# using vinegar to clean urine



## MiniLopHop (Jan 1, 2011)

A lot of people on here recommend using vinegar for cleaning urine spots. I would love to use an organic solution if it works, but I'm confused. With cats cleaning with vinegar makes the spot smell like pee to them so they use it more. Is this not the case with rabbits? Is it because rabbit urine is substantially different than cat or is it their sense of smell?

:?


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## maxysmummy (Jan 1, 2011)

as far as i know vinegar neutralizes the smell of rabbit urine. whenever we spray a spot with vinegar ours stop going in that particular spot.


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## pamnock (Jan 1, 2011)

Vinegar is great for neutralizing urine. However, many animals will continue to urinate in their favorite spots no matter what you clean it with.


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## Flash Gordon (Jan 1, 2011)

u can try all kinds of things to break up rabbits pee after it builds up on a litter box ..but nothing works like vinegar.it is one of the few things that just disintegrates it...i really hate hate hate the smell of vinegar but its what works....i know vinegar seems harsh to u thats prob why u wanna use an organic cleaner..but vinegar is really a very basic ,multitask ,safe product...it just stinks...


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## MikeScone (Jan 2, 2011)

*MiniLopHop wrote:*


> Is it because rabbit urine is substantially different than cat...


I don't know much about their sense of smell, but it is true that rabbit urine is substantially different from cats', or humans', or pretty much any other mammal. Other mammal urine tends to be acidic (uric acid being a major component). Rabbit urine is basic, because rabbits normally pass off a lot of calcium in their urine. That's why there's often a white deposit in the litter box. So, acid vinegar will counteract the basic urine.


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## MiniLopHop (Jan 2, 2011)

*MikeScone wrote: *


> *MiniLopHop wrote:*
> 
> 
> > Is it because rabbit urine is substantially different than cat...
> ...


Ah, the lights go off! Now I understand why it works so well. Thanks everyone for the confirmation that it is a good choice. I like being able to clean with a product that is safe enough to drink since you never know when the bun is going to lick things. Knock on wood she has been great at using her box, but it's good to be prepared. I'm going to start cleaning her box this way too.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Jan 2, 2011)

Vinegar does work great for pee and whole cage bottom cleaning!


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## Momto3boys (Jan 2, 2011)

I never heard of not using vinegar with cats...I use vinegar for everything, LOL

Now I know window cleaner has ammonia in it which smells like cat pee, but I never heard it about vinegar.


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## MiniLopHop (Jan 2, 2011)

For the cats I use a tea tree oil based product that has enzymes to break down the urine. Thank goodness I only have to use it around the litter boxes (Victoria misses sometimes). 
For the rabbit I was using a cage cleaner from the pet store and she doesn't like the smell of it. It is citrus based which smells good to me, but she's the one that has to live in her house. I'm going to stick to using it for the gerbils and switch to vinegar for Becky's area cleaning.


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## Nancy McClelland (Jan 2, 2011)

Basically use a 10 per cent solution. It neutralizes the ammonia smell in most animals urine--especially dogs and cats. Also does a great job of breaking it down so it can be cleaned off surfaces.


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## elrohwen (Jan 4, 2011)

The acidity of the vinegar neutralizes the ammonia (a base) in the pee to get rid of the smell. I love using it! I keep a bottle with a 50/50 white vinegar and water solution under the sink.

eta: Strange that a pet store would recommend citrus scented cleaner - rabbits don't particularly like citrus, to the point where rubbing citrus oils on furniture is a good chew deterrent. Also, I've had gerbils for years and used my vinegar solution with them too


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## Runestonez (Jan 4, 2011)

The main reason whie vinegar is so good at cleaning rabbit urine is that vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the rabbit urine and helps to remove it.

That white residue that is left in the bottom of the litterbox or cage? THAT is calcium carbonate and vinegar dissolves it for easy removal.

Also useful is hydrogen peroxide 3%...it will break down and dissolve calcium carbonate as well...once it breaks down chemically it becomes water...but bunn can't be on any wet surface cleaned with peroxide. The surface...carpet, litterbox, cage must be dry before bunn can be let back in to it!


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## Krissa (Jan 5, 2011)

I have used vinegar for the cats, dog and rabbit. No one seems to ever want to use that spot again - epically the dog. 

I love using vinegar to clean the litter box, I do it once a month and let it soak for a bit. The box is sparkling clean when I'm done. Then I just rinse with water.


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## MiniLopHop (Jan 5, 2011)

Laura- another reason never to listen to pet store people, they don't know what they are talking about so much of the time.
I have switched over to the vinegar and it is working great. I'm using it for the rabbit, gerbils, cats, and turtles.


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## Bunny parents (Jan 5, 2011)

*pamnock wrote: *


> Vinegar is great for neutralizing urine. However, many animals will continue to urinate in their favorite spots no matter what you clean it with.


:yeahthat: hehehehe. My girl has proved that to me. However use vinegar too and it works the best. For my baby girl, I think she just really really loves that spot !!! lol


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## Hippity-Hoppity (Feb 24, 2013)

Flash Gordon said:


> i know vinegar seems harsh to u thats prob why u wanna use an organic cleaner..



Generally speaking, white vinegar is a product made by refermenting fermented fruit or grain - typically, A "wine" made from the fruit or grain (yeast fermentation) is inoculated with acetobacter which "ferments" the alcohol to acetic acid. The only thing that might be considered "inorganic" regarding white vinegar is that it is distilled from the natural vinegar and then combined with water to provide the product we all buy at the supermarket as white vinegar. 

My point is that vinegar clearly _is_ about as organic as you're going to get for this purpose, unless you want to rub it with lemon or some other acidic thing (which might _smell_ better going on, but costs a lot more and isn't nearly as effective)...

:jumpforjoy:


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