Steam Cleaner and Air Cleaner for Ringworm

Q & A: Getting Rid of Ringworm at Home and helping Eliminate the spores’s spread

Hi Mercia,

My dog contracted ringworm on his nose and tail from another dog back in October 15th. I also have 4 cats in my house. I have 4 spots on my arm and my husband has one on his body. It took a while for the test results to verify what the problem was in all of my animals. Fortunately I treated the cats with “Program” (Leufeneuron) twice and so far they are not showing any symptoms. My dog is currently being treated with Itraconazole (Sporanox), and I daily wash the lesion areas with Chlorhexidrine and apply an anti-fungal from the vet. I also put Clotrimazole cream on my husband’s and myself.

My question is, what can I put in our carpet and environment to eliminate the ringworm spores from spreading? My vet knows her animals, my doctor knows people, but neither have been of any help with info on what can be done in the house.

From info I have gleaned from the internet, I have been vacuuming every day and just recently found out I should have been throwing out the bags after EVERY use. I have HEPA filters going in our house in all the rooms, changed every other month. I change the furnace filter regularly and I buy HEPA filters for that too.

I wash the dog’s bed covers with bleach every day and our bedding every week. I add bleach to everything that I can without ruining it in the wash. Is there something I can spray on our carpet that I can use every day or so to keep the fungus at bay? I have a carpet cleaner and I really don’t want to buy a new unit, do you have a cleaner that can be used in it for the fungus also? And I was wondering if there is a “bomb” type product that I can use to kill everything in the room including dust mites and molds?

Thank you for your help. This has been just an awful thing and I feel like I have become a full time cleaning lady!

Regards, Donna P

Donna,

While we do generally advise using chemicals, if possible (especially since many people have allergies to them) there are two ideas that would be a big help  to you in getting ringworm out of your house.

1) The Airfree air sterilizer incinerates spores, germs, bacteria, and dust mite feces in a 400 degree chamber. The machine is totally silent, but is rated for only about 250 sq ft, so you might need a number of units for them to work well. Also, while it will take about 3 weeks to clean up the spores, it will then continue to keep the room free of the above allergens.

2) A vapor steam cleaner will kill the spores using heat. The temperature at the nozzle is about 180 degrees and will reach between 220 – 240 degrees when “diapered” with a towel. (We include them with the units). You can run the brush with the towel over bedding, pillows, mattresses, carpeting, flooring, upholstery, etc. and kill the spores and bacteria without having to wash or bleach items.