Preparing Your Home

Different transplant centers have different guidelines on how to prepare the home for the return of the patient. Ask your transplant center early on what you need to do to make your home safe for your return. This is a chore that friends and family members are often happy to take on if they know in advance what is required.

Your house will need to be thoroughly cleaned. Most transplant centers ask that you shampoo the rugs and wash floors, and scrub tiled areas, such as bathrooms, to eliminate mold and mildew. You may also be instructed to clean drapes, blinds, and upholstered furniture, and change furnace and air conditioning filters.

Some transplant centers require that you find a temporary home for pets and plants, or that you place litter boxes and dog or cat beds in a different part of the house than where the patient will be. If you live in a rural area, you will be given guidelines on how to handle well water. You may be asked to keep doors and windows closed if possible. 

Be sure to let your transplant team know if there has been any recent remodeling or reconstruction in your home. A fungusA plant-like organism that does not make chlorophyll. Mushrooms, yeasts, and molds are examples. The plural is fungi. called aspergillus often occurs around construction sites and remodeling projects and is very difficult to treat. You may need to avoid these areas until your immune system recovers.

Your house is your home. Properly prepared for your return, it can be a base for your successful recovery.