No one wants bad odors in their home. If you have a cat at home, one of the problems you’ll have to deal with is the smell of the litter box. Cat litter box smell isn’t pleasant and can be quite frustrating for cat owners and even cats too. Therefore, here are ten easy ways to remove litter box odor in an apartment. These tips will show you how to remove cat litter box odors in the home quickly and easily so you end up with a great-smelling apartment or home.
Table of Contents
1. Get The Right Type Of Litter Box
Most cat owners go for plastic litter boxes because they are the most accessible and affordable.
However, plastic litter boxes that are not enclosed or hidden are very good at retaining odors since they are open and exposed.
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Also, after being in use for a long time, it’ll be impossible to get rid of the odor unless you replace it. You can save yourself time and cash by simply getting a non-plastic box or stainless steel litter box that hardly retains odors and could be easier to clean. See our post on the best cat litter box for small apartments here to find a list of highly recommended litter boxes that hide odors.
2. Place The Box In A Well-Ventilated Area
The odor from your cat’s litter box will be very pungent if the box is kept in an enclosed area or a room with poor ventilation. There wouldn’t be any means for the bad odor to be freshened out so it will stay in the air and become stuck there, polluting the smell of the room.
However, if the litter box is kept in a well-ventilated room, fresh air can come in and neutralize the bad odor.
You can also use a good air purifier even in any kind of room to help freshen the air and clean the space of litter box dust and smells. See the top 10 best air purifiers for cat litter odor and dust here.
3. Replace The Cat Litter Box After A Certain Period
Getting a brand new litter box is a very easy way of removing litter box odors at home. If you’ve got the money, make it a habit to purchase a new litter box after the old one has been used for a while.
The recommended time frame to change a litter box should be anytime from six months to one year after your initial use of the box.
Replacing your old box with a new one means a fresh litter box without any odor. Purchasing a new box is even more essential when you’ve got multiple cats at home using the same litter box.
Here’s a list of the best cat litter boxes you can use to help you get more informed on litter boxes for various sizes of cats suitable for different sizes of apartments.
4. Clean With Powdered Herbs
Cat-friendly powdered herbs like lavender and thyme can be very helpful in eliminating litter box odors.
Sprinkle them on the litter box from time to time to keep the smell down.
The herbs must be cat-friendly; else, you’ll be endangering your pet’s health. Aside from thyme and lavender, you can also use catnip, basil, and sage.
5. Get A Litter Box Your Pet Likes
Your house can have that litter box smell not because you don’t clean your litter box but because your pet poops around the house. In such a situation, our tips on how to remove cat litter box odors in the home won’t be helpful if you don’t take care of the root cause of the problem.
Even if you have trained your pet to use a litter box, he still won’t use it if he doesn’t like it. It may be due to size, texture, etc. Therefore, getting a litter box your pet likes is important.
6. Get A Self-Cleaning Litter Box
To save yourself the stress of scooping the litter box daily to keep bad odors away, you can get a self-cleaning litter box.
As the description states, these litter boxes clean themselves and then packages the waste for easy disposal. Furthermore, they feature litter crystals that absorb odors incredibly well.
7. Clean With Baking Soda
Baking soda is a great cleaning agent. Already, you should be cleaning some household utensils using baking soda, which means it is probably already in your home ready to use, saving you some cost and time.
When cleaning your litter box, sprinkle some baking soda on it, most especially at the bottom. Then, after cleaning and drying, you can still add some baking soda at the bottom of the box without wiping it off. You can also see this list of some more alternative cleaners you can try.
8. Wash Thoroughly
You cannot have a litter box at home without washing it. So if you want to eliminate litter box odors, an easy way is by washing it thoroughly and frequently.
Normally, it is recommended that you wash the litter box thoroughly once a month. However, you can choose to do this once a week and randomly clean it twice (in the morning and at night) every other day for an even fresher-smelling litter box.
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9. Clean With Vinegar
Vinegar just like baking soda is a good cleaning agent and can greatly help remove the smells from the litter box. Cleaning your cat’s litter box with some vinegar will help prevent the bad odor.
However, vinegar has a unique odor that is unpleasant to most people. So, you can dilute the vinegar in some water before cleaning or mix it with some essential oils. But, of course, the oils must be safe for cats.
10. Take Care Of Potty Accidents ASAP
Did your cat poop or pee where he wasn’t supposed to? If so, you should clean the area very quickly as cat urine can be quite stinky.
If the surface absorbs the odor, it could be difficult to remove it. For example, if the potty mistake was on your couch or bed. By cleaning it ASAP, the odor won’t stick.
If you come home to your cat’s urine smell, you should use a black light to detect it and clean it as soon as possible. Also, see our article on how to train a cat to use a litter box if your cat is not properly trained.
Conclusion
Having a bad-smelling home due to litter boxes is unnecessary and avoidable if you follow the tips here with the easy ways to remove litter box odor in an apartment.
Ensure your pets’ litter box is clean, and void of odors isn’t beneficial to you alone but also provides comfort to your pet. For example, according to various experts, cats won’t use the litter box if it isn’t clean enough.
With the ten ways listed above on how to remove cat litter box odors in the home, you should be able to get your apartment smelling fresh again.
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