7 Litter Cleaning Hacks to Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh

We all certainly love our fur babies, we cherish them, we want to give them everything and more, and all the love and care in the world beyond. That means we have to keep their (and our) home environment pleasant to live in, and a big part of that is dealing with the fact that cats are animals and animals produce waste.

While you can train a cat to use a toilet just like we people do, there are some substantial drawbacks to doing so, and it's not always reliable.

But the litterbox is a source of unpleasant smells, litter that gets tracked all over the house, and in some cases, can even spread disease.

Litterboxes are a necessary evil, so how do you make sure your home stays smelling fresh and clean while ensuring your furry children always have a pleasant place to go when nature calls? Here are my seven hacks to make sure you've got it down.

Litter Cleaning Hack #1: Clean it All Regularly

The first and most important thing to do is not let waste sit in the litterbox for any longer than it needs to. There's a reason why those automatic litter boxes are so popular! Shortly after your cat leaves, they auto-scoop and seal up the waste where it can't exude its odors to the home.

Now, I don't recommend automatic litter boxes. They can startle your cat and make them less confident in using the litterbox. They themselves can get quite gross and are harder to clean, plus they're expensive. And, in rare cases, they can even be dangerous to your cat!

I recommend putting things on a schedule.

Scooping the litter: do this at least once per day, per cat. If waste is ever allowed to sit for more than 24 hours, something is wrong. Ideally, you have it scooped within hours of it happening.

See, odors throughout the house happen when waste lingers, moisture evaporates and carries with it the scents of the box, and bacteria are allowed to grow and fester. Scooping more proactively helps eliminate that. I once heard of someone who lived in a small apartment with seven cats, and it never smelled, because they scooped the box on a near-hourly basis.

Changing the litter: even if you scoop the waste out of the litter, there's no way you can get every particle and every drop. Little drips and bits of spray and slightly-contaminated pellets can harbor bacteria and generate odors, even if the box seems clean.

How often you fully change the litter depends on what litter you're using. Since there are a lot of options, it's best to experiment with what works for the litter you and your cat prefer.

Cleaning the Box: beyond changing the litter, the box itself needs to be deep cleaned, which means emptying the litter out of it and scrubbing it down with soap and water. A big part of picking a good litter box is finding one that is easy to clean, even.

When you clean the box, look for scratches and abrasions in the surface of the box itself. Some softer plastics and more abrasive litter (and the occasional stray claw) can leave scratches, and those scratches are havens for moisture and bacteria. If you can't seem to get that odor to go away, that might be why. Unfortunately, it's often better to buy a new box once it reaches that point.

Litter Cleaning Hack #2: Mix In an Odor Eliminator

Some litters have additives or are made of materials that chemically neutralize odors and cut back on bacteria. Unfortunately, some of those litters are also the less healthy or sustainable options. Meanwhile, the better-for-you options tend not to capture odors nearly as well.

There are generally only a handful of materials you can add to a litter box that will a) cut back on odors and b) not be harmful or unpleasant for your cat.

• Activated Charcoal. Specifically activated charcoal is an extremely porous substance that absorbs a ton of moisture and chemicals for its size. The downside is that, as charcoal, it's black and can get tracked around. Definitely make sure to use activated charcoal, too; normal charcoal can include various toxic and even carcinogenic molecules as well.

• Zeolite. This is similar to activated charcoal in that it's a very absorbent material. It's not quite as good, but it's not black, so it may be preferable.

• Baking Soda. Good old baking soda does a good job of absorbing odors, but you'll need a lot of it and to replace it with the litter, so it ends up being kind of inefficient, but it's a safe and non-toxic option.

• Enzymes. There are a variety of enzyme products, including some that get rid of urine odors by breaking them down at a chemical level. Adding some of these to your litter can be the most effective option.

That's basically it. Definitely don't do essential oils (which only cover smells, not remove them, and can be very irritating or even toxic to your kitty), and be careful with other homemade options and other chemicals. Remember, anything in the litter is likely to get on your cat's paws, and they'll lick it off, so it has to be safe for them to ingest.

Litter Cleaning Hack #3: Consider a Steel Litter Box

I already mentioned it above, but when a plastic or other litter box gets scratches and abrasions, those spots can catch moisture and bacteria, and make the whole thing smell bad in a way you can't readily clean out. Even without big scratches, micro-abrasions can do the same thing, and plastic can even absorb odors over time.

Stainless steel might seem excessive, but it's much more resistant to all of that. Your cat isn't going to be able to scratch it, it won't be abraded by the litter, and it won't harbor bacteria. Plus, when you clean it, it's easier to see and make sure nothing is stuck. Just don't scrub it with steel wool or anything.

