New Apt. Wake up with stuffy nose each morning--old carpet?

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My husband and I and baby daughter moved into a new apartment in July. Our landlady replaced the living room carpet but would not replace the carpet in either bedroom. Each morning I wake up with a stuffy nose and my husband also seems to have developed sinus problems since the move. We had been living in the downstairs apartment of the same house previously and experienced no problems there. The people that lived in this apartment before had 3 LARGE dogs and even had a litter of puppies in what is now my daughter's bedroom. We have a dog ourselves and are not allergic. But there is a very persistent and STRONG dog body odor on the carpet in our bedroom (before the landlady replaced the living room carpet, the entire apartment smelled horrendous). They steam-cleaned the carpet before they moved out. My landlady steam cleaned it, and I steamed it 3 times before we moved in and the odors are still there. Could these dog odors be causing health problems? I read that odors are caused by bacteria. I'm guessing it's throughout the carpet and the sub-floor. I wish we could afford to replace them.
Any thoughts on what could be causing this and if it poses a serious threat?
 
I think it could be the odor. Another thing that i thought of, is the apartment more dry then the place you came from?

You can try irrigating with a neti pot or sinurinse bottle and see if that alleviates the symptoms. You can get them at CVS for about $15.
 
have you tried spraying the carpet down with a pet enzyme cleaner? That might absorb the dog odor.
 
If you do, sounRAB like it almost neeRAB to soak in..since it seems like it is in the sub-flooring. Were any of the cleanings professional or just a home shampooer?
 
If you're not allergic to dogs, you might have a dust allergy. You can now get a blood test to determine what you're allergic to. Dust allergies are very common.

Dust mites like carpeting and bedding. Frequent and thorough vacuuming can help, but only if you have a strong hepa allergy bag. Otherwise vacuuming just throws out the dust mites in the exhaust air. If your matress is old (more than 7-10 years), it could have a lot of mites too.

Some people also react to the chemicals in NEW carpets. I need a new carpet in my living room, but every time I go shopping for one, I feel sick and out of breath in the carpet store. I don't think one carpet will be too bad, as long as I buy it when I can keep the windows open for a few months.

I would be careful about using a lot of chemicals when the baby is there. My son and I both react negatively (breathing problems) to Febreze and similar products.
 
My landlady said they guy she had come shampoo was a professional, but I didn't see the cleaner so I don't know. He had his own business, so maybe it was just your basic commerical cleaner. I also have a commercial steam-cleaner and it didn't seem to do the trick. I also used the Hoover Woolite Pet solution cleaner the three times I did it. Perhaps I should try that enzyme solution and just saturate the carpet? Is that safe for a 4-month-old baby?
 
Hi

I don't want to make you unnecessarily frightened, but I know someone who got a rare lung disease which I believe was caused by old carpeting infested with dog hairs and mites.

So do take this seriously. I see there are products on the market that are supposed to 'loosen' animal hair and mites from carpets - perhaps worth a try.

But if the carpets can't be fixed, do get rid of them.
 
lucylucy,

first time i hear that there are blood tests that can confirm what one is allergic to.
what type of blood tests? my son has several allergies and it's always the pricks on the arm, have never been told about blood tests. please give me details???????
 
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