A lot of people love their pets.
Our furry companions are part of our lives, and for better or worse, they live in our spaces with us. Unless for some reason, they’re not allowed to…
Lenders have a tricky decision to make. Do they rent to pet owners, many of whom are responsible tenants? Do they allow this kind of wear and tear on the units?
We know that humans thrive in connection with their animal companions. We have the health data to support that. So it’s hard to make a blanket exclusion for pets.
But there are problems with the process of renting to pet owners.
Essentially, it’s hard to keep that pet’s residual presence from impacting the unit after a pet owner has left and somebody else wants to move in. You just have a lot of cleanup to do, and beyond that, there are some related issues that might require other remediation, which we’ll go into.
Cats and Their Imprint on Rentals
Some landlords can tell you stories about people flushing kitty litter down the toilet, and ruining the plumbing, or hardwood floors scratched and ruined for thousands of dollars of damage.
Those are worst-case scenarios, but even if that doesn’t happen, there’s a natural process that makes it tricky to rent a unit after a cat has been there for any length of time.
Essentially, cat hair and dander is a little like cigarette smoke – it tends to infiltrate the building and get embedded in building materials like carpet, wood floors, etc.
And of course, the cat’s urine, if not easily contained in the litter box, can be a problem, too.
But either way, a cat’s hair and dander has an odor that tends to stick in the unit after the cat and its owner have left.
If you’ve ever entered one of these units after it has been shut up for a while, you’ll know how it is. You get that whiff of cat, or if you’re allergic, your eyes may start stinging, or you may feel a little tickle in your throat. Even if the pet owners or someone else has thoroughly cleaned, this might not really be avoidable!
Solutions to Cat Rentals
So what do you do if you have a unit where a cat has produced a distinct odor, and you can smell it when you walk in?
One good solution is installing an air purifier inside of the home.
Air purifiers cycle through the indoor air, and remove harmful or annoying elements that reduce indoor air quality.
This is excellent for people with asthma or allergies, or anyone else trying to deal with the impact of items like cat dander and even urine.
The air purifier scrubs the air and cleans it inside of the building.
Best Air Purifiers for Pet Owners
The best types of air purifiers for cat odor have a HEPA filter with activated carbon. What is activated carbon? This is made when inert carbon is carbonized, and oxygenized. Then, small pores allow for air to cycle through, with the removal of various types of particulate. It’s a unique way to clean air, and a natural component of many of these high-end air purifier models.
With that in mind, there are some specific models that work well with the types of particles that carry cat odor. These include the Airpura V700, which also has a quiet 7-series motor and is estimated to trap 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns. If your focus in on odor, there’s also the Airpura C700DLX, a similarly capable unit, or, for another brand, try the BetterAir BA-2080. With one of these modern air purifier units humming along in your indoor space, you’ll be well set up to handle the contaminants that produce odor and drive allergic reactions.
So the problem with cat rentals is, usually, solvable! But that is by no means the only value of an air purifier, or the extent of what it can do in your home. The same HEPA and activated carbon technology can be effective in dealing with the effects of smoke, construction debris, or other kinds of microscopic bits that can clutter up your indoor air. Take a look at the many models in our inventory to find the one that’s right for your space.