Road test

Animal allergies are a huge bummer, especially around the holidays when big family gatherings force people into small rooms with furry friends. We tried to silence our sneezing around our cats and dogs with a new product, Simple Solution Allergy Relief. The results:

DOG
The challenge Ditch my cute, cuddly pet allergies, which kept me out of friends’ houses and—deep breath—more, er, intimate situations. I’ve always wanted an animal, and I’ve never really seen myself as a sea monkey person. With this new product, I wonder if someday that could be me frolicking in the dog park, tongue hanging out…as an owner, of course.

How it worked I approach the home of TOC freelancer Christina Couch with enough doggy treats and Simple Solution Allergy Relief from Pets Wipes for her pooch Stella and roommate’s dog Cody. I distract the dogs (easier said than done) while Couch wipes ’em down from head to tail. Then, I sit around and wait.

The results Within 15 minutes, I notice the familiar there’s-a-painful-itch-in-my-lungs feeling, but Stella’s practically begging for a belly rub. “There’s no such thing as allergies,” I tell myself. Wrong. I’m forced to skedaddle soon after, and I can’t fully shake the doggy-death until I shower hours later. To be fair, while the package doesn’t say how long the wipes take to work, it does say to repeat weekly. But according to my itchy eyes and weezy breath, I just don’t have that kind of stamina.—Steve Heisler

CAT
The challenge The two ladies in my life, cat and girlfriend, get along well. But even a handshake between the two sets the lady friend to sneezing. So to make my apartment a little more hospitable, and to keep the feline Rosa from destroying my relationship, I pricked up the Simple Solution Allergy Relief from Cats Wipes, hoping for a cheap solution.

How it worked Over the course of a few days, I tried to wipe Rosa down with the wipes, which, according to the box “washes away dead hair and dander that cause some people to have allergic reactions.” They’re similar in smell and texture to Swiffer mops and leave a cold film on the cat’s fur and the owner’s hands.

The results There’s a huge design flaw: Cats don’t like being wiped down with wet rags. The first few times I tried, I gave Rosa a rubdown before she realized she was being soaked, at which point she flipped out, swiped my hands and ran off. Then, it was a no-go. “All she had to do was smell the cloth and she’d squiggle away. I’m not sure what could have convinced her to stick around and accept the treatment, but I like to think Rosa is the kind of cat who would prefer a whiskey-soaked cloth. I failed miserably with my cat, but at least my itchy-eyed girlfriend appreciated the failed attempt.—Jonathan Messinger

Get it Both available at petsmart.com, $3.99.