Pet dander allergy air purifier:
You love Kitty. Sneezing and wheezing?
Not so much.

Before we talk about an allergy air purifier, let's talk about Fifi. Or Butch.

If you are like the vast majority of your neighbors on this planet, you have a pet of some kind.

In the U.S., for three-quarters of homes that pet is a dog or cat.

Considering the number of people who suffer from pet dander allergies, that means a lot of people are suffering.

What am I reacting to?

It's seldom the hair itself. Cats tend to lick their fur, leaving a film of dried saliva that goes airborne as a fine dust.

In almost all animals, skin flakes, dried saliva and urine represent the direct allergic source.

And that's not all ...

Often people who aren't directly allergic to their pet find themselves sniffling more around the animal.

In fact, most homes that have active pets have dirtier air. The reason?

Because Fido ends up with pollen, dust and other allergens in his fur. And that ends up floating around in your home.

It's enough to make your nose twitch just thinking about it.

Can an allergy air purifier help?

A good allergy air purifier will help, but only in conjunction with some simple, common sense steps that can minimize the amount of pet dander and other particles floating around in your air!

Having pets doesn't mean you have to settle for allergic symptoms. The more you can limit airborne contaminates, the less allergy-related reactions you will have.

Step 1

The most important thing you can do is create a protected "safe room" and take steps to limit access to both the pet and to clothing, toys, and other family members who regularly come in contact with the pet.

If possible, consider whether the pet in question can become an "outdoor" animal.

As with most airborne allergy issues, focus on the bedroom. It's where you spend most of your time and are most vulnerable.

Step 2

Make sure those who have played with the pet know to remove the clothes they've worn and never come into the bedroom wearing clothing that has was worn when playing with or grooming the pet.

In addition, wash face, hands and arms after touching the pet to remove dander.

Step 3

There are plenty of pet shampoos and spays on the market that, when used regularly, will help limit the amount of skin flakes and dander coming from the pet.

Step 4

Vacuum and dust weekly wearing a filtered mask. Because this will kick up dust, do it at a time when you can stay out of the bedroom for a while afterward.

Upgrade your vacuum. At the least, buy high-efficiency cleaner bags. Special filters for vacuum cleaners keep the dust from recirculating in the air. Consider investing in a HEPA vacuum cleaner.

Step 5

Now, let's consider what to look for in a pet dander allergy air purifier.

Pet dander particles can be very fine. Because it is often mixed in with pollen, dust and other allergens stuck in fur, a good general air cleaner that can pick up very fine particles is the best allergy air purifier.

Briefly, two general air cleaning technologies worth considering are:

Filtered air purifiers use a paper or cloth filter to "strain out" airborne particles. The best use a HEPA filter, which doesn't refer to a brand but is an acronym ("High Efficiency Particulate Arresting" filter) which refers to the efficiency of the filter.

Electrostatic ionizing air purifiers use an ionizer to charge particles before passing air through oppositely charged metal plates that draw the particles out of the air.

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