Many of us suffer from indoor allergies with our homes closed up with less fresh air coming in  leaving us vulnerable to many allergens including from our own pets.  Did you know that cat dander can remain in the air for up to four months even after the cat has been removed from the home?       

Here are three tips to ease those indoor winter allergies.       

It’s OK to bathe your pet weekly during the winter months.  It’s a great way to flush out any allergy triggers they may be carrying. Just make sure you use a gentle, moisturizing shampoo & conditioner and use warm water – not too hot which can dry out the skin.  Also make sure you rinse our the shampoo and conditioner thoroughly if not it can actually cause more itching and scratching to occur.  Our most popular bath in our self service wash is our Oatmeal Shampoo & Conditioner.  Read our blog post (next article) on Beating the Wintertime Itchy Blues for more great ideas.       

Keep your pets out of the bedroom if your allergies are really acting up.  This can be a tough one sometimes but providing a safe comfortable place for your pet to sleep outside of your bedroom is an achievable goal if you’re a wintertime indoor allergy sufferer.       

Wipe the allergens off  your pet’s fur with a grooming wipe or in-between bath spray.  This has the double bonus of keeping your pet skin moisturized and keeping their dander and skin-born allergies from flying around your home.  Frequent vacuuming using a vacuum with a HEPA filter can keep the airborne allergies at a minimum too.  Really focus on your pet’s sleeping and resting areas.  Changing your furnace air filters can also be beneficial.       

We love our pets but some of us do suffer or have family members who suffer with indoor allergies particularly in the wintertime.  Having a strategy can go a long way in providing relief.