Let’s face it. Pet allergies are the worst, particularly if you’re an animal lover or live with one. While there’s no cure for allergies, there are some things you can do to help all of you live more comfortably.

Pet allergies are caused by dander, which is found in the hair and saliva of cats and dogs. Which means even if you shave your pet, your allergies aren’t going to go away, so you’ll have to be more creative. Allergy doctors generally advise getting rid of the pet, but most people reject that suggestion. So here are a few things you can do to be comfortable.

Try to keep at least one room in your house completely pet-free. Keep the door closed, and don’t let the animals in there. It won’t really keep your allergies from acting up, and you won’t be able to keep it completely free of dander, but at least you’ll have one room where you can breathe more freely.

Make sure you clean the animal frequently. Not just baths, but thorough brushing, too. Don’t let the dander build up on them. (You should probably enlist some help with this one from someone without allergies). For cats, who are notoriously not ok with baths and brushing, even just spraying them down with clean water once a week can help reduce the allergens.

And your cleaning won’t stop with the animal. If you’re going to live with allergies, you’ll have to deep clean your house a lot more often than most of us do. Dander is pervasive. It gets into places you can’t believe, everything from your carpets to your furniture to your clothes and your air ducts. You’ll have to vacuum everything, the furniture and the carpets and the lampshades and the walls. Clean all of it. Do the basics every day, and the deep cleaning once a week. It’s not the most fun you’ll ever have, but your pet is worth it.

Speaking of the air ducts, invest in a HEPA FIlters“>HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to keep the air as clean as you can. Dander is light and fluffy, and it floats. A HEPA filter can get rid of a lot of it, especially since vacuuming, as necessary as it is to get the dander out of the carpet, also stirs up a lot of that same dust and dander in the process.

I’ve seen people recommend getting rid of carpet all together, and just going with tile or wood floors. That’s an option, but it’s out of reach for a lot of people. Plus, not everyone loves the idea of not having any carpet.

Obviously, allergy medication is an option as well, but even over-the-counter medications can add up financially and not everyone reacts well to them or is comfortable taking daily medication. If that’s you, some of the techniques I’ve listed here should help. What about you? Do you have any tips or tricks to deal with allergies?