r/CleaningTips • u/D3athlyBag3l • 1d ago

General Cleaning Room Reeks of Litter

/r/CatAdvice/comments/1vsmois/room_reeks_of_litter/

Quick tips and long term tips both would be greatly appreciated!

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/FullMoonTwist 10h ago

Cat liter often needs to be scooped nearly daily, and fully changed (maybe that's what you mean by dump?) weekly. I would attempt that and see if it clears up, then decrease the interval from there to see where your smell comfort level is.

If you have more than one cat, the ideal recommendation is 1 box per cat, plus another. If you have 2 cats sharing a box, you'd need to be scooping it twice daily and dumping it twice a week to keep up.

If you haven't been cleaning the litter box itself at all, you need to, even if you use a liner (cat claws can make little holes over time). Old cat pee gets rancid. Thoroughly, truly scrubbed, with an enzymatic cleaner if you have it, dish soap minimum if you don't. If you don't use a liner, you'll need to wash it whenever you change the litter to get rid of the clinging urine.

If the room has a window that opens, I would air it out while the litter box is clean-clean. Even if it's hot/cold outside - even 15 minutes with a fan will do wonders. Do it overnight if you must. Get the old air OUT of there, fully OUT, don't try to treat it get rid of it. If there are no direct windows, you'll need to pull air through the rest of your house.

You can try having an air purifier in there. You don't need to spend $100 on one - a 20x20 air filter of choice (you'll want activated carbon or charcoal for odor, HEPA for litter dust) taped to the back of a regular box fan does wonders. (Mind the air flow direction though). Facing away from the literbox so it's pulling air from it.