Removing traces of "cat" ...

[mad_mediocrity]

Hi all

Comments

[ravan]

A hotel room is cheaper.

[wavechaser]

IAWTC

[naruvonwilkins]

Agreed.

[chaeri]

was going to say that, too.

[catmomma]

I have a allergic friend who stays with us from time to time. The room he stays in gets vacuumed from top to bottom (including walls and ceiling) with my Dyson. I dust every surface with some sort of wet dusting solution like Endust. I wash all fabrics with a anti dander detergent (which I have because I am also allergic so I use it to wash my own sheets). Then I pretty much vacuum again and leave the window in that room open.

I have 6 cats that live here with me and they are not going anywhere. If my friend chooses to stay here I do what I can but I can not perform miracles.

[mad_mediocrity]

Thank you, this was very helpful. What do you usually do with couches and upholstery?

[catmomma]

I cover stuff where the cats sleep so when the friend comes I remove those covers (towels/blankets). If I need to I would use the Bissell Green Machine and shampoo the upholstery. Also vacuuming it after it is dry.

[scearley]

Because you truncated your story, there are only three solutions here:

1. Suck it up and pay for it
   
2. Make the new guy pay for it
   
3. Do the best you can and if it's not good enough, New Guy has to deal with it however he can.
   

Based on what you've written #2 and #3 are not acceptable answers, for whatever reason.

The further problem is that you aren't guaranteed the cleaning will be thorough enough even if you do hire a cleaning crew. New Guy needs input on this problem.

[cmarie14]

I was thinking about the cleaning quality, too. I don't have much experience with cleaning companies (other than I read a book where a woman described working at Molly Maids and the fact that I cleaned houses for a year and a half) but Molly Maids was all about the cosmetics and wouldn't have cleaned any more throughly than anyone else can do.

I never did more than what I do at home (well, okay, their houses actually got cleaned and more often, but it was all stuff that I do at home...when I do it.) Anyway, all that to say that a cleaning company is just going to come in and do the same things you could do. The only difference may be that they have a commercial grade vacuum.

I agree, make this guy pay for it if he can't be content with the OP doing the best they can, and if not, they may need to find another place that is pet-less.

[mad_mediocrity]

The guy is going to be a summer subletter, and we need him to stay as we need the rent money. I was just cat-sitting for the cat, so the cat is actually gone now too. And unfortunately, I was cat-sitting because of a friend's unexpected emergency, so when the guy agreed to sublet, it was because at the time, the place was cat-free.

So the burden's kind of on us to clean.

[cmarie14]

Yep, that does make complete sense. Thanks for explaining more. The only thing I can think of is to see if you can find someone with a vacuum with a hepa filter (Kenmore at Sears has a very nice canister vac that I really like for around $250, if you need one anyway). Put an allergen filter in your air intake, if you can.

If steam clean your carpets, get an allergen reducer. Febreeze also makes an allergen reducing spray, but I've heard mixed things about it, not to mention the febreeze tends to make me sneeze more than anything.

The big thing will be removing dander and cat fur, so vacuum all your furniture down. Vacuum any surface you can, really, starting at the ceiling and working your way down. Then wash down anything you can (tops of kitchen cabinets, tops of doors and door frames, tops of anything) with warm soap and water. Don't forget inside cupboards you open often

[galileah_galile]

Benedryl is pretty cheap too. I have serious cat allergies and a regular cleaning will do just fine. Anything that doesn't cover I just deal with because irritation is minor with antihistamines and hey, I'm staying at SOMEONE ELSE'S house. I can't expect them to erase thier cat. If it's so severe that it poses a real health risk to him/her, they better just stay in a hotel.

[stacycat69]

I would think this way as well. Like, if I have a food allergy, I would ask my friends not to have that food around me. If I had a severe peanut allergy, could not eat anywhere that had peanut butter on it at some point, and they have a kid who only eats peanut butter, then I probably would not go to their house.

[chaeri]

*nod* there is only so much a person can reasonably ask another to do. if you do that - and regular cleaning with lysol is reasonable - and its not enough, that's thier problem.

[mad_mediocrity]

The guy is going to be a summer subletter, and we need him to stay as we need the rent money. So hotels and stuff are out. I was just cat-sitting for the cat, and the cat just left a few days ago. Unfortunately, I was cat-sitting because of a friend's unexpected emergency. When the guy had agreed to sublet, it was because at the time, the place was cat-free. After he found out that a cat had been here for a long period of time, then that was when the problem arose.

So the burden's kind of on us to clean, as we really need his rent money. :(

[mallorylavonne]

will the cat be staying somewhere else?

[catmomma]

I was wondering the same thing

[kazeldya8]

My impression was that the cat(s) is (are) gone - our apartment has been catless since February, and we still find traces of cats - hair, smell, etc.

[mallorylavonne]

thats what i figured. but then again, i know people who assume ill be fine staying in a house with a cat as long as they "keep him/her out of the bedroom"-- which doesnt really help for my allergies. D: