rats living outside?? UPDATE: page 3

[mamarat]

I was thinking too, the cleaner that cage is the more your rats will pee to put their scent in it. Maybe you're cleaning it too much? Just a thought.

 

[crumbilina]

You can take the rat laundry to a laundromat... that might work...

 

[jorats]

Are you using any sort of bedding like Yesterday's News? You need something that will absorb odors.

 

[Jenfoxworth]

sounds like it's yer mom...
my husbands mom is the same way, looking for a smell, though she does it because she hates my molly, not from being a clean person

 

[Cigar]

You can take the rat laundry to a laundromat... that might work...

Definitely more practical than buying a second washing machine.. Silly me. :emb:

 

[SQ]

You may also want to get a permanent hepa air filter.

 

[puffnstuff]

I think you're doing a great job so far. It's a huge success to have moved them indoors.

Your mom is not likely going to change overnight. But at least you have your Dad on your side, and with time, she may come around. Your Dad's a smart man: Lose the rats, and lose the daughter -- Keep the rats, and keep the daughter around a little longer LOL. See, they really do love you and want you to be around. But it will take a great deal of effort on your part to keep the cage and surroundings clean. I'm sure Mom wouldn't be pleased if she found poop on the laundry room floor.

Just be careful if your family uses powdered laundry detergent. If you're pouring haphazzardly (spelling?) into the washing machine, fine particles can go into the air and get into the rats lungs.


What are you doing with the soiled laundry? That could be what's causing the smell. If it's just sitting in a bin somewhere, that would def stink.

Just take it one step at a time. Your noodles is so cute, and looks like a cartoon character! How could any mother not love that face?

 

[rodentmama]

Just a few "laundry tips". The rats are MY pets and I have a very sensitive son who hates when I do rat laundry and it messes up the machine. First off, we bag up the soiled bedding and towels and tie the bag so no smells escape from the laundry. Next, be sure to shake out any chunkies from the bedding and towels, nothing yuckier then washed and dried rat poopies stuck to the dryer. Two products I use for rat laundry are Orange-A-Peel which has a strong orange scent and will deodorize and leave a nice smell, also kills germs and Mr. Enzyme Canadian Odor Control Enzyme cleaner. Your vet can order it from CDMV. You only need a little in the laundry, or as a mist sprayed in the air to kill the rat odour. You might be able to "tub wash" your bedding in a bucket in the tub or a laundry tub. Dump the dirty water from the bucket into the toilet (you pee and poo in there anyway, mom can't complain about that!) Do a good rinse so you can't smell anything and then ask your mom if you can use the spin cycle on the washer to spin out the CLEAN water from your rat laundry. Having the machine spin is the most important part.

Good luck, I think getting your own place would be best for your peace of mind. My sister's husband is always complaining about the cat box smell in their place. Her retort, gee how can you smell cat box through the stench of cigarettes on your clothes?