I would advise against doing so for the simple reason that your laundry dryer is a fan moving air from the inside of your house to the outside of the house when it is running. Any odors from the laundry room are passed through your laundry.

"I would advise against doing so for the simple reason that your laundry dryer is a fan moving air from the inside of your house to the outside of the house when it is running. Any odors from the laundry room are passed through your laundry."

Thank you Felix Unger. What a ridiculous comment.

I used to have a cat box in the laundry room at my old house. yes the dryer does pull air in from the room but you will not have cat poop smelly clothes if you clean the box regularly. I have a litter robot cat box now and you would never know I had 2 cats in the place if you didn't see them. covered and auto cleaning boxes are better to best for controlling the odors.

Thank you Felix Unger. What a ridiculous comment.

If you know of any experienced HVAC contractors simply ask them about my statement. You will get more than just my statement on matters. Ask them about building codes, air intake, exhaust, and heat evacuation while you are at regarding laundry room. You might learn something.

Oh yes, I think I'll run right down to city hall right now and ask about codes for cat litter box placement.

LOL. Get real.

Our dog's crate will be in the laundry room. If he could ask, he'd probably request it be located right next to the dryer so it could bask in the warmth. He loves curling up against the dryer whenever he keeps us company while we do our chores.

A cage on a fixed platform in a dryer would probably be a great way to dry a wet pet (sort of like the drying chambers they have in many pet salons). Just imagine Fluffy or Fido watching his or her favorite TV show through the dryer's window. Unfortunately, they would probably suffer a nervous breakdown.

If you're really worried about the cleanliness of the air passing through your clothes in the dryer you should either keep the laundry room (how many double as an entranceway/mudroom?) floor scrupulously clean or arrange an outside air source (which an HVAC type might agree is a good idea).

curiousshopper, if you had one inkling of why I stressed referring to the Building Codes then you would understand why I said to review those codes that apply to a laundry room. Our city allows you to ask and seek residential Building Codes online. If yours does then I respectfully suggest you review them. It pertains to the HVAC in the laundry. A laundry dryer is primarily an exhaust vent that pulls air out of the space it is located. For that reason, and dependent upon which utilities you are running to the laundry room there are Building Codes for such a reasonÃit is called life/safety. I am correct about the cat box odor, and unless you have invented a dryer that only exhausts, and requires no intake (which would defy many natural laws and the math associated with them), or you are specifically drawing your intake air from the outside to an highly modified dryer, then you, and I, are subject to the same principles.

And the last time I checked, a maintained cat litter box is not a level four bio-hazard.

You're being ridiculous, plain and simple.

Is there, perchance, an HVAC forum where the subject of make-up air could be more properly addressed?

caview---if you go to the Kitchen forum ask/search about the litter box being built into a bottom utility room cabinet--they even posted pictures. It was a real neat idea (and easy access to clean)---I think there was also a cat door so the cat could go into another room or outside ( not real sure about this part). I read this a couple of years ago but maybe someone there remembers this.

Hey Mike 73,

Did your cats have any trouble adapting to the robot liter box? I'd love to try it but I don't want to cause any goofy behavior in my cat. And what kind do you have?
And Caview, I second hailefinn about the kitchen forum litter box.

To curiousshopper

You can disagree with the poster but there is absolutley no reason for any civilized person to be as rude and condesending as you are in your response to farenheit451. I come to this forum for information and don't want to feel that that if I ask a question that I will be ridiculed by another poster. This is supposedly a site for adults and adult behavior.

bjeanne--

Thanks for saying what I was thinking!

Regardless of the way the responses were posed (and the internet can be that way sometimes), I also believe there is not an issue with the dryer and the litter box. I have had the litter box for my cat in the laundry room for a year now and there has been absolutely no issue with the smell of cat poop on the clean cloths. I do clean it daily and change the litter weekly and only have one small cat. But the notion presented by the first response may be overkill.

I greatly appreciate the time everyone took to respond to my question!

Hailefinn and prairiefox, thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of the kitchen forum -- will post there tonight!

I'm not concerned of the smell, as similar to robert.p, we clean after every usage, so you'll never guess we have cats unless you see them!

