Pet allergies & viewing properties

Scoobysnacks

Just wondering what people do when they have allergies and are looking to move.

I have a serious cat allergy which always results in me being admitted to hospital. Even when the cat has not lived in a house for 6 months.

So when it comes to me viewing properties to buy in a few months, I'm not sure what to do. When I do buy I will have to get professional cleaners in to clean the whole house, removing all carpets, curtains, cleaning behind radiatiors etc.

Tablets don't work. I have an epi pen but obviously don't want to be in a situation where I have to use it.

My doctor suggested wearing a mask over my face!
Any advice?

tim123456789

send in a friend with a video camera

(and no I'm not joking)

tim

hazyjo

Buy a new build! (I'm not joking either )

Jx

Yellowstar_2

Scoobysnacks wrote: »

Just wondering what people do when they have allergies and are looking to move.

I have a serious cat allergy which always results in me being admitted to hospital. Even when the cat has not lived in a house for 6 months.

So when it comes to me viewing properties to buy in a few months, I'm not sure what to do. When I do buy I will have to get professional cleaners in to clean the whole house, removing all carpets, curtains, cleaning behind radiatiors etc.

Tablets don't work. I have an epi pen but obviously don't want to be in a situation where I have to use it.

My doctor suggested wearing a mask over my face!
Any advice?

I have no advice for you OP - just sympathy - I have a similarly severe allergy and it's not fun.

I'm renting, and have simply had to restrict my search to properties that don't allow pets. That works okay when viewing and my allergies are under control, but some tenants just do a good job of hiding their cat from their LL and it's only clear on moving day when I end up in hospital via ambulance. It's pretty frightening.

I'd love to buy, and if/when I do I think I'll have to stick to proprties without pets. As I'm sure you know, it takes removal of all carpets/curtains, and cleaning all surfaces (inc walls, ceilings) for around 6 months before the allergens have really gone. In my experience, a professional clean just doesn't do it.

Have you tried contacting allergy UK? They were actually quite helpful in telling me what worked when I needed to deal with allergens from a long-departed cat in my home. They recommened particular products which denatured the allergens etc. It might not help much when viewing, but might help later and it's got to be worth a phone call to see if they can suggest anything?

A face mask doesn't seem like a terrible idea. Do let me know if you find a solution, and keep ventolin/epi-pen handy! Sorry I can't be of more help - but you're not alone!

Yellowstar x

tim123456789

FTAOD, I'm sympathetic to the OP's problem as well.

It must be a terribly disabling.

I just didn't think that it needed saying.

HappySeagull

One of our viewers cancelled last week, because we have a cat. We didn't hide the fact, but the Estate Agents didn't ask about current or previous pets. I do have sympathy, as two family members have (milder) allergies. Sorry I can't be helpful, though.

mkgirl1981

I say wear a mask & maybe tell the estate agents to tell the vendors so they are prepared and can make sure the cat is out of the property during the viewing I think 99% of vendors would be sympathetic & try to accomadate you as much as they can.

Scoobysnacks

Thanks for the replies.

I suppose a new build would be best but I really don't like them as the rooms are usually small and the walls paper-thin.

I guess I might just have to wear a mask and look like an idiot. Will definitely speak to the estate agent about it and will also do all my viewing with a friend in case I need to get out of the house quickly.

<sebb>

I'd mention it to the estate agents and ask them to check with the owners. We viewed around 20 houses and only one of them had a cat in it.

I have two cats so would know a cat household if I saw it. It's not easy to hide the signs of a cat household completely.

phoebe1989seb

OP, I sympathise with your situation - it must be absolutely awful to contemplate a house move in those circumstances

Whilst I can't offer any constructive advice over and above the suggestions to wear a mask/get a friend to view with video camera, I can say that when we sold our last-but-one house and our EA did the viewings, we always took our two house cats out with us to family (in case the EA inadvertently let them out as had happened on a previous occasion) and were perfectly happy to do this. It was a bit of a faff, but better than risk losing one of our kitties.

Of course taking them out didn't remove every trace of our cats, so would not be ideal for severe allergy sufferers such as yourself, but maybe it would be worth establishing from EAs of any prospective properties whether the vendor would be prepared to do this? I'm sure if they were made aware of the reason and were keen to achieve a sale, they would happily comply.

Good luck - I do really feel for you x

hazyjo

Scoobysnacks wrote: »

I suppose a new build would be best but I really don't like them as the rooms are usually small and the walls paper-thin.

Not necessarily. Think about what's essential to you (eg I would hate an open kitchen onto a lounge which a lot seem to have), what your budget is, and what reputation the builders/developers have. Barratts, for example, were always well known for providing small, paper-thin walled houses (dunno if still the case, they were putting houses up all over the place in the '90s!).

My current house is nearly 10 years old (been there 2 years) and there have been MANY positives. My heating bills have never been so low, it's very efficient when it comes to things like that, things work and are modern (bathrooms, kitchen, boiler, etc), and the rooms are big. All fairly big double beds (the top floor is more of a suite), they're not all boxy (although the other three beds are square-ish - which I actually find of benefit) and some rooms have angled bits, recesses and character things like balconies, fireplace, etc.

Definitely worth looking into (I never usually promote new builds, btw!), but something that's been owned once by one other owner without a cat should be on your list. I honestly think it's the way forward for you. Doesn't have to be brand new (which I really wouldn't recommend unless you plan on staying there forever maybe).

My buyer's son has a serious cat allergy too, btw. They're having the whole house cleaned and the carpets clearned before moving in. I personally don't think it'll be enough, but that's not for me to say! I had two cats (now only got one, lost one a few weeks ago sadly), whose hair just wedges into the carpets, etc. I don't see how they can remove every trace!

Good luck I do sympathise!

Jx