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Best thing to clean up my kitties house

post #1 of 7
4/11/11 at 9:58pm
Thread Starter 
Hello Everyone~~ I am new here but have been reading threads for awhile. You all seem like such a great bunch and so very knowledgeable about kitty issues. I hope it's okay if I just jump right in I have a question for you. My daughter and I have a kitty house that my husband built for some neighborhood strays that we rescued. It has a vinyl floor and I was wondering if there was something safe I could use to keep it clean that wouldn't harm my kitties. I have been using just plain hot water but feel like I am not getting it clean enough. Thanks so much for listening!
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post #2 of 7
4/14/11 at 9:34pm
When I asked our vet what I could use, he told me to use 1 part bleach per 20 parts water.

Here's a website - catinfo.org: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=litter box,
regarding litter box management, the info about the bleach solution is towards the end of the lengthly article.

Dr. Pierson says she uses a heavy duty spray bottle for the 1/20, but for regular spray bottles the solution should be diluted to 1 part bleach per 30 parts water.

BTW, this website is a great resource for the care of cats.

Welcome to TCS!!
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post #3 of 7
4/15/11 at 3:32am
Scrub it down with some soapy water first (Dawn). Bleach sterilizes, but cannot break down biological oils and fats like a detergent does.
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post #4 of 7
4/15/11 at 5:14am
Or just buy a general purpose cleaner that contains bleach.

No need to mix, no need to double-wash, just spray it, scrub it, let it soak for a minute or two (that kills all the bacteria), then wash it dry and you are good to go.

As with all cleaning products, test on an inconspicuous area first for discoloration or other issues.
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post #5 of 7
4/15/11 at 6:28am
^That's a terrible idea. Because a) it may have too much bleach in it and b) there may be other things added to the cleaner.

I've had reptiles for many many years, animals far more sensitive to chemical fumes than cats are, and no reptile owner would ever risk the chemical fumes and residue from an off the shelf premixed cleaner. Heck, my dad likes to use one called Mean Green - it's made him sick a few times even with windows open because of how strong the mix is.

Another thought, to the OP. Is this house wood? If so, and even painted on the inside, if you don't have several hours to leave it out in the sun where sun will shine inside of it,k you probably want to forgo bleach altogether. Likewise if you don't think you can rinse it well enough, just use some dish soap. The reason being, aside from still putting out fumes, it might end up smelling too strongly of bleach (instead of familiar cat smell) and the cats may not like it.
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post #6 of 7
4/15/11 at 7:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
^That's a terrible idea. Because a) it may have too much bleach in it and b) there may be other things added to the cleaner.
I haven't seen any over the counter bleach cleaners that were particularly high concentration. And of course there are other things added to the multi-purpose bleach cleaner, but you're washing it thoroughly with water when you are done. These are products meant to be safe around even human infants when properly used, else they would be subject to lawsuits, so I think your cats are ok.

Good point on the wood though, but I assumed the OP was just washing the vinyl floor.
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post #7 of 7
4/15/11 at 10:14am
Thread Starter 
Thanks so much for your input. Yes the house is made of wood . I think I will go ahead and use the Dawn dishsoap for the floor. I pretty much just keep the walls wiped down with a knock off swiffer kind of thing but the floor gets washed all the time. Thanks again!
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