers breathe easier.
3. Cleaning Soft Surfaces Regularly
Pet dander sticks the most onto soft surfaces, which includes everything from your bed linens to the plush toys your pet loves to play with. Make it a habit to regularly wash these items in your washing machine. For items not suitable for the washing machine, use a damp cloth or a vacuum using a brush attachment.
This step is particularly important for your bedroom. Most allergy sufferers experience the worst symptoms at night as they go to sleep. If the soft surfaces of your bed accumulate too much pet dander, you could even wake up feeling sick. To prevent this, good steps include limiting your pets’ access to the bedroom and ensuring they do not climb onto your bed.
These DIY measures are a great starting point to reduce pet dander and its effects. But, in some cases, there may be too much pet dander or too deeply embedded in certain areas that your efforts are not enough. The good news? Professional help is available.
When DIY is Not Enough
Sometimes, despite your best efforts to combat pet dander, you may still find yourself dealing with discomfort or allergy symptoms. The truth is, while DIY techniques can keep animal dander at bay, they might not always be enough. This is where professional cleaning services can help.
Professional Carpet Cleaning
Professional cleaning services play a vital role in more drastic dander problems or homes with severe allergy sufferers. Often, the build-up of pet dander is not only on carpets and rugs, but it is also on upholstered furniture, curtains, and other luxury fabrics and surfaces. Professional cleaners have the skills, training, and equipment to efficiently and effectively remove pet dander from your carpets and upholstery, leaving your furniture and carpets looking – and smelling – as good as new.
At Carpet Tech, we bring you a dedicated team of trained professionals who utilize advanced carpet cleaning methods and specialized equipment to give your carpets and upholstery the deep clean they truly need. We understand pet dander’s persistence, how invasive it can be in your home, and the distress it can cause to allergy sufferers.
What sets our approach apart is the unique blend of technical proficiency and care for your home environment. We adopt an environmentally friendly and health-conscious cleaning method that is entirely free from harsh chemicals and soaps. Instead, we utilize a hot water extraction process that uses deionized, purified water—proving to be cleaner than tap water.
The specialized techniques we employ not only deal with the surface but deeply penetrate the carpet fibers, ensuring a comprehensive cleanse. This method is highly effective in removing allergens, pet dander, and deep-seated odors, leading to a cleaner, healthier living space for you and your family.
Professional Air Duct Cleaning
Air ducts are a central part of your home’s HVAC system, circulating air throughout your rooms. However, they can also harbor dust mites, allergens, mold spores, pet dander, and other contaminants, recirculating them into your living space. Over time, this buildup not only compromises the air quality but can also exacerbate allergies, trigger respiratory issues, and reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency. Carpet Tech’s air duct cleaning service focuses on removing these pollutants, ensuring your home’s air is clean and safe to breathe.
At Carpet Tech, we understand the unique challenges pet owners face in maintaining a clean and healthy home environment. Our comprehensive air duct cleaning process is designed to tackle the hidden pet allergens lurking within your ductwork:
- Free Inspection: We begin with a free video inspection of your air ducts using advanced equipment.
- Efficient Setup: Our cleaning utilizes powerful, truck-mounted equipment, ensuring that all removed contaminants are effectively captured outside your home.
- Thorough Cleaning: We connect our equipment to your HVAC system’s plenum and, using specialized tools, meticulously clean each air duct.
Call Carpet Tech
Successfully managing pet dander in your home requires a mix of regular cleaning, mindful pet-care practices, and professional cleaning services when needed. It’s all about creating and maintaining a clean, healthy environment that allows you and your furry friends to live together comfortably.
Think your home could benefit from a professional clean to eradicate pet dander? Get in touch with us at Carpet Tech for specialized and reliable residential carpet and air duct cleaning services that are tailor-made for pet owners. Serving various locations, including Lubbock, Amarillo, Odessa, Clovis, and San Angelo, we stand by quality customer service, ensuring your carpets not only look spotless but feel great and are free of allergens.