Click play to listen to the Grooming Your Pets – Tips For Reducing Dander article.

If you have a pet at home, in addition to getting their love and companionship, you’re likely living with a lot of their fur and dander. Pet dander is made up of tiny specks of skin shed by animals with fur or feathers, and it can make life tough for anyone in your family with pet allergies.

Let’s look at some ways you can reduce dander in your home to protect those with allergies and to prevent unwanted odors and pet hair around your home. For even more information on this subject, check out the full AprilAire blueprint for living with pets.

Regular Cleaning

The battle against dander is never really over. But all the scrubbing and vacuuming is worth it when it keeps your family and your pets in happy coexistence.

Here are some easy basics for cleaning up dander around your home:

• Wash your bedding once a week
• Vacuum any non-washable items like the comforter
• Steam clean and/or vacuum curtains
• Sweep and mop all hard surfaces at least once a week
• Vacuum carpets and rugs daily; a vacuum with a HEPA filter is especially effective

Limit Roaming

If a member of your family has asthma or allergies, you can help keep them healthy by not allowing animals to go into their bedrooms. This allows for fresher bedding and reduces the risk of breathing-related sleep disruptions.

Bathing and Brushing

When you can smell your pets from across the room, chances are they’re spreading more than just odor. Without regular washing and brushing, dander can build up in their fur and easily spread wherever they wander.

A study showed that washing dogs twice a week reduces the amount of dander and other allergens in their fur. If that much washing is unrealistic for your pet, you can also use a brush to remove excess hair before it ends up on your floors and furniture. You’ll want to be extra diligent with washing and brushing if your dog spends a fair amount of time exploring the outdoors.

Purify Your Air

An air purifier works behind the scenes to keep your home environment cleaner and safer. AprilAire whole-home air purifiers create Healthy Air by trapping common airborne pollutants like viruses, asthma triggers, and, importantly, pet dander.

These air purifiers can be installed as part of your home’s central heating and cooling units, or fit specifically for your home’s basement, attic, or closet. They use reliable and effective AprilAire filters like the MERV 16, which traps up to 99%^* of airborne allergy and asthma triggers.

^*Contaminants removed based on air passing through the filtering system.