Stinky Litter-Robot Situation !

As the warmer months draw closer unpleasant odours from your Litter-Robot can begin to pose more of an issue for harmonious living. The changes that cause an increase in odours may occur for a couple of reasons:

• Poor quality clumping clay litter without carbon,
• Not replacing the carbon filter or seal strips as recommended by the Manufacturer,
• Not emptying the waste draw when full / allowing overfilling of the waste drawer,
• Not completing regular deep cleaning of the Litter-Robot, and
• Changes to your cat/s toilet behaviours due to change in food or medical issues.

LITTER

One of the easiest ways to improve operations and keep odours to a minimum, for your amazing Litter-Robot, is to keep an eye on and review your litter. Good clumping clay litter is important to help keep your Litter-Robot operating at its best, minimising odour, reducing the cleaning required and providing more efficient scooping.

 

Key characteristics of a good clumping clay litter are;

• fast clumping (which absorbs the urine as it travels towards the liner surface),
• good solid pee sized clumps that don't disintegrate when dropped into the waste drawer,
• no pancaking and/or sticking mud (large flat clumps that settle in the globe and will not fit through the waste opening which are signs of urine travelling through rather than being absorbed),
• low dust,
• little to no odour as clumping should lock in the uric acid (pee smell),
• if possible added carbon or activated charcoal for odour help in Australian summer conditions, and
• the globe should be clean after cycling with no muddy smearing.

Often, we neglect two uninteresting but very important parts of our Litter-Robot that are closest to the smelly gifts our fur-babies leave behind (mainly because we don't see them), the seal strips and carbon filters.

SEAL STRIPS

Seal strips assist in reducing unpleasant odours and also reduce litter and waste leakage. They need to be replaced when they are dirty or peeling off your Litter-Robot.

During regular cleaning you can refresh your seal strips by brushing them with a firm brush to remove any debris and then wiping down with a damp cloth (ensure they are completely dry so that litter doesn't stick on first use). You can also give them a light spritz with an enzyme spray cleaner to help attend to lingering odours.

Litter Robot 3 - Seal Strips           Litter-Robot 4 - Seal Strips

                               

CARBON FILTERS

Carbon filters play a significant role in trapping and neutralising the unpleasant odour from our fur-babies' deposits.

You will find if using Superior Clay Clumping litter with carbon, you should not need to replace the filters as frequently. This will depend heavily on your nose, climate, number of cats and their usage patterns.

For optimal odour absorption, the manufacturer recommends replacing the carbon filters in your Litter-Robot 3 every 3 months and Litter-Robot 4 every month, if you have the recommended 2-3 cats per Robot. However, replacement frequency is up to you and your cats usage patterns. If using scented litter, the filter will need changing more often as it will also absorb the litter scent. Unscented litter is recommended. Frequency of changing the filter is dependent on number of cats, climate (humidity) and litter brand being used, with carbon or activated charcoal helpful for additional odour control. 

PRO TIP: if you rotate the filters, placing the used filter in strong sunlight for several hours, you may extend the life by reactivating the remaining carbon. Do a sniff test after sunlight, and if odour remains, the filter needs replacing.

Litter-Robot 3 - Carbon Filters            Litter-Robot 4 - Carbon Filters

                         

If you have not completed a deep clean of your Litter-Robot here are helpful videos for your Litter-Robot 3 or your Litter-Robot 4.

As a purrsonal note, I have 11 cats and 5 x Litter-Robot 3, and don't clean as often as I should, likely twice a year per Robot. I complete a spot clean of the globe, with Litter-Robot cleaner wipes, if a particularly nasty event occurs (if you know you know). I use Cat Evolution Clay clumping litter and at times test other litters as well.

A deep clean is dismantle the Robot 3 into 4 parts and wash globe, shake out base and then hard brush seals to remove litter dust. I recommend vacuuming now rather than just shake, using the brush attachment to go over the DFI and base cavity area to remove as much dust as possible. Then I wipe down with a damp microfibre. I do use the Litter-Robot cleaner spray as it is anti-microbial and helps with lingering odours.

The cleaner is excellent. I dont wash with it, but spritz a light coating on to the black globe liner after wash and let dry. I let it dry and put in the litter, so it can keep working on any lingering odours. I also spritz the top of the base after hard brushing the seals, and wipe over with the microfibre, rubbing into the seals. I have never replaced my seals (7 years). 1 bottle of cleaner will last a very long time if used this way and its really good. Great if you get any spills (vomit/pee) too as the enzymes are incredibly effective. I have been guilty of using the cleaner as an air freshener when my kitties have left a particularly fragrant deposit.

I don't change out the litter, as the added carbon and good clumping mean the remaining litter is clean and has no odour. When I empty the globe for cleaning, I put a new liner in the waste drawer, and empty into the waste drawer which I leave out for my cats to use whilst the globe is drying. I then tip it back in as first fill and top up from there. 

You can miniclean by pausing cycle when the globe is upside down. Just press CYCLE to stop it. You can then brush or vacuum (better) the DFI area and edge lip, if dust is an issue. Press CYCLE or RESET to complete the cycle when done.

Really, the key to low maintenance is good clumping low dust litter, which is the biggest challenge.

PRO TIP if you have a purrticularly hot spell with high humidity, change out the waste drawer liner when needed, even if not full. After all, if the kitchen bin is struggling, the contents of the Litter-Robot waste drawer is likely getting festy!