Allergic to cats; buying a house from a cat owner

[mrkajz44]

The story in a nutshell: Been looking at homes for a little while and had seen about 7-8 (including open houses). My girlfriend and I go see one a few nights ago and we both loved it. The layout was perfect, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, finishings, the whole nine yards.

The only issue is the house was previously owned by people with a cat as a pet. There was no noticable cat smell or stains, so we are not overly concerned about urine in the carpet. However, I am allergic to cats(severity of maybe 4 out of 10).

We will do a full carpet steam, plus floor to ceiling cleaning, as well as clean the furance and vents prior to move in. We are even willing to rip out the carpets and replace should it come to that.

Just wanted some thoughts of people if they would do something like this or if this is a terrible idea. Anyone with first hand experience would be extremely helpful.

[TSXCman]

steam, clean, etc, youll be fine.

[habernac]

agreed. If you're only a 4 out of ten, that should be plenty.

[To Be Quite Honest]

4 out of 10 - would not clean.

Air purifiers will help too.

[Madman]

If it's really bad, sealing and painting the walls and ceiling would be your next option.

[Hockeyguy15]

Same issue for my wife. We had the carpets cleaned and had Keith clean the furnace/ducts and she is fine.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=104907

[MRCboicgy]

With our cats, we find we have to get the furnace guys in 2x a year to do the ducts just because of the damned fur, so take the above advice about steam cleaning, get your ducts sucked out and change the furnace filter. Also, you may just want to run an air purifier in your room before/while you sleep - if you're like me and allergies, I tend to get congested at night.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Same issue for my wife. We had the carpets cleaned and had Keith clean the furnace/ducts and she is fine.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=104907

Ditto - though swap Wife for Son.

[mrkajz44]

Well, this is great news initally - I was quite worried as I'd hate to sink money into a house and all the moving costs, etc. only to find out I could not live there due to the allergies.

I will be sure to check out Keith for the furnance and ducts.

[Drury18]

I did the same thing when I moved into my house as they had a dog (allergic) as well as pet stains that were left between viewing the house and moving in. I think a steam clean and a duct/furnace cleaning should probably cover you.

There are some carpet cleaning companies that specialize in removing allergens to create a "hypo-allergic" environment. If you want that deep of a clean, maybe look into someone who goes a little further then a steam clean. It does cost more, but I did notice a difference and suffered no allergies afterwards.

I'd also suggest get your ducts cleaned FIRST and then get the carpets cleaned. The duct cleaning might stir up more allergens so if you clean them first and then the carpets, you should get most of it covered.

[Raekwon]

Oh crap that reminds me its time to call Keith, damn cats and their fur in the ducts.

[Daradon]

Shouldn't be a problem, especially if you can't notice any stains.

MRCboicgy makes a great point, you will have to do the ducts a few times for sure though. My sister moved out of my moms house with her two cats, and it took a few regular cleanings before all the hair was gone. However, it shouldn't need to be done anymore than (top notch) regular maintenance, nor should it bug you in the meantime.

Air purifier is never bad idea, especially as mentioned for sleeping.

[DoubleF]

Duct cleaning, replace air filters, steam clean carpets and areas that might trap hair (attic?), I'm sure you'll be fine. Any type of fabric is a potential culprit probably.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

We will do a full carpet steam, plus floor to ceiling cleaning, as well as clean the furance and vents prior to move in. We are even willing to rip out the carpets and replace should it come to that.

[Displaced Flames fan]

I'd say I'm around 4 or 5 out of 10 too. I simply would not purchase a home that has had cats in it. Period.

I wouldn't take the chance.

The last thing you want is to buy a house, spend all that money cleaning and find that you still have issues.

[mrkajz44]

Based on everyone's comments and a few discussions with some cleaning companies, I think we are going to go ahead and purchase and hope the deep cleaning does the trick.

I'll try to remember to circle back and give a quick update on how it all worked out, just for anyone's future reference.

[woob]

If it has carpets, I'd pull them out as well. There's probably a tonne of dander stuck in there and I don't care how deep you clean, it's not all coming out. I'm not sure I'll ever have carpets again after going through a reno where we pulled them all up in a previous house we owned. Nassssty.

[mrkajz44]

So I've moved in and thought I'd provide an update should anyone run into this situation in the future.

I have been in the house for three full days now. The cleaning went as planned: furnace and duct cleaning; maids to sweep, dust, ect.; and a steam clean on all the carpets. I am happy to announce that I am having virtually no issues with my allergies.

In a few spaces (where the cat used to have the litter box, for example) I can feel it ever so slightly, but I imagine that will demish quickly over time. One other item of note, we got rid of the curtains as well, as they seemed to make my symptoms flair up a bit.

All in all, with the proper cleaning, I was able to move into a house where a cat used to live, even though I am allergic to cats.

[Huntingwhale]

Get a dog to counterbalance.

[fatso]

Any cat allergy issues with the garage?