Removing pet hair from heat/air conditioning ducts

[millay]

Dear friends at Home Repair Forum,
First, I want to thank all of you for being so generous with your time and advice. In a world that often seems indifferent and cruel, you represent the best of humankind. Without asking for any pay, you try to help those of us who do not know much about home repair.

I have a lovely little home, but lately my health has made it difficult for me to maintain the repairs. My sister is in the process of buying a larger home and has asked if I would like to move in with her. Although this would be a great idea for both of us, I hesitiate because the current owner has a cat and dog. Being severly allergic to pet hair, I'm afraid the home could make me sicker than I am already. Once I was going to purchase a condo where the owner had a few cats, but I was told that it would be impossible to clean the central air/heat ducts of the animal hair.

What do you think?
With gratitude,
Marlene

[HayZee518]

well, your advisor is partially correct. what's in the ducts is going to stay there, perhaps over time it might get swept out. In the interim you may benefit if the filter media is replaced with a HEPA type filter media. This is the type that traps particles in the "micro" range. other than a hepa filter saying goodbye to the pets is the only alternative.

[millay]

Thank you so much for your reply. The current owner has a cat and a dog, but she is taking the pets with her when she moves. Neither my sister nor I have pets. If we had the ducts cleaned and had HEPA filters installed, do you think the pet hair would ever go away?

Marlene

[HayZee518]

yes it would and you'd breathe easier.