Ideas needed re smell

[SQ]

I have a great hepta air purifier with a carbon filter.
Yesterdays news in the litter box.
I clean the cages a few times a week, wash down stuff etc.
My seniors are incontient and Jonak & Danniel think you pee next to the litter box. :emb:

No previous priblems with smell.

But now I am renting a room in my mother's small home.
No air circulation, and well insulated (a change for me).
Thing under the door to the room to prevent cold air from entering as the room is off the unheated entry way.
On warm days, I open a window for fresh air but that isn't going to be good for much longer.
A friend of my mother's complained about the odor .....
Her tenant will likely smell them as well.
There is some odor right now ...
If odor continues, I have been told that I will be looking for a new place to live .....

Thinking baking soda in something decorative in the entry way?
Other ideas? Please!

 

[jorats]

Have you checked for plugs? You'll need to clean them and their cage every day to keep the odor down. And if possible keep a window cracked open at all times. After you wash down your oldies, apply vaseline between their back legs, it will keep them from chaffing and not allow the pee from soaking into their fur too much.
This is your mom's home? And you will need to move? Am I missing something?

 

What do you use for cage bedding (fleece?)

 

[lilspaz68]

try a small exhaust fan in the window, pushing the air out and not allowing the cold air in.

Can you consider galvanized pans in your FN's/CN's? Use YN in them, really cuts down on smells.

 

[chelshorsegirl]

When I first got my rats my apartment mate complained about the smell weekly. So I tried a couple of things.

1. I switched from flannel and fleece as bedding to carefresh or cotton towels. These absorb and keep the odor down a lot. Fleece, reeks when peed on, cotton, not as bad.

2. I did the baking soda thing... no real noticeable difference.

3. I got Renuzit, Odor killer thingys. I put them in the hallway. They have a vague odor (despite the proclaimed "odorless"), but nothing very strong and but they do help eliminate the odor. My boys had no sneezy problems with this being in use, especially since I was using it in the hallway and not my room. My room mate felt that this helped the most.

Any dirty laundry from them goes immediately into a bag which is then tied and shoved in the closet until I can do a load of laundry. And I clean their cage at least once a week if not twice.

Hope this helps... non-animal people complaining about smells is very frustrating.

 

[Dahlas]

I know put YN in the pans.....not to much ends up on the floor....and I can easily sweep it up everyday. I wipe of shelves, change hammocks and wash anything plastic daily....no problem at all with the smells.....I find it is working much better for me then all those disgusting blankets that they loved to pee on.....A lot less laundry and smells much better.

 

[SQ]

Sounds good!!

No Jorats, you aren't missing anything.
It is my mothers house, I am an adult renting a room from her and sharing her living space.
The tenant shares the same unheated entry way but lives downstairs.

No penis plugs but a good idea.
All are neutered and spayed.
Saw my first penis plug last week. Isaac had a huge one! He was recently neutered and I guess it must have been uncomfortable for him to clean.

I wash of the balconies daily and have cotton baby blankets in the oldies sleeping areas which are changed twice a day.
Ratties smell fine .... I think it is the litter boxes, the fleece, etc. and the closed in room.

The galvanized pans work well? They don't smell bad?

Thank you all for your suggestions.
I will be definately be giving them a try.
Thanks again, I was starting to get scared. Don't want to be homeless ....

 

[lilspaz68]

Sounds good ....

The air filter needs to go by the door as well.

 

[SQ]

Sounds good ....

The air filter needs to go by the door as well.

Good idea but it already is ....

 

[ryelle]

I ditched fleece liners in my cage and i just use a layer of cat litter (the safe variety of course) in the pans. Some goes on the floor, but not a lot and its easy to sweep up like Dahlas said above. The shelves are just bare plastic and i wipe them down with a damp cloth. Bedding (paper nests and hammocks) get removed and thrown away or washed when i notice an odour. shelves get scrubbed with vinegar and soap once a week and the large pans on the bottom of the cage get the same attention every few weeks.

My girls really suck at litter training so i gave up on that.
I remove badly soiled cat litter (where they pee mostly) every few days and push the unused litter in the cage over to that spot and put new stuff where the other bits were removed from (if this makes sense). Its like a rotation and saves me a fortune in cat litter, otherwise id be replacing the whole lot once a week and a 30L bag of cat litter would only last me half the time.

 

[Cigar]

I live in the basement of my brother's place and have to be really careful about odors. There's no air circulation down here and it sucks. I've got my trusty air filter running 24/7, too. I haven't used fleece in a couple years because I found that it smells so rank after the pee soaks in.. Cotton all the way! I have a small sealed garbage can for the rat droppings when I clean the litterbox [I use YN like you] and use scented bags from the dollar store in it. All bedding and hammocks are washed with added baking soda that I buy from the Bulk Barn. And to be extra careful, especially when company is over, I have a small bottle of Tap-A-Drop. http://www.nilodor.com/shop/show/id/126

Oh and of course, spot cleans daily to pick up runaway poop and change wet bedding.

 

[Godmother]

I found out about some stuff that sounds promising. It is supposed to be unscented and odorless, non-toxic to people and pets, and reusable. You can mail order it from Ottawa or buy it at Home Hardware or Home Depot. I think I might try it in my rat laundry basket. I really love having fleece in the cages, but it sure picks up and holds the smell of rat pee! Whenever I leave a shelf uncovered the rats create bits of "lab block cement": lab block dust from what drops when they eat, mixed with rat pee. It doesn't just wipe off, unless you happen to get there soon after its creation, so spot wiping hasn't worked that well for me.

http://www.deodoroc.com/faqs.htm

 

[Moon]

I recently bought a bag of volcanic rock from the dollar store that acts as an odor remover... kind of similar to what Godmother posted. Mine is neat because you "recharge" it by putting it in sunlight for a few hours.

Mike says that car dealerships use them to put in cars and take away odors some times. I was surprised to find one little bag, aptly placed, actually made a bit of difference. A few bags could make a bigger one, I expect! And they don't give off any scent or need any contact with the rats or the cage.

 

[victoria]

I recently bought a bag of volcanic rock from the dollar store that acts as an odor remover... kind of similar to what Godmother posted. Mine is neat because you "recharge" it by putting it in sunlight for a few hours.

Mike says that car dealerships use them to put in cars and take away odors some times. I was surprised to find one little bag, aptly placed, actually made a bit of difference. A few bags could make a bigger one, I expect! And they don't give off any scent or need any contact with the rats or the cage.

It's the same product - zeolite has been sold at natural product stores for a long time now, as well as activated carbon which can also help. (I noticed a lot of air purifiers have a secondary carbon filter.) I've read that there is doubt whether placing them in direct sunlight actually works to recharge them or not, it can be recharged if heated to 400ºC, which is not possible in most homes.