Bleach from the laundry section of the store will work just fine.

Bleach usually is kept in the laundry section.

I think cholorine bleach is okay if it's diluted and if you let the
litter box dry afterwards. Amonia and bleach together cause a toxic gas,
that's why it's a good idea to only use diluted bleach and rinse the
litter box with straight water first. We've used it to disinfect litter
boxes.

This article has some info:

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2006/06/20/cleaning-the-litterbox-with-chlorine-ble
ach.htm

Rhonda

The stuff in the laundry section is bleach. The bottle I have is
labelled 'bleach' (rather obviously). It's a no-name supermarket brand,
but I know there are national brands too. The most common form of bleach
is chlorine bleach (mine is 3% sodium hypochlorite), which is powerful
stuff, but an effective germ-killer. It's also effective at ruining your
clothes if you're careless with it at full strength, which I seem to be!
The non-chlorine bleaches are said to be easier on your clothes, but
maybe a bit weak for really tough jobs.

Around here, bleach comes in a couple of sizes of bottles, with the most
popular being quite large - must be a gallon in the old imperial units
(3.6 L on my bottle). You'd normally dilute it before use. The label on
my bottle says 200 mL bleach in 5 L of water for disinfecting which
works out to 4% . And rinse the disinfected objects with water
afterwards, especially if you're going to put food in them (nothing on
the label about cat litter!) There are certain cleaners containing acid,
particularly certain toilet bowl cleaners, that must NOT be used with
bleach because the combination can generate a poisonous gas. I never
heard the thing about combining it with cat pee, though. You can also
use ammonia for disinfecting, but it smells even worse than bleach, and
I do remember hearing or reading somewhere that any remnant of a smell
of an ammonia-based cleaner signals to a cat 'pee here'. Of course,
that's what you *want* in a litter box, but still, I think ammonia is
even more unpleasant to work with than bleach is. I only keep ammonia
around because it really cuts the grease on the rare occasions I clean
my oven - put the shelves in a sealed garbage bag with some ammonia
(preferably outdoors). Some people put a bowl of bleach in their oven
and let it sit there overnight to soften up the burnt on grease. Do NOT
combine ammonia and bleach.

Finally, it's generally a good idea to wear gloves when handling bleach,
and if you're as messy as I am, wear old clothes too!

I hope this helps.

Cheryl

On May 23, 11:21 pm, bastXXXe...@sonic.net wrote:

Just buy regular Clorox (or whatever)....laundry bleach. It's the
cheapest, most effective, safest bacteria killer there probably is.
The usual mix that shelters use is 50/50. It even kills parvo virus,
ringworm spores, everything. And as long as there's
good ventilation for *you*, and let the boxes dry, it's absolutely
safe.
(Except for spilling it on your clothes or shoes, which I always
manage to do)

Sherry

Bleach is found in the laundry section of your grocery store.  Unless you're
a snob, the cheapest brand of bleach works just as well as the more
expensive perfumed ones.  If you're a snob, why are you owned by cats?  The
bleach and ammonia thing is mostly for combining bleach and ammonia based
cleaners.  I poisoned myself this way (yes, I am stupid) once.  It took
months for my lungs to recover from the fume based burns.

When we were cleaning cat cages at PetSmart, I liked to use a 1 to 4 ratio
of bleach to water.  I know this is high, but we were dealing with a lot of
cats from different places in each cage.  I'm told that 1 to 10 is more
normal.  YMMV.  I'd work with whatever works best for you.  Experiment will
get you there.

Bleach is made to remove stains from clothing.  Unfortunately, bleach thinks
that the dye used in clothing is a stain.  I've gone through multiple
t-shirts proving this while cleaning cages.  Also some cats adore bleach.
Tanada and Merlin get into the bathtub or sink and roll around after a
bleach based cleaning.  Tanada drools so heavy that it looks like she's been
poisoned.  Merlin's fangs hang out afterwards and I always get alarmed.

I'd start with a low concentration of bleach first a 1/10 ratio maybe, then
work up or down as needed.  I'd also keep an eye on the owners as they may
also have bleachitis and get high off of the stuff.  Never combine bleach or
ammonia based products as that can honestly kill you or your cats.  after
cleaning the boxes out with bleach, I'd rinse them well then wipe them dry.
The small amount of bleach left on the boxes (do you know that your city
probably uses a combination of chlorine and ammonia to purify your water?  I
know my city does) is not enough to cause a serious reaction with the
ammonia produced by feline urine.

I know the chemists like Yowie could give you much better and more
scientific information, but this is what I know and what works for me.

Pam S.