Prairiefox, our friends have a robot -- it works beautifully, cats took to it very easily (in particular if they are used to covered litterbox!

Thank you! Tanya

PriarieFox

I have this: http://www.litter-robot.com/ its pricey but I have had not one issue with it since I got it this summer. it dumps the waste in to a drawer you line with a tall kitchen bad that you can get anywhere, no funny containers that cost $$$like other boxes. my cats were used to a box with the splash shield thing and they took to it in days. I just did as the litter robot people recommended, put out the new one turned off, let the old box get dirty, manually cycle the robot for a few days until they get used to seeing and hearing it run with you there then switch to full auto. my one cat is a little skittish and she likes to watch it cycle and will make it run to watch it.

THAT'S why my BVD's smell like cat s***!!!

14 cats at home, 3 litterboxes in very close proximity to my dryer, never a problem with odor transfer from the litter box to clothing.

FWIW, I have a Litter Maid and a skittish cat. She adapted to it quite reasonably, although she didn't like it too well at first. I left both litter boxes up at first, then let the one get a bit dirty so she'd use the new one more, then took away the old one. But that wasn't really necessary to go to that extent, I'm sure. It was amusing, she'd go running to it when she heard it cycle and then start slapping at it until it stopped. Occasionally she'd slap just right to trip the sensor again so 10 minutes later she'd be running back to it! And then she didn't like the litter being rearranged by the rake. She liked it a certain way. (Can you say obsessive/compulsive? LOL). So she'd get in and rearrange the litter, thus tripping the sensor again! I started turning it off and manually tripping it because I thought it would burn out from overuse. But I decided it was do (or should I say "doo-doo") or die and left it go until she adapted. But it worked out and she adapted to it without any real big problems. Now all is fine. And in the meantime, I added another cat and another litter box, a regular one. But I bought another LM and need to set it up one of these days. Since I'm crippled up a bit it is easier to maintain, though not all that much easier. The biggest benefit is that it puts the stuff into the covered bin in which I always sprinkle in some baking soda and mix a little into the cat litter. With the first cat, the smell wasn't much at all unless she had a problem with a certain type of food. However the second one... well, let's just say he has more odor issues! My sister says it's a "male" thing!

Also, I had it upstairs for a while while she adapted to it, then moved it to the basement. Not in the laundry room proper but not far from it so if someone is paranoid about air movements, well, I'll just say I've never had a problem with that. For that matter, I don't even like using scented laundry products. I like the clothes to have no scent, whether it be Mountain Spring, lavender, Summer Rain or Feline Feces.

Usually when I hear comments like some in here, it's traced back to a simple fear of cats. I've heard things from cats "smothering babies" to "hypnotizing birds"! Now after reading this thread, I'm just going to have to be careful from now on that I don't fart in the laundry room when the dryer is running!

Our laundry room has built-in shelves, cabinets, drying rods, etc. - made to my design by a custom closet company. I just left an open space under one of the sets of wall-mounted cabinets for the litter box. It's virtually out of sight, unless you stand right in front of it.

I agree with other posters that if you have an automatic box or clean the box daily, you'll have no odor problems.

Now that our cat moved to live with our DD, we use that under-cabinet area for other storage.

OP: My cat's litter box is in the laundry room and mine is the same size as yours. There is no problem with this. I agree completely with the poster who states that cat litter is not a biohazard to freak out about (Gpod Lord I've had diaper genies which stunk to high heaven much worse). Just do it and don't worry about it.

It had nothing to do with a biohazard, as this was never adverted to by me, but by others, but more to do with aspects of one's residence and how a dryer works. There are those who understand what I was getting at...and those who don't. Since the premise is also a remodel there are factors to be contemplated, but I am sure that caview's contractor has addressed those issues with them.

I have four cats and several litterboxes in our basement/laundry room and haven't noticed a problem with clothes from the dryer, but have if they have been left hanging too long downstairs. I must admit however,that we do not clean out the litterbox religiously. In our new build, the laundry/utility room will again house litterboxes but we are planning to put in an exhaust fan-- either a continous running fan or a motion-activated one (got this idea from one of the garden web forums), so hopefully this will eliminate any odor problems. I did not really consider the additional make-up air issues for this exhaust, the dryer, and the giant hood in the kitchen (it could suck up a small child) in an relatively close proximity. I'll have to consult the HVAC people.

