How to Keep Litter Box Smells From Spreading Through the House

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You can scoop the litter box and still catch the smell later when you walk back into the room.

The obvious culprit is gone, but the litter itself is still there. Damp litter and whatever odor remains in it have hours to sit between one scoop and the next. That becomes much more noticeable when the box is near a living area instead of tucked away in a utility room.

A litter box odor eliminator deals with that in the box rather than trying to make the room smell different. This one is made from absorbent corncob granules with an essential-oil formula. You sprinkle it into the litter, where the granules absorb moisture and the formula tackles the remaining odor.

That makes more sense than chasing the smell around the room with an air freshener.

The Smell Does Not Always Leave With the Scoop

Scooping removes the waste you can see. It does not remove every bit of moisture from the surrounding litter.

That is where an absorbent deodorizer has a useful job. The corncob granules mix through the litter and wick away moisture rather than sitting beside the box or covering the smell from somewhere else in the room.

It is still an addition to normal scooping, not a replacement for it. The useful period is the awkward stretch between cleanings, when the box has already been scooped but does not smell quite as fresh as you would like.

The 12-ounce bottle is also small enough to keep near the litter supplies rather than finding storage space for another bulky pet product.

Hiding the Box Solves a Different Problem

When a litter box has to stay in a living room, there are really two things to deal with: smelling it and looking at it.

An odor eliminator only addresses the first one. If the box itself is what makes the room feel awkward, hiding a litter box in the living room is a separate fix.

For lingering smell, it makes more sense to work where that smell starts. Sprinkle the granules into the litter and let them deal with the moisture and odor that remain there between scoops.