Our vacuum bit the dust a while back, and my herp room hasn't been vacuumed in quite a while, but with both my wife and I going through finals, a lot of things haven't been getting done around here. I'm ashamed of the place, and ashamed of the condition of cages. So today while I was moving things around (new cages, new aquariums, new racks- photos to come!) I decided we need a new vacuum and went out and bought one, and . . . wow. I'm amazed at how filthy my house is. A big part of this is that it was a really old vacuum we've been using and it just hasn't been doing a great job, and another part is that it hasn't been done in a while, but the biggest thing is the rodents. They're absolutely disgusting, and now that they're enclosed in a 12x14 room, I notice it more than ever before in my life. Even with keeping cages clean the amount of dust in the air is amazing. And my allergies really don't like it. After a few hours of working in there today my lungs actually hurt from breathing the air.
So my question is- what do I do about it? I know there are some huge systems out there that do wonders, but my wife and I are both college students, living off part time income and financial aid, and I simply don't have the money to invest in a huge system. Our herp room is as I said 12x14 (roughly- there are a couple zigs and zags, but they don't account for much). We're looking for a cheap system that is cheap to maintain, and cheap to run. I know, we want a miracle. . .
When I lived with my dad I had a little HEPA filter that worked great and could be washed out several times before the filters needed replaced, but the filters cost more than the units themselves, and after about a year and a half, we couldn't find filters anymore.
Also, we deal with EXTREME humidity in the summer because of how close we are to a river. We're down low in a flood plain and about 100 yards from a body of water, so we don't even deal with evaporation, and have to regularly run a dehumidifier. So, I don't know if they work or not, but those air purifiers that pump air through water to filter stuff out won't work for us.
So, can anyone recommend anything?
