View Full Version : Pee smell & plastic litter boxes


whiskerynature
6th June 2007, 10:09 PM
Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas :einstein: for getting a plastic litter pan to smell clean ("un-pee-worthy" :lol3: ). It just seems like plastic absorbs the pee smell regardless of what one does.

We already use a liner. I usually spray down twice w/ household cleaner...recently switched to an enviro-safe/non-toxic spray picked up from WholeFoods Market:sun:.

Oh, and the litter pan gets cleaned/changed about every 10-14 days (& scooped 1-2 per day).

mybabyphx
6th June 2007, 10:11 PM
How long have you had the kitty litter box for? Maybe it's time for a new one? I don't know, I guess once mine start smelling (permanently) I start over with a new one!

whiskerynature
6th June 2007, 10:29 PM
How long have you had the kitty litter box for? Maybe it's time for a new one? I don't know, I guess once mine start smelling (permanently) I start over with a new one!

Probably about 2 years or less. It's one of those CatsRule Charlie boxes. The liner is pretty thick, and doesn't tear. It's just that plastic always seems to soak up the smell of whatever it's holding.

I guess it could be the final days of the litter pan :(...wonder if they're recyclable :confused: .

babyharley
6th June 2007, 10:33 PM
We use rubbermaid totes for our boxes, and I just throw them out when they start smelling like that, & get new ones. They are only like $4 a piece, and we use 2 of them for my 2 boys. :nod:
I suppose I get new ones every 2-4 months or so.

littleraven7726
7th June 2007, 07:57 PM
we had to pitch our last official litterbox (tidy cats brand) because of that. no matter what i washed it with, it still smelled like pee. now we use the rubbermaid/sterilite tubs. which are only $4 at most.

twstychik
7th June 2007, 08:10 PM
Do you guys cut "doors" into your totes or are they short? I have a taller one because Frankie tends to pee high so I have to cut a door and it's a pain.

littleraven7726
7th June 2007, 08:22 PM
i cut an opening in ours. we don't use the lids. if i can find a picture later i will post it. it's somewhere in my photobucket account, and my work internet is slooooow.

Momofmany
7th June 2007, 09:51 PM
I use tall sterilite bins so that the high pee-ers can't make it over the top. My Scarlett actually doesn't squat at all - just stands and blasts out the back. She's weird but then again she was orphaned young and momma couldn't teach her. I don't bother taking the lid when I buy them because I would just throw them out when I got home anyway. They seem to like the tall bins because they are usually wider and longer than the shorter bins and they have more room to dig around.

I keep spares around the house and when they start to absorb the smell, I'll rotate in a spare box then clean the dirty one. I first soak them in water and clean them out completely with soap. Then they go out into the sun to get bleached out, then washed/dried again and sprayed with an odor neutralizer.

I used to use bleach on them until I heard on this site that it's not a good thing to use. Buy Nature's miracle by the large jug and recycle a spray bottle to spray them down.

They'll all hit a point when you can't really clean them anymore at which time I try to find a place to recycle them. If not, I'll bleach them out and use them to store things like newspapers that are going for recycling.

littleraven7726
7th June 2007, 11:07 PM
here's a picture of mine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/th_litterboxafter2.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/litterboxafter2.jpg)

mzjazz2u
8th June 2007, 11:41 AM
here's a picture of mine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/th_litterboxafter2.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/litterboxafter2.jpg)

That's awesome! You really could use the top if you wanted too!

I noticed that smelly plastic depends on what kind it is. Some of the higher end litter pans use what seems like a harder, less porous plastic. Maybe it's all in my head but it seems to be my expereience! I also clean mine out about once a month with a 10% bleach solution. I like the rubbermaid/sterlite bin idea too!