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What to clean litter box with?

post #1 of 8
10/28/10 at 9:39am
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone, I have a cat who is allergic to many things, here is a list of things we are pretty sure he is allergic to fleas, chicken, cat nip, corn, corn syrup, guar gum and dust mites. I use precious kitty litter which is hypoallergenic and works great but I can't find a litter box wipe that is hypoallergenic. I have been using Fresh step whips and I wanted to start using baking soda but I read that can be toxic and can cause liver failure. Does anyone have any advice on what to use. Thanks for your help!!!!
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post #2 of 8
10/28/10 at 9:55am
Get an extra litter box. You can then use anything you want to clean with as long as it isn't heavily scented. You then thoroughly rinse the litter box and set it aside to dry and air out. By airing it out you help make sure there's no strong scents that your cat won't like.
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post #3 of 8
10/28/10 at 10:01am
Wipes aren't very useful. To truly clean the litterbox you need to really wash it out, with a hose (when it's warm outside) or in the bathtub. I use dishsoap and a scrubby sponge to wash everything out, and then soak it in white vinegar (you don't have to do this every time, but once every 3 months or so is good. It gets the old odors out). Then I wash the vinegar out with the dishsoap and scrubby sponge again, rinse thoroughly, and let the box dry completely (outside if possible). You can use baking soda as a scrubbing agent, just make sure you rinse it all out. I agree that it is much easier to clean the box properly if you have a spare, that way your kitty isn't pacing and waiting for you to hurry up! LOL.
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post #4 of 8
10/28/10 at 10:26am
I like using a dilute bleach and vinegar solution and a couple drops of dish soap for my litter boxes. I hose them out first, then add hot water, a tiny bit of bleach and some vinegar and 2-3 drops of regular dawn. That soaks until the water is cool enough for me to put my hands in, I scrub it out then repeatedly rinse it.

The box then gets a couple weeks to fully air out.
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post #5 of 8
10/28/10 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your suggestions, what happens is Paulie urinates on the side of the box so it always gets stuck to the side and I have to wash it down every time with something even though I'm not dumping out the whole box, that is why I didn't know if baking soda mixed with warm water would bet safer than the fresh step litter box whips. I would use the litter box bags but then I would need to switch the entire box with new litter everyday. Thanks again!!!!
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post #6 of 8
10/28/10 at 11:06am
If you need to wipe the sides every day, just use a paper towel dampened with water. Use a tiny bit of soap if the water isn't enough.

Strangewings--I thought that mixing vinegar and bleach made harmful fumes? Not as bad as ammonia and bleach, but still bad.

Anyway, if you really need to disinfect a litterbox, bleach is your best bet. It's less toxic than Lysol or other brands. And of course you need to rinse it VERY well and let it dry before letting the cat use it. Bleach needs to be mixed according to the directions to work. Just putting a little bleach in something doesn't have any effect.
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post #7 of 8
10/28/10 at 11:18am
We put ours in the shower and use dish soap and baking soda to clean. The baking soda is a very mild abrasive and is safe for the environment when you wash it down the drain. We seldom use bleach as it triggers the husband's asthma.
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post #8 of 8
10/28/10 at 11:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy View Post
Strangewings--I thought that mixing vinegar and bleach made harmful fumes? Not as bad as ammonia and bleach, but still bad.
It's fine. Most of the solution is water and you only use a small amount of bleach and vinegar. As with cleaning with just bleach or any bleach containing solution you don't want to do so in a tiny completely closed in space with no ventilation.

And I'm not going to stand out there with a measuring cup and measure everything. After doing this for enough years I'm pretty good at getting the amounts correct. Just like I can usually guess weights of items and only be 1-2 oz off at most.


(Just to add, I do that outside, not inside. Bleach smell is bad enough but I dislike using vinegar inside if at all possible even if it's on it's own)
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