Don’t Vacuum Cat Litter (Do These 5 Things Instead)
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If you have a cat, you know the struggle of cleaning up after them. Whether it’s housetraining, cleaning up food, or scooping up cat litter, the life of a cat owner can be messy. However, is there a faster way to do it?
So, can you vacuum cat litter?
Never vacuum cat litter with a regular vacuum cleaner. The litter will clog the vacuum hoses and spread the smell around your house. Instead, use a shop vac, a carpet rake, or a rag dipped in vinegar and water. This way, you can clean up the cat litter without ruining your everyday vacuum cleaner.
Although cat litter will clog and ruin a vacuum cleaner, you can clean up litter spills with other tools. Here is a guide on cleaning cat litter out of your carpet and off the floor without resorting to your vacuum cleaner.
What to Do Instead of Vacuuming Cat Litter
Cat litter can ruin a vacuum cleaner in two ways.
First, the cat litter can puncture the tubing and hoses inside the vacuum cleaner, making the machine unusable. Second, the cat litter can coat the inside with excrement, causing a nasty smell to linger wherever the vacuum is. Instead of making these mistakes, try one of these solutions.
1. Use a Shop Vac
The easiest way to clean up cat litter is with a shop vacuum cleaner. Because shop vacs are made for bigger, harder-to-handle messes, they have more sucking power and can pull in litter without risks. The hoses and machinery are bigger, and it’s more acceptable to take out the filter in a shop vac.
A good shop vacuum cleaner will be more efficient and effective at cleaning up anything, including heavy liquids and rougher materials. It is more efficient than a regular vacuum cleaner and is less likely to break down from picking up sharper or heavier objects.
Shop vacs are much better for big messes in areas like the garage, the construction site, or the farm.
Cleaning cat litter with a shop vac is easy – run the vacuum over the soiled carpet several times, covering the area thoroughly. Go up and down, side to side, and diagonal, to make sure you loosen up as much as the cat litter as you possibly can. Once that is done, you can pick up the rest with a rag or a regular vacuum.
When you’re using a shop vac, pull the filter out. Many people don’t use filters in their shop vacs because they use them to clean up messes such as urine or other animal fluids. The filter won’t get "gunked up" with cat litter or poop, and cleaning the shop vac will be easier.
2. Use a Carpet Rake
Another super useful tool for cleaning cat litter is a carpet rake. If your cats have dragged their litter across the carpet and it is deep in the carpet fibers, a carpet rake might help loosen it up and make it easier to vacuum.
For families with multiple pets, carpet rakes are a must-have tool. They are not very expensive and work well to loosen up the deepest of crumbs. Whether it’s cat litter, food, or dirt, a carpet rake will fluff up your carpet and increase its longevity and cleanliness.
- Extra Long 51 In. Handle
- 12 In. Wide Head To Cover Large Areas Quickly
- Specially Designed Bristles Reach Deep Into The Base Of Carpet
3. Use a Carpet Cleaner
If you have a lot of kitty litter spilled all over your carpet, a carpet rake and a shop vac will start the job.
However, you might need a carpet cleaner to get the last bits of stain or smell out of your carpet. After all, cat urine is one of the biggest stain causers, and the odor will last for years if not dealt with correctly.
A good carpet cleaner will wet and shampoo the carpet, soaking up cat urine and any stains and smells. It works better with wet stains, so make sure you clean up the excess cat litter before using the machine.
In reality, if you want to deep clean your carpet of cat litter, you’ll probably need a combination of a shop vacuum cleaner, a carpet rake, and a professional-grade carpet cleaner.
Once you’ve completely cleaned the carpet, you’ll see a massive improvement. All you need to do now is keep your kitty’s litter contained (no matter how impossible it seems).
4. Use a Rag Dipped in Vinegar Water
If you don’t have a carpet cleaner and can’t afford one, a rag dipped in vinegar water will soak up the stains and odors just as well. It is dirtier work than pushing around a carpet cleaner but saves a lot of money.
All you need to do is combine equal amounts of white vinegar and water and soak a rag in the mixture. The vinegar pulls up the stains and the water ensures that the acid doesn’t eat through the carpet. Although your floor might smell a bit like vinegar, at least it won’t smell like cat pee!
5. Purchase a Litter Mat
Of course, the best way to clean up cat litter is to never have it spill in the first place.
This might seem like an impossible task, especially if you have more than one kitty. They tend to always drag their litter away from the box. However, you can prevent much of the cleaning and hassle (and smell) by deciding where to place your litter box.
Putting a litter box in the garage or on a hardwood floor makes it much easier to clean. You don’t have to worry about a carpet cleaner or carpet rake – you can just sweep up the excess kitty litter with a broom.
A litter mat is also an excellent investment. It’s a mat that will catch any extra pieces of kitty litter, preventing them from reaching your home’s floors. With a litter mat on top of a hardwood or linoleum floor, you can prevent the spreading of cat litter farther than a few feet beyond the litter box.
Final Thoughts
If you have a cat who loves to drag the extra litter around the house, don’t panic. Make sure you don’t vacuum it up with a regular vacuum cleaner or you’ll end up replacing the appliance often. Instead, use a shop vac, a carpet rake, and as many preventative measures as possible.
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