Air quality and your pets
Having a pet can provide an array of benefits for you and your family. Other than being everyone’s best friend, studies have shown these fuzzy buddies are linked to a decrease in depression, lowered risk of heart disease, and can even lower a baby’s chance of getting sick as it grows up.
However, pets can have an adverse effect on air quality. Though the benefits of having a four-legged friend outweigh the problems for most, the extra hair and dander can take a toll on our respiratory systems.
Most pet owners can probably relate to finding fur from their cat or dog all over their home. You may think it’s restricted to just the surfaces you can see, like on the carpet and the couch, but particles also pollute the air in the form of pet dander.
Even if you sweep and dust, these particles will linger. In fact, vacuuming can cause the airborne dander to spread throughout your home, even while you’re trying to clean up! These particles can irritate anyone’s respiratory system, but those with pet allergies and asthma are even more at risk.
So, how can you keep Fido and Fluffy, while also maintaining your air quality? There are a number of things you can do to prevent your pet’s fur and dander from hampering your breathing:
1. Keep pets out of certain areas of your home, like the bedrooms. This goes double for those with asthma or allergies.
2. Consider limiting pets to rooms with hardwood floors, where hair, fur, and dander is less likely to be trapped.
3. Be sure to regularly vacuum and wash the furniture and fabrics pets come into contact with.
4. Clean the air in your home using an air purifier with a HEPA filter. Air purifiers can help capture particles that your vacuum or duster may miss.
Remember that while your pets affect air quality, the air quality also affects your pets. If something has an adverse effect on the air for humans (like smoking or certain cleaning products), your pet may also experience respiratory irritation. Protect your whole family (two- and four-legged alike) by investing in an air purifier with a HEPA filter, such as Airmega, to capture problematic particles in your home’s air.
