Preparing Cat Litter For Use As Substrate

[bumbleweasle]

Hey hey..

I'm using the Tesco "Low Dust" (HA!) Lightweight Cat Litter that seems to be recommended everywhere, and cleaning it by half-filling a bucket with it, then running the water in whilst stirring it all with a mop handle, & pouring the pink water off the top. It doesn't smell of weird perfume anymore, which is great. But will it ever stop giving me pink water?! LOL.. I don't know if I'm trying to do the impossible here by getting it to run clear with all that stirring.. Can someone who's done this already enlighten me, please?

Cheers!

 

[StandbySetting]

Are you sure it is clay cat litter? You're not meant to wash it, just cap it with sand or gravel.

 

[bumbleweasle]

Yeh it's moler clay, and I'm sure I read on here that I should wash it to get rid of the odour control stuff. Re. capping.. wouldn't the sand end up underneath it with time?

 

[StandbySetting]

If you bought pure clay cat litter then there's no need to wash it. Generally when they say odor control it's the clay as it absorbs and locks in the odor, this is what I used:

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/ultra-clumping-cat-litter-5ltr-by-pets-at-home-15277

Washing it will turn it to mush unless it is pre-baked cat litter.

 

[stu40]

IME
on another plant based forum a lot of users have washed the Tesco one,it does cloudy the water if not washed.Though frequent water changes will sort that.
I washed mine for ages, it hasn't turned to mush, so i guess it is pre-baked.

 

[tribalbrit]

I had to wash ten bags of this stuff and yes you must wash it, it is perfumed and very dusty. I just put in a bowl in the sink and just keep turning it with my hand until the water that spilled over the bowl was pretty clear.
It does not want capping and looks quite nice when in situ. IMO


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[StandbySetting]

Yeah that's the baked stuff, similar to Akadama, continue washing it in that case.

 

[bumbleweasle]

lol, yeh, I was gonna say, "low-dust" my a**...
Cheers folks, was just a bit concerned that the clay was dissolving but yeh it looks tough as anything, so I guess I just have to be persistent!

 

[KittyKat]

When it says "low dust", after a few hours washing only *two* bags of this stuff this afternoon, I think that by "99 % dust free" they mean that 99 % is cat litter and 1 % is dust! bumbleweasle, did you wash it till the water ran clear? I was only patient enough to do about 10 rinses, but I am covering it with better washed sand, so don't expect it to affect water too much.

 

[bumbleweasle]

Believe it or not I'm still in the process of washing it, lol.. but that's got nothing to do with the dustiness, more the size of my tank and the state of my back, hehehe.. can only manage wee bits at a time! It'll probably need a final rinse by the time I actually use it!

but yeh.. I swapped technique now, so putting around a mugful in a sieve over the bath & running the tap over it. I direct the stream with my hand so all of it is wet & do this until it runs clear.. then I stir it around a bit more & repeat. Usually takes a couple stirrings, maybe a few minutes per mugful. I read a tip somewhere as well, to lay paper over the subtrate before refilling the tank, it stops it clouding up too much. Did you do yours already?

 

[KittyKat]

I just rinsed around 1/3 of it in a bucket around 5 times per lot, using a hose turned up high (so the water would stir it).

Did you do yours already?

Aye, already filled it to 3/5 of the way and it didn't cloud. I just aimed the hose into a bowl and kept the flow low all the way!

 

[bumbleweasle]

Cheers!