Cat allergies - how long before furniture won't irritate

Parent Cafe
1

<p>DS inherited grandma’s couch and has moved it into his new apt. One of the other guys is allergic to cats. Grandma def. had cats but that was now over 5 years ago; since then the couch has been in apt. w no cats. How long do cat allergens last?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>My guess is the allergens will last until the couch get thoroughly, preferably professionally, cleaned.</p>

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<p>Personally, forever! I think cat dander is extremely difficult to get rid of.</p>

4

<p>Wow your estimations are different from mine. Hmmmmm. Thank you - we’ll have to consider getting the couch cleaned more throughly than my vacuum does it. Hate to think of the roommie suffering due to Gramma’s old kitty.</p>

<p>I found this info online: </p>

<p>I don’t have a cat, so why do I react to my home as if I have one?</p>

<p>Even if you live in a home where furry pets have never lived, animal dander can be present.
Since pet dander is very small and light, it can attach itself to your clothes when you are away and ride back into your home undetected.
It can also come in on the clothes of your children or guests. Animal dander has been found in many public places, like school classrooms, in quantities high enough to cause an allergic reaction.
Many homes without pets have been tested, and similar results have been found.
If you have moved into a home where a pet has lived, it will take a year or more for all of the pet dander there to lose its potency.</p>

<p>The excerpt above came from National Allergy, your source for quality Health & Home products. To read more, click: <a href=“http://www.natlallergy.com/article.asp?ai=137#ixzz2eD2Wxtmb[/url]”>http://www.natlallergy.com/article.asp?ai=137#ixzz2eD2Wxtmb&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I wonder if it would help to add a washable slipcover after the couch was professionally cleaned?
We used to be in a carpool group where one family had cats and another had a child who was allergic. There was enough cat dander in the cat family’s car to cause a reaction, so the solution was that the allergic child brought a beach towel into the cat family’s car, sat on that and then washed it.</p>

6

<p>We moved to a house that had had cats prior. Every time I vacuumed the carpet I reacted. We finally just replaced the carpet. </p>

<p>I think it would be very difficult to remove all the allergens. I have bought a spray product that’s supposed to counteract them but I don’t know if that helps. </p>

<p>I also vote for a thorough professional cleaning.</p>

7

<p>Did the cats sit on the sofa? I probably could never sit on a piece of upholstered furniture that had been a favorite spot for a cat.</p>