I watch a lot of HGTV and am always amazed at the Toronto House market. So nice that you sold fast!

Get rid of the carpet and drapes (if any). They hold an unbelievable amount of filth and wall to wall carpet is impossible to actually clean in place, despite what the purveyors tell you. Washing or re-painting the other surfaces will clean them up fine. Carpet is a disaster for serious allergies. Much better to go with hard floors and area rugs that can be sent out for effective washing.

We'll probably have to put a disclaimer if we ever sell our house, warning off anyone with cat allergies!

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I REALLY don't want to pull out the carpeting if I can help it, so I'll give this another couple of weeks. We did get a HEPA filter from Amazon and are considering getting a second one. We've also ordered a spray product that is supposed to neutralize allergens such as pet dander, though I realize the claims may be overstated. My husband has been diligently washing walls, baseboards, etc. We're getting the carpets steam-cleaned for the second time today. I realize oral steroids are just a short-term solution, so I'll monitor myself extra carefully once I'm off them.

Get whole house deep-cleaned by a renovation company, the kind that does fire & flood restorations, & then have the ductrwork cleaned.

huge amounts of dander & dust get caught in ductwork, leading to huge populations of dust mites.

I wish you the best.

Good idea about having a reno company clean the house. However, I agree with rwiegand, the carpets should go. It's not worth your long term health.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7690176_cat-dander-out-carpet.html

I wonder if removing the carpet, then cleaning it (or reverse), and replacing the pad underneath, then reinstalling the carpet would work.

I had carpet cleaned but then removed it. It was incredible how much dust and debris was under and embedded in the rug pad.

Yes, do remove the carpets. They cannot be entirely cleaned in place. Cat dander is impossible.

Have your vents in your HVAC system cleaned too. That should help.

I feel your pain. We learned after purchasing our home that the POs were filthy people and allowed 2 dogs to urinate throughout the home (and eat parts of the kitchen cabinetry). We had to replace rotted subfloors under carpeting it was that bad. Even after removing all the carpeting and refinishing all the wood floors, the smell remained. So, every painted surface (except the kitchen cabinets) was repainted - walls, ceiling, and trims. Some really bad rooms we did kilz before painting. All the subfloors that weren't urine rotted and replaced were painted with shellac before carpeting. Filthy, filthy, people. I hope you don't have to go the extreme we did. 30K later, the smell is gone and we would have replaced all the carpets, repainted, redone the kitchen, and refinished the wood floors anyway, but the cash bite immediately after buying and before we could move in was painful.

We also had the whole HVAC system cleaned and all window coverings removed.

Eliminate carpeting and any other soft surfaces. Lay wood or tile. Have the house thoroughly cleaned -- what shows and what doesn't show -- by specialists.

I 'lived with' mold problems. I developed sinus issues and then full blown asthma -- requiring me to use Advair twice a day for the rest of my life (current retail is over $300/month).

No 'thing' is worth compromising your health.

Saltidawg, having very severe allergies myself, I doubt I'm giving advice that is way off the mark. As an allergic person the first thing we are told to do is minimize drapes, curtains, and NO carpeting. Then we're told to clean out all systems, etc.

What is cat dander?

But I agree with most of the others. Your health is more important than anything else.

Of course my health is more important than stuff and I don't care about the carpets themselves. We're just trying to see if we can avoid spending $15-20,000 to remove all the carpeting and replace it with wood or laminate. We don't have the money to spare right now. The costs associated with buying a house in Toronto are staggering. Land transfer taxes alone cost us $24,000. I appreciate all your suggestions, but hope you can understand why I'm exploring less drastic solutions for now.

I am highly allergic to cats! If you don't want to remove all carpet at least remove it in the bedroom you sleep in along with any drapes. Put in solid surface flooring and dust mop it every day. For the amout of hours one spends in a bedroom this is the best bang for your buck.

Good luck, kathy g in mi

If this condo is 100 years old...is there some nice hardwood under the icky carpeting?

It's not a condo. I wish there were hardwood under the carpeting, but no such luck. If our current measures don't work we'll certainly consider removing the carpet in our bedroom.