Litter Cleaning Hack #4: Consider an Enclosure

Another option is to stash the litterbox away inside some kind of enclosure. Large baskets, cabinets with cat doors, end tables, dressers; there are a lot of options you can try. I wrote a whole post on exploring some of those options over here.

If you're going to enclose the litter box, you definitely have to make sure you're scooping it more regularly and cleaning it all out frequently. Remember, you will probably have to wash the inside of the enclosure frequently, too, so if it's hard to get into or difficult to scrub, or if it's made of a porous and odor-absorbing material itself, it might not be a good option.

You can also opt for a covered litter box. These do the same thing, more or less, but with a smaller footprint. The downside is that not all cats want to be stuck in a box when using their box, and sometimes the enclosure is too tight or cramped for them to comfortably go.

Litter Cleaning Hack #5: Put the Box in a Ventilated Area

This one might seem counterintuitive. If you want your home to smell less, you need to put the box in a place where more air moves over it? Well, yes, actually.

Dank, poorly-ventilated corners, alcoves, closets, and other hideaways can cause all manner of problems. It's easier to forget to clean them. Odors can build up and infuse the surrounding area in ways that are much harder to clean. If you live in a multi-cat household, one cat might bully another out of the space more easily. And more air circulation allows the smells to dissipate more readily, though you may still need an odor filter or a nearby window you can open from time to time.

It might not necessarily be pleasant to see and experience, but it can actually be beneficial to keep the litter box in a public area like a living room. Just don't put it in a kitchen where it could pose a health risk, if you can avoid it.

Litter Cleaning Hack #6: Review Your Cat's Diet

While it's not really about cleaning the litter or managing the box, talking to your vet if your cat's waste is particularly foul can be a good idea.

Yes, cat leavings are going to be smelly. There's really no avoiding that; it's a hard-wired reaction our minds have to waste that can pose a disease hazard. But when that smell gets particularly bad, it might indicate something is up with your cat.

• They might be sick.

• They might be allergic to something in their food.

• They might have some other stomach problem.

If nothing you do seems to keep the odors down, it's possible that there's something wrong, and a change in diet or medication could help.

Litter Cleaning Hack #7: Avoid the Gimmicks

There are a ton of gimmick products aimed at getting gullible pet parents to buy a solution to a problem they could fix in easier, cheaper ways.

It's generally a good idea to avoid these and just do the work of cleaning, and a few of them can do more harm than good:

• Air freshener sprays. No matter how much they claim to attach to molecules in the air or whatever, they all just cover up odors. Plus, a spray bottle too close to the litterbox makes a distinct "hissing" noise, and we all know that's not good for our furry friends.

• Litter liners. Scooping litter in a litter liner just means a hassle. You'll miss some, or the liner will absorb odors itself, or you'll tear it, and it's just a pain.

• Oils and scents. Remember, if it's strong enough to cover up waste smells to you, it's way too strong for your cat's sensitive nose.

At most, you might want a passive odor filter like an activated charcoal hanger, but really, just clean the box more often, and you should be good to go.

A Few Extra Litter Cleaning Questions

I wanted to touch on a couple more topics here that didn't fit in above.

Why is it so important to clean the litter box by hand?

Automatic self-cleaning boxes seem like a convenience, but one of the biggest issues they have is that you don't actually see or examine your cat's waste.

While that might not sound like something you want to do, it's also one of the first signs you'll have of something going wrong with your cat's health. Seeing the consistency, checking for blood, and signs of worms; these all come up in the waste, and you might not otherwise see them.

What if the house still smells even with regular cleaning?

I would check two things. First, clean the whole area around the box. Floors, walls, anything nearby. Odors can attach to invisible particles that settle on surfaces you would never expect.

Second, check around the house. There's a chance your cat had an out-of-box accident somewhere that is lingering, and you just haven't found it. When you do, make sure to hit it with the enzyme cleaners for maximum effect.

Another thing you can do is put a general, all-purpose air purifier somewhere in the home, preferably near the box. You don't want something that's going to blow air on the box and disturb your cat, but something that can actively filter odors isn't a bad idea.

What should you do with the waste?

Some people just scoop a litter box into a trash can and call it good, but that's not actually enclosing or cutting off the waste, so it's still probably smelling up the place. There are some products, like the Litter Genie, that serve as enclosed containers until you can throw it away. Alternatively, a sealable box or bag you can toss can also help. Really, you'll also probably just have to get used to taking out the trash more often as well.

After all of this, you should be well on your way to a home that doesn't smell like cat, much to the benefit of you, your friends and family, and your fur babies themselves. If you have any questions, be sure to let me know!