what is this white powder?

Question

everytime i vacume my carpet i vacume up this white powder. i have NO clue what it is. i do have 2 dogs and 1 cat, do you think it could be dander?

Answer 1

white powder does not sound like dandruff (you'd see it on them) and dander is more their scent than sheddings.
sounds like the carpet pad is disintegrating. unless you do have a clue and just are not saying to see what people say.

Answer 2

It would have to be a heck of a lot of dander to show up on the rug. It wouldn't be a powder either, it'd be flakes (check the fur area over your pet's hips, looking between the fur, if you see flakes, check what your rug is letting up, if it's not the identical same, it's not dander).

Are you sure a previous tenant didn't use that baking soda carpet freshener? That stuff stays in the rug for years, coming up as you disturb the fibers. I made the mistake of using a carpet freshener ONCE and had to deal with the stuff for a long time.

Answer 3

I would not believe it to be pet dander, as it is unlikely you would notice that unless you have a boarding house for pets. In my experience, I would say it is probably your carpet pad. If your carpet is older than 10 years, or you notice it in highly trafficked areas then it most likely is the cause. I remember when we pulled up our carpet and the padding underneath was practically gone in the high traffic zones - it turned into something similar to sand. And in other parts of the house it hadn't disintegrated at all. The only way to know for sure is to pull up your carpet.

Answer 4

Is this a rental? If so perhaps the tenant before you put 20 Mule Team Borax in the carpet to kill fleas. Or put down carpet powder and never vacuumed it up.

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

I think it may be coming from your cats but I'm not sure.

Answer 7

yep

Answer 8

I think your pets are doing drugs when you're not home.