Cleaning the Litter Box

[fellmethsfoster]

We have 3 rescue cats and an ongoing supply of foster kittens, so litter boxes are our life. We've been using bleach to clean and then rinse rinse rinse. I don't feel that it ever gets rid of all the bleach. I'm considering using vinegar, but just not sure if it'll kill all the 'bugs', especially between foster groups. Just wondering how y'all clean your litter boxes.

 

[thesighrye]

Personally I take mine out in the backyard and spray it down with a hose!

Although, I'm sure it's a lot different in your situation since you constantly have several cats to look after...I'm curious though, do they still regularly use the litterbox after you've cleaned it with bleach? I figured that would be a distasteful smell for them, but hey, if it works, it works!

 

[fellmethsfoster]

Well yeah you guessed it, LOL, We have various sizes of litter boxes from a plastic lid of a storage box (for those we bottle feed/wean) on up to full size and everything in between. I don't think they smell from the bleach because they usually have plenty of time to air out between uses.  Like you we do it outside and they're usually out there for awhile before we even bring them in.

Because of that I'm thinking that it's probably not a problem but was wondering if there's something out there I don't know about. Hehehe

Thanks for your input!

 

[nora1]

I don't have multiple cats, but I wash my cat's litter box in the bath tub, with extremely hot water, and dish soap. I think as long as you use very hot water, and soap, you're good to go!

 

[lucentstreak]

Tough choice.,.. I usually have a bottle of hydrogen peroxide lying around the house for the plants. Given the chemical makeup of peroxide is h2o2, I felt it was kind of safer to use than bleach. My routine is to soak them in hot water + hydrogen peroxide since peroxide does not act as fast as bleah, give a scrub and then rinse out. Sometimes I do a second round of using enzyme cleaner and hot water but that might be excessive.

 

[pinkdagger]

We use bleach. Bleach and cold water, and then rinsing it with hot water (hot water breaks bleach apart so it doesn't act as effectively anymore) and letting them air dry. Vinegar is good too. I use it for my bird cages, but I don't know how effective it would be if you have concerns about potential parasites or bugs from cats who've come from less than ideal situations.

 

[fellmethsfoster]

Just for the record... After some investigation as to exactly how much bleach is needed to disinfect it appears the ratio of 10:1 will do it. Which is pretty minimal (smell wise)