How to get dog and cat odor and dander out of a house?

Question

My son just bought a house. The people who lived there before had 5 dogs and a cat. How do I clean the house so that it doesn't bother my son's allergies? I have taken up the carpet in one bedroom and have tried to clean with pine type products including in between the tiles in the living room. The kitchen has a raised wood floor. We also air out the house, leaving all doors and windows open with the ceiling fans running on high for about 8 hours a day and have done this for 5 days so far. The air is much better (though not good enough) while everything is open but goes back to smelling not so good when we first come in after having the house closed up. What should I do?

Thanks so much.

Answer 1

get some arm and hammer powder stuff you put on the carpet with pet hair release and also get the allergen reducer. vaccuum every day for a week or 2 going back and forth between the two. and get an air purifier.

Answer 2

The best thing I would suggest is to go to a professional cleaning store such as rovic or one like it and ask them for a cleaning solution that best suits the specific type of floor.
There are enzymes that can be sprayed down on the carpets or wood floors that will essentially eat the odor. You then have to use a carpet steam cleaner or mop the floor. Give it what ever the directions say before steam cleaning it that way it has time to get to the root of the smell. The place that sells you the proper product will be able to tell you exactly how to use it.

Answer 3

For the carpeted area, I use Arm & Hammer for carpets then spray Febreze. I do this twice a week and it helps a lot. Doesn't eliminate the odors, but I'd say is an 80% improvement. Probably shampooing the rug would really help. This is where contacting a pet store would come into play. They could probably recommend the proper mixture to attack pet odors specifically. I'm not sure about the hard wood floors, I would have thought that Pine-Sol would take care of it. From that heavy of a concentration of animals, you will probably need to scrub the walls and ceilings, too. Good luck. Good post.

Answer 4

only thing i can tell you is just to "pull the carpet " as even though you can use a barrage of carpet cleaners , the real problem is much deeper in that the padding will hold the allergins for a very long time !!when you do get to that point make sure to clean the floor with some bleach

Answer 5

Get to Petsmart or another pet supply store. There you will find animal odor removal cleaning product that posess enzymes that actually eat away at urine in the carpet. You might not be able to completely remove the odor if it's soaked into the wood and padding underneath. Good luck.

Answer 6

I'd like to know the best answer to this one myself seeing we have 2 dogs and 2 cats, but replacing the carpeting and/or flooring is probably the best method, it removes all that trapped in live organisms and bacteria that causes the odor in the first place. Biological live enzyme cleaners are your best bet, it works to a certain degree for us but a little odor remains.

Answer 7

I had that problem with my last house & the house I'm in now. I poured baking powder on the floor (all over every room) at night and would leave it there & vacumm it up the next morning. I did that for 2 or 3 weeks. It seemed to me to work fairly well. I didn't wrinkle my nose everytime I walked in the house anymore.

Answer 8

Ouch...
Perhaps... visit a pet store and ask for cat/dog odor elimination chemicals? I know my vet sells those... But first give everything - I mean everhthing, including furniture and behind furnature, a thorough vacuuming and scrubbing with 100% bacteria-killing detergents. When everything is cleaned, start with the odor elimination chemicals. Thoroughly and systematically. Then air the house.

That's how I would approach the problem. Desinfect, then apply specific chemicals. Hope it helps.

Answer 9

You need the product called "Urine -B-Gone" or "PEE-B-Gone".Ithas a special compound that attracts itself to the urine molecule,to destroy it.The dander,you would have to get a good upright vac with a HEPA filter and vacuum all fabrics and textiles in your house.(curtains,carpets,furniture,) Cats leave behind a super microscopic protein behind that ONLY a HEPA filter can trap.It comes from there saliva.That is usually what people are allergic too.

Answer 10

buy an air purifier--they are AMAZING!!!!!!!

ALSO, YOU NEED TO VACUUM INTO THE CORNERS, AND USE ELBOW GREASE IN THE CORNERS