As an aside, we have the world's most oddly shaped bathroom: 11'6" x 3'10". In its current incarnation it's beyond dated and not very functional, but there are ways to work with the space. That's another $15,000. We're trying to decide whether to tackle it in the next few months or defer it for 1+ years.

At this point you may be wondering why we ever bought this place. Short answer is we fell in love. It also has many lovely features that happen to suit our in-transition family very well. The listing website's still up so you can have a look: http://298kenilworthave.com/photos/

(The green room is no longer green and we removed the mirrored closet, so it's much more spacious.)

Lovely. I can see why you bought it. I hope you enjoy putting your own touches on it.

I have terrible allergies as well. In addition to the hepa filters, I would buy a free standing hepa air purifier unit for your bedroom. I have one and it is such a big help. They are not cheap and can be noisy so read the reviews. It is great for allergy control to have an allergen free zone in a room where you spend a lot of hours.

HEPA air purifying units

Are you sure about your 15-20 grand price to replace the carpeting? Or is that just a wild guess? Because that house doesn't look that big and the main floor looks like it's already hardwood.

Edited to add: I just noticed that that price was for replacing it with hardwood. Have you looked into just replacing the carpeting with new carpeting? That would be cheaper.

If one has allergies, replacing with carpet doesn't make sense. What subfloor do you have?

Could you just paint the subfloor and use washable rugs for now? Or DIY a laminate floor? Check out Costco.ca for their laminates or bamboo flooring.

UPDATE: I'm now off prednisone and the asthma seems to be subsiding. I guess all the measures we've taken (steam-cleaning carpets, HEPA filter, allergen-neutralizing spray, washing walls, opening windows, etc.) must have reduced the cat dander to a level my body can handle.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice. At the same time I have to wonder why many people were so quick to insist on drastic solutions. (I should add that my husband agreed -- he was ready to rip out the carpets from day one.) To me it makes sense to tough it out for at least a couple of weeks, assuming there isn't a true health emergency. I suppose I have a reasonably high tolerance for living with low-level misery, as long as there's an end in sight. If things had taken a turn for the worse I would of course have taken appropriate action.

If one has allergies, replacing with carpet doesn't make sense.

If one has allergies to cats, why would new carpet without cat dander in it not help?

I'm allergic to cats. My house is full of carpet. I don't have any problems.

If you are allergic to all kinds of things, then I could understand not having carpet because it can trap all kinds of allergens. But if it's just specifically cats, then what's the problem?

Because asthma can be life threatening and it can happen when you least expect it. For example, you are having asthma symptoms that are mild. You decide to go to a movie, and wind up sitting next to someone with cats wearing perfume. You didn't realize you were also allergic to perfume and what happens next is a full blown allergic and asthma reaction that sends you to the hospital. I know I sound alarmist and for your sake, I'm thrilled you're getting better but asthma is never something to think is just something you should tolerate.

If one has allergies, replacing with carpet doesn't make sense.

If one has allergies to cats, why would new carpet without cat dander in it not help?

I'm allergic to cats. My house is full of carpet. I don't have any problems.

If you are allergic to all kinds of things, then I could understand not having carpet because it can trap all kinds of allergens. But if it's just specifically cats, then what's the problem?

Usually when someone is allergic to one thing, they are allergic to several or multiple things, including things like dust mites, mold, etc. Those things can be trapped in carpeting. Plus the dander was already in the house.

OP wrote "I appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice. At the same time I have to wonder why many people were so quick to insist on drastic solutions."

Because it is someone else's money.

Sorry, forgot othever the course of the thread the the allergy is limited to cat dander.

Don't bite my head off.

Glad that the issue has been resolved

This subject has been addressed frequently over the years in the Pet Forum.

<<Because it is someone else's money.>>

LOL. I had the same thought. I guess people don't always realize that money is a REAL consideration, to be carefully weighed against all other considerations, even health. Based on my overall health history, I believed that my odds of landing in hospital in the next two weeks were low enough that it was worth taking the risk of watchful waiting.