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Laundry Suggestions A while ago I asked people on some online ferret news groups for tips on getting urine smells out of ferret bedding. Below are some of the responses I received (some have been edited). All suggestions below can be found online in the ferrets newsgroup archives and are © their perspective authors. *Please note that all of my ferrets have always been 100% litter box trained. My older one had several health problems during her later years and as a result of those health problems, she couldn't always make it to the litter box in time. If your ferret shows a change in litter box habits and starts urinating outside of the box or in their bedding, or seems to have any trouble urinating or defecating, please have them checked out by a knowledgeable ferret vet as soon as possible. Changes in urinary and litter box behavior can be an indication of blood sugar problems, kidney problems, liver problems, obstructions, infections, adrenal problems, and other serious medical conditions. Some of these conditions are life threatening but can be helped if caught in time. My Question: For those of you who have had incontinent ferrets for a long time [i.e. shelter owners who work with lots of ill ferrets, animal rehabilitators, people with partially paralyzed ferrets etc.]... what are your laundry secrets?! I keep puppy wee wee pads under the blanket that covers the cage floor, so that protects the cage, but I have a really tough time getting the urine smell out of the blanket. Any suggestions? Products? Techniques? Are there certain fabrics that would be better than others? The blankets we use are polar fleecy type things.
The Replies: From: "alfert" <alfert@NOSPAM.flash.net> First: change your blankets. 100% pure thin cotton, receiving blankets from the salvation army (or generous friends yay) -something that you can veritably torture in the wash. washing:
I change each day and launder twice a week From: "Ilena Ayala" <ilena@compuserve.com> You're dealing with a combination of oils and urine. I'd suggest:
Try doing a wash load that has 3 changes of water
From: HigginsJ@ftc-i.SpAmZaP.net.INVALID I missed the earlier part of this thread so maybe my following advice as a chemist isn't needed. Hopefully the bleach and vinegar will be used separately since together you could cause the release of chlorine gas from the bleach. Most laundry detergents are rather alkaline and the acid from a cup or so of vinegar will be completely neutralized by a typical quantity of detergent. If an acid wash is desired you need to leave out the detergent. Washing soaps, as opposed to detergents (Ivory flakes being an example), will create a nasty, greasy mess on the bedding if you add vinegar or other acids to them in the washer. True soaps are made by reacting alkalis with fatty acids and if you neutralize the alkaline portion of the soap molecule you get back the fats. I'd suggest a half-hour presoak in the washer with about half a cup of bicarbonate of soda (Baking Soda) added, then add detergent to the presoak and go thru the regular washing cycle. No need to rinse out the baking soda first. As a last resort, a capful of vanilla extract added during the final rinse might help mask any really stubborn odors. Vanilla is a very effective odor masker. Good luck. -- Jim Higgins From: "Sandy Adams" <sgp@telepath.com>
I get Odoban at Sam's.. It's supposed to kill 99.9% of germs and really does work great on odors. I double rinse just to be safe for the fuzzbutts. Me Again: Thank you all for your suggestions. You've given me some new ideas. In the past I've tried:
I use Dawn for stains all the time. I hadn't thought of using it for this since I'm more concerned with odor than stains. I'll give it a try. I also haven't tried adding different things at different rinse stages of the wash. I'll try that as well. In the past I just threw it all in there! <g> As for doing several washes before the smells come out, that's kind of a problem since I don't have laundry in my building. I want it out NOW!! First time! -So it can go back in the cage all fresh and clean smelling and get peed on again! :) I'll try to find a stack of receiving blankets and see how that works. I guess it makes sense that the less fabric there is to absorb the urine, the easier it might be to get out. I need to keep some kind of floor covering though because she needs the traction. Alfert, as for your other questions: the cage bottom is plastic but it *does* retain odors if it's not covered. It's icky ;) I don't mind the wee wee pads. It's either that or a washable doggy pad which I may still do, but I was concerned about getting odors out of that as well.
And More Replies: From: nite@leading.net This is a bit extensive but works for me. When I was a nurse and we used to have to bleach various things out of our uniforms I would pick up some dry cleaners bleach (most of them will give you a bit for free) was my clothing in that then right before the final soak pour a can of coke into the washer. (which takes the bleach or alkali out of your clothing) then rewash as normal. When my kids were young I started doing this with their bedding and such because they were not always accurate with the litter box and it worked perfectly without leaving anything dangerous on the cloth. It is a secret that i got from an old laundress in my town who did the hospitals bedding. (you can imagine what was on that stuff) btw then she had been doing various kinds of laundry for 50 years so I tend to believe her. From: HigginsJ@ftc-i.SpAmZaP.net.INVALID I have no idea what is in dry cleaner's bleach, but assuming it is chlorine based like Chlorox, adding Coke to help release it from the fabric during the final rinse makes perfect sense chemically - though I'd probably replace Coke with Club Soda or other mild acid that had no possibility of leaving a residue if rinsing were not complete. I'm assuming you meant to say to add the Coke just before or during the final rinse when most of the bleach is already gone. Commercial washers at laundromats don't always provide the best of rinses - possibly because some laundromat owners restrict the water flow to conserve on water a bit - so the spray part of the rinse during the spin cycle can be weak. Adding something that tends to neutralize alkalinity and drive off chlorine makes perfect sense. There are other chemicals which would work a lot better than Coke or Club Soda, but they present the same issue with possible residues if they aren't rinsed out themselves. (The hypo solution - sodium thiosulfate - used in film development is particularly effective at removing chlorine. It's the same thing that you usually find in aquarium chemicals designed to dechlorinate the aquarium water, only hypo is MUCH stronger and the fish stuff would not be nearly strong enough (and very expensive) - but I have no idea how hypo might react with detergent residues. It contains sulfur and has a bit of an odor of its own if it doesn't rinse out any better than the bleach does. Makes perfect chemical sense - I'm gonna try it myself next time I wash a load using bleach. Thanks! -- Jim Higgins From: "Ilena Ayala" <ilena@compuserve.com> As far as neutralizing the odor, one thing you might want to try is rinsing the bedding in plain water first to remove as much urine as possible and then soaking them until they get washed in water with some vinegar in it or Nature's Miracle. Get a baby diaper pail with a lid to keep the odor contained. You might be able to find one cheaply at a garage sale. Alternatively, you can let them soak for 20-60 minutes in a strong bleach solution (ie, in the tub), and then rinse/store or soak in a milder solution until you are ready to do laundry. -Ilena Ayala From: kgsalimy@aol.comnospam (Kathy Salimy) Since it is the odor you're concerned with rather than the stains, I have one more suggestion you can try if all else fails. Allow the bedding to dry, sprinkle liberally with either dry, unused coffee grounds or crushed charcoal. Wrap in newspaper or place in a paper bag, allow to set for a day. Shake off all coffee or charcoal, wash and rinse well. Does nothing for stains, but will remove the odor. "Grandma" Kathy ;-) The Solution Well I tried most of the suggestions. I bleached everything, soaked everything, Fabreezed everything and let them air dry before laundering (The Fabreeze left a very strong perfume smell that took a couple more washes to get out.) I used Dawn, vinegar, hot water, baking soda, club soda, "Sprite" soda (to get the Fabreeze, strong detergent, and bleach odors out), and I used Downy liquid softener. Most of the smells seem to have finally disappeared! I'm not sure what really got rid of the lingering smells, but it might have been the Fabreeze combined with hot water and two washes with Sprite added in the 2nd rinse. These are the last two things I tried. However, the elimination of odor is more likely a combination of everything above. The following seems to be maintaining the current "odor-free" status of the bedding:
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