Don't vacuum before allergic guests arrive!

[Katee]

Well-meaning cat owners vacuum right before allergic guests arrive. Regardless of the vacuum used, this will lift the cat allergen called "FEL d 1," which is very light and will remain in the air for sever hours, says James Baldwin, MD, director of the Allergy and Immunology Training Program and clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan department of internal medicine. "Your guests will actually suffer more than if you hadn't vacuumed at all."

I found this at today.msnbc.msn.com, but there is no way to directly link to it.

I have found this true for my sister who is mild to moderately allergic to our cats. She has requested we not vacuum the same day she arrives. (We have a room that the cats don't go into - to their great displeasure - where my sis stays. That way she has a spot she can rely to be "mostly cat-free.")

[mellowsong]

Thank you Katee!!! Very very interesting. Last time I was going to my daughter's house, she said she'd vacuum really well before I got there so I could stay a while. I didn't last 3 minutes, even wearing a mask before I had to leave. I was itching like crazy and an asthma attack was looming. I am going to pass this on to her.

[Reesacat]

Thank you Katee! I didn't know that — and it makes sense.

[highlander]

Katee, did your sister grow up with cats?