On Sat, 24 May 2008 04:21:25 +0000, bastXXXette wrote:

Laundry bleach is what they mean - read the label on a bottle for
instructions on how to use it for houshold cleaning.  Concentrations of
sodium hypoclorite vary (the bottle under my kitchen sink is 6%), so it's
best to go by the instructions on the bottle you buy.

It's hard to remove all the bleach residue from plastic litter pans - it's
hard to remove cat pee residue and most everythig else too - so multiple
rinses are definitely in order.  When I had some remodeling done a few
years ago, I had a utility sink with a garden hose fitting on the faucet
installed so I can use a hose and nozzle for rinsing with hot and cold
water under pressure.

The real trick to avoiding residue problems is time: have at least one
more pan than you are using and put it in service while cleaning one -
then let the cleaned pan air out for at least a day after you can no
longer smell the chlorine odor.

A chemical apron such as are sold in photography supplies stores and some
other places is a good idea: splashed bleach is bad news for fabrics.
These usually cover from the neck to knees, but wear old clothes anyway.

I also use it to soak and sanitize my hummingbird feeders - they tend to
develop mildue after a few days in the sun. Again, I have one more than I
am actually using (the sugar water consumption is so high that I probably
should get yet another spare so I can replace two of the four at a time).

Another option is to use powdered cleanser that contains bleach. That is
what I use to clean my cats boxes. It's easier to use then liquid
bleach. I just sprinkle it on the box and then put an inch or two of
water in it. Then rinse the box several times afterwards and dry it.

rrb

Thank you, everyone, for all the great information about using bleach
to clean the litterboxes. I can easily buy a gallon of the stuff in
the supermarket. And Pam, I am so *not* a snob about brand names. :)
I will certainly buy the generic or store brand.

I do know not to combine bleach with ammonia. I don't use ammonia
for cleaning anymore - I can't stand the smell. I actually sort of
like the smell of bleach. Not at full strength, but as a leftover
smell. Reminds me of all my years of lap swimming.

One problem I foresee is that I don't have access to a hose. I live
in an apartment, and have always soaked and then cleaned out and rinsed
litter boxes in the bathtub. Then, after carefully drying it with a
towel, I put a box in front of a fan on high speed, and let it sit there
for at least 30 minutes.

Actually, now that I think of it, my downstairs neighbor does have a
hose in the front yard, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind my using it
if I've already cleaned and rinsed the box once or twice, and just want
to use the hose for a couple of power rinses. The bathtub has good water
pressure, but a hose would be a lot better. And I have a very sunny
front porch to leave it out to dry.

Thanks again!! :)

Joyce

PS - Pam, that's horrible that you got lung burns from the chlorine (or
was that chloride) gas - thank God you survived. Did your lungs heal
completely, or do you continue to have trouble from it?

You are looking or a solution of sodium hypochlorite in water (NaOCl). Most
solutions sold for houshold use are also strongly alkaline, containing a
fair amount of sodium hydoxide. This makes it doubly efective as a
sanitiser.

Dilute the solution until its 1% or less (the household grades are usualy
around 3%). Use hot water to dilute it and clean with the hot solution. Be
careful though, you will get a face full of chlorine fumes - this is the
'active ingredient'of bleach, but sends my asthma into overdrive. Also, wear
gloves. Its alkaline and can do nasty things to your skin. If you get it on
your skin or clothes, rinse well with water then put diluted vinegar on the
area to neutralise the alkalinity.

Once you've finished cleaning the items, again, rinse well, and if you can,
allow then to dry in sunlight. If they still smell of chlorine once you've
rinsed really well, rinse once more with dilute vinegar.

Be warned, though. Bleach + vinegar (in concentrated doeses and or large
amounts) is a violent reaction that will let off large amounts of chlorine
gas and chlorine gas is *deadly*. Thats why you'd only use *dilute* vinegar
once you've rinsed *really well*

If you can avoid using vinegar around bleach, its probably for the best.

Dont mix bleach with any chemical, the reactions can be violent and deadly.
Keep away from children and curious cats.

Yowie

No controversy but just to tell you what I use, which smells better :-)
   TED gave me a small bottle of undiluted clinicide, which they use to
disinfect at their clinic.  It is red and it is diluted some ridiculous
manner of 1 tsp per quart or something.  Smells nice and disinfects well
enough to be used in the clinic. I dump out the litter, rinse the boxes,
then spray on and wipe off the clinicide.

Susan M
Otis and Chester

Bleach is really bad for the environment.  You might like to look at this:
http://www.stainexpert.co.uk/EnvironmentFriendlyMethodsOfStainRemoval.html

Tweed