As far a way to incorporate it into the area. I saw an idea in a book that put the box inside of a lower cabinet but instead of the end panel there was a little curtain where the cats could go in/out (could also use a pet door). I like this idea and since we are planning cabinets on the wall opposite the w/d it will work for us. We will order the end panel (or an extra if we decide to use the pet door idea) so if at some point we no longer have kitties or if we sell the house that cabinet wouldn't be open on the end.

lolcats in laundry rooms (you can look up lolcat in wikipedia - I has a teenager, so I nos)

My wife thought I was being serious when I suggested training the dog to pee in our laundry room's floor drain (he's too short to use the toilet that's just down the hall).

Seeing pets in appliances gives me a bad feeling. Kids even worse.

My laundry room contains my clothes washer, dryer, a chest freezer and our home's oil burner. And our cats' (two cats) litter box. It's a regular plastic litter box, no hood, and it's definitely not automatic. I scoop it every morning,early, and sometimes during the day. The only downside is the oil burner is noisy when it runs, which is a lot in winter. The upside is the cats use the litter box faithfully and ,with the door open, heat rises from the oil burner to the rest of the house. This arrangement works well for us. The litter box is in a quiet corner,tucked between the washer and freezer.

prairiefox - I bought one of the LitterMaid cat boxes from Petsmart (or Petco, can't remember) and when it did not work out I just returned it as they have a 30 day return policy. You might look into that if you think your cat may have problems adapting to it.

caview- We've had the cat litter box in our laundry room since she "moved in with us" a few years ago. We have a table for folding laundry (had also thought about a counter but went with a similar size table instead) and keep the litter box under there. (that was the plan if we had used a counter, instead). The litter box is down at one end and I tend to fold at the other end but I've never noticed a problem with odor. The litter box is on the same wall as the door so you'd have to walk in and turn around to see it. It's convenient there, for both of us!

I have a three section clothes divider hamper between my washer and dryer. There is just enough room under it for a cat litter box. It has never been a problem because it is hardly visible and it is convenient for me and the cat.

My cat's litter box is also in the LR and I haven't experienced any odor problems just the occasional sock dropped in the litter. I found a plastic storage box that fit in the wicker basket...see under the picture in this photo,

'A cage on a fixed platform in a dryer would probably be a great way to dry a wet pet (sort of like the drying chambers they have in many pet salons). Just imagine Fluffy or Fido watching his or her favorite TV show through the dryer's window. Unfortunately, they would probably suffer a nervous breakdown."

It is an established device- see link.

Here is a link that might be useful:

How are you all keeping the cat from tracking litter all over the laundry room floor? I have to vaccum it almost daily and it is a pain!

cearbhaill, how does that box dryer do when it comes time to drying clothes?

I've seen such things at pet salons but never in someone's home. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are good candidates for one. They have an enormous specialized stainless steel dog-washing sink in their laundry room. There's barely enough space left for their washer and dryer.

My kitties are high maintenance whichever room they are relegated to. 45 seconds at most using the vac that is stored and charging between refrigerator and short counter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Electrolux Pronto

I have had the litterbox in the laundry room for years. Our clothes smell fresh like the fabric softener I use, have never smelled cat litter on them. Everyone I know with cats keeps their litter box in the laundry room, and I have never smelled cat litter on them either.

We had the cat box in the laundry room for years until we moved them into the basement. Never had an odor problem.

If you use the old-fashioned clay litter I'd think dust would be a much bigger problem. We used to have dust all over our back porch room from the stuff. The new dustless litters, of various materials, are so much better in this respect.

My cat's litterbox was in the laundry room for all of the 19 years of his life. The last 6 years he had diabetes, so so instead of a normal sized litterbox, we used a box designed for storing rolls of wrapping paper so he could always find a clean spot. I scooped frequently, and I NEVER EVER had a problem with cat odor in clothing. It may be an issue on paper, but IRL, I don't think it's a problem.