To those of you whose dogs are allergic to house dust mites and similar, have you ever tried using an air purifier in the house and if so, did you find it helped?

Just bumping this in case I get a reply this time! :D

:D

I've not tried an air purifier and, to be honest, unless you only have carpet in the one room where you'd have the purifier set up I think you're fighting a losing battle! It wouldn't hurt if you have the spare money though I guess! Carpets are a major problem. My house is full of them :rolleyes: If it were up to me I'd have wooden floors throughout as I read somewhere that in European countries where wooden floors are favoured, as well as blinds rather than heavy curtains and less soft furnishings, they only have 10% of the dust mites found in a typical home in this country (although maybe that statistic is changing now more of us here have non-carpeted homes).

You're probably now going to tell me you have wooden floors already aren't you :P

My dog has dust mite poo in his monthly immunotherapy injection Other than that I just hoover a lot, wash all bedding on 60 degrees (lower temps won't get rid of them), and try to keep the dust down by using a wet cloth and rinsing it out after every few wipes rather just shifting all the dust around with a dry duster (my frequency of dusting does rather leave a lot to be desired though I must admit :P)

Thanks for your reply Zarah. :)

I have tiled floors in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway, but carpet in the lounge and bedrooms.  On the vet's advice, my boy is now banned from the main bedroom (he used to sleep in there) and I try to keep him out of the other carpeted rooms unless I am spending some time there.  I have considered wooden floors but good ones are expensive and to be honest, I'm concerned they would be slippy and not very cosy!

Like you, I hoover a lot, including the furniture once a week, and dust (like you, not an expert in that! :D) with a damp cloth.  Try to keep the place well aired too to avoid moist, damp conditions which the little blighters thrive in.

Just wondered about the air purifiers as I saw one recently in B&Q but there seems to be a bewildering range of them available in general and don't want to splash out on one if they're not going to make a huge difference.

My vet isn't a big fan of immunotherapy - she reckons they aren't seeing the success levels with it that the suppliers claim.  Do you feel it has made much difference with your dog?

Well for us the rule is steam clean the mattress every so often and put anti-house dust mite covers over.  Steam clean your carpet too and of course it wouldn't erradicate them but make them mucb less.

I don't have a steam cleaner, only a small carpet shampooer.  I suspect that probably wouldn't be hot enough to kill dust mites though.  Any recommendations for a good steam cleaner?  I do hoover the mattress regularly and also use mattress and pillow covers that are supposed to kill house dust mites.

Hi Anne ns

I have both an air purifier and a steam cleaner, but the only carpet I do have in the entire house is the staircase, and do have leather suites and chairs.
My air purifier I've found to help my girls condition is a Bionaire, and my steam cleaner, which can be turned from a floor steamer to a hand held very easily is made by Homepure, I love this model as its easy an upright steamer or in seconds changes into a very handy hand held, great for dog cages, beddings and of course curtains.

Thank you. :)  Yes, definitely thinking about a leather suite next time!

Friend of mine has a lab who is basically allergic to LIFE.... shes got an air purifier and says it definately does make a difference.

Do you know or are you able to find out which one she has please?

I am allergic to my small animals and find that an air purifier makes a huge difference. I would definitely try it.

Vera

Any specific brand/model recommendation please Vera?

Didn't reply last time as I don't have an allergic dog - but I do have an allergic me :D , and I have a couple of air purifiers, which I reckon do help. :)

Thanks for all your replies.  What I would really like now is specific recommendations for brand/model for both carpet/furniture steam cleaners and air purifiers.  There seems to be a huge range of air purifiers available from relatively cheap to hundreds of pounds so would like to get an idea of how much I would need to spend to get something which is likely to be effective.

PM me if you prefer.

Thanks in advance.

I can't give you an exact brand name... I have had several. I first used the towers, which worked great... but didn't last long in my animal room which is VERY dusty. I am now trying a different one, see how long it lasts. Downstairs we have a tower, and that's been going for two years now.

I would simply suggest that you get not one of the cheapest, but doesn't need to be the most expensive either (mine were around £50 to £100 from ebay). Get one that MORE than covers the size of the room you need it for and get one of course with HEPA filters. If they also have an ionisier built in, that's a bonus too.

Vera

Thanks Vera :)