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Smoking and Air-Filters

post #1 of 18
4/2/10 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
Now, I'm well aware exposure to smoke from cats, can be a nasty situation. After a recent visit to the vet, I've started to smoke outside.

My question is; I own an Ionic Breeze (air purifier). If the unit is on, and I continued smoking indoors, could this drastically improve the quality of the air for my cats?

And if I smoke outside, can the smell of cigarettes on my clothes be harmful as well?
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post #2 of 18
4/2/10 at 3:14pm
The filter will help, but the not enough to counteract all the smoke you'd be putting into the air inside.

As for your clothing, it depends on your cats. If they have respiratory problems (like asthma or allergies) then it can be an irritant that would bother them. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much. Just smoking outside will be doing them a big favor.
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post #3 of 18
4/2/10 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah after doing some research on the Ionic Breeze, by smoking outside I'm probably doing my cats a HUGE favor XD
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post #4 of 18
4/2/10 at 3:31pm
It's not the just smoke in the air going into their tiny lungs either. All that stuff settles on their fur, and they ingest it too.

I'm glad you've decided to smoke outside, for the sake of your kitties.
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post #5 of 18
4/2/10 at 6:20pm
I didn't have much time earlier - Other things you can do if you're going to be smoking outside regularly. Clean up your home/apartment. All of that nicotine (and other chemicals) build up on all surfaces - upholstery, carpet, curtains/blinds, and your walls.
Giving the place a thorough spring cleaning, and adding an air purifier if you wish, will greatly improve the air quality inside your home. It will make it better for any non-smokers who visit, too. (we non-smokers can be extremely sensitive and just being in an environment that was heavily smoked in can cause one to be ill for days)
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post #6 of 18
4/2/10 at 6:21pm
I would suggest looking up third hand smoke and what issues in babys( human) it can cause
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post #7 of 18
4/2/10 at 7:23pm
^Oh it's bad, too. But I've found there's only so much you can get smokers to do before they'll balk at it.
I have people get offended enough that I ask them not to smoke while sitting right next to me.
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post #8 of 18
4/2/10 at 7:34pm
I stopped smoking inside when I was 25, and my beloved Baby ( 1/98 ) developed asthma. I never was able to tolerate smoke inside, mine or any one elses, after that.

I quit over 10 years ago, but it's true what someone else said, I cannot even be inside a home where someone has smoked regularly for any length of time.

I remember one year when I was still working in Special Ed the school wanted to put me and my student in this little room for special therapies (PT, OT etc). The room smelled so badly of old cigarettes that I would gag just walking in.

It made me so sick to be in in that room, even though most people "couldn't even smell it" that I had to refuse to work in there and was given a corner of a hallway instead. It was worth it.

I found out later the room used to be the "teachers' room" in years gone by, back in the days teachers smoked in school. Remember those days?

But it's true that the smoke will settle on everything, including the cat's fur and also everything that a cat touches eventually is ingested from washing, so kitty gets a double whammy, in through the lungs and in through the stomach (and mouth tissues, and everything that leads to the stomach).
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post #9 of 18
4/2/10 at 8:04pm
I used to smoke too, and now I can't stand to be in my mom's car (she still smokes) or her living room, because both places just reek. My state passed a law relatively recently banning indoor smoking. I was against it, because I don't think the government should interfere with how restaurant/bar owners want to run their businesses, but I gotta tell you - it's nice to be able to go out to a club or a bar and not come home with smoke smell in my hair and clothes.
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post #10 of 18
4/2/10 at 8:28pm
My state is a no smoking state. I love it. In my small city, smoking has even been banned in certain sections of public parks. It's wonderful.

In 2004 a law was passed no smoking withing 50 feet of ANY public doorway. It took a while for businesses like grocery stores to enforce this law but more and more are now, it's such a relief. I hate walking through a cloud of smoke to get into a grocery store, I stink for the rest of the day.

Walmart is the only store really that it's a problem anymore. (They don't monitor/enforce their disabled parking places either.)

Even when I was a smoker I would never stand in a public door way and smoke.
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post #11 of 18
4/2/10 at 9:01pm
Thread Starter 
Hehe, well I love tobacco and smoking, and still support the rights of smokers, but if it's hurting my cats, I have to take actions to ensure their health.

Me and my girlfriend (roommate) are in the process of giving the place a good cleaning.

Now, since I've stopped smoking indoors, and you guys brought up about the smoke settling into their fur, would it be a good idea to give them a bath?

The reason I ask, is because I need encouragement towards giving them bathes.
They absolutely HATE it
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post #12 of 18
4/2/10 at 10:12pm
You don't have to bathe them. But if you wish you can give them wipe downs with a damp wash cloth.
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post #13 of 18
4/2/10 at 11:39pm
I vote no baths!
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post #14 of 18
4/3/10 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I didn't have much time earlier - Other things you can do if you're going to be smoking outside regularly. Clean up your home/apartment. All of that nicotine (and other chemicals) build up on all surfaces - upholstery, carpet, curtains/blinds, and your walls.
A sort-of-funny story.

I once knew an Air Force colonel who flew MAC airplanes, as well as tankers and cargo planes. (This was back in the 60's.) He said that when the mechanics walked up to the aircraft, they could tell which ones were being used as passenger airplanes and which were freighters. The passenger planes all had a thin streak of brown running from every rivet. That was the smoke residue. (At that time, smoking was allowed.)

I've taken a bottle of Windex and shown numerous smokers what they were doing to the trucks we drive. Just spray some windex on a vertical surface, and watch the brown start to run. It gets deposited so widely that most don't even realize what's happening.

That said, I'd rather have a cat in a house with a smoker than outside with coyotes, dogs, parasites, and cruel people.
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post #15 of 18
4/3/10 at 7:01am
My guess is other folks who don't smoke will enjoy coming to your home more often once the smoke smell clears. I think it is good you are concerned enough about your cats to quit smoking around them.
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post #16 of 18
4/3/10 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
Actually I've never had a problem with people complaining about smoke indoors. Really, it's just for the cat's health XD

But I imagine the place will smell fresher, so that's always a plus.
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post #17 of 18
4/3/10 at 6:52pm
^They've probably just been polite. I bet all the non-smokers going home after a visit immediately change out of their clothes and some probably go straight to the shower.

Have fun cleaning. Remember that if you use any "heavy duty" products that you need to open windows because they can make you very sick. I'd personally try just a bucket of hot soapy (dish detergent) water and a rag since I doubt you have 10+ years to scrub off. If you have problems getting stuff off the walls, the magic erasers work pretty well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I've taken a bottle of Windex and shown numerous smokers what they were doing to the trucks we drive. Just spray some windex on a vertical surface, and watch the brown start to run. It gets deposited so widely that most don't even realize what's happening.
I grew up with smokers, so I know! My dad's house, now, is even worse. He regularly had 7 smokers in it. The white walls turned nicotine-brown years ago. You can actually smell cigarettes a half a block away on some days, too.

I'm really dreading dealing with that tomorrow...
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post #18 of 18
4/3/10 at 7:46pm
My nearest neighbors are heavy smokers. Their house is about 50 yards away, with trees in between, but I can always tell when they open their windows as the stench wafts straight into my apartment. It's awful.
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