How do you keep the smell down?

[firehop]

dehumidifier. dry air doesn't carry the smell as well. also cleaning every 3 days.

rat smell sticks to everything so cleaning is very important. i walk into my rat room on a "stinky" day and I come out smelly.

I have noticed that too. I really try not to go in there right before I go out because then I am smelling rats all night.

I have just started using the vanilla idea and will be watching this thread for ideas. I have seen other threads that suggested that ozone generators are not good for the rats in an enclosed space. I will have to look those up and recheck.

[munding]

a fan and an exhaust fan that both run 24/7.

[littleindiangirl]

An exhaust fan 24/7 is the first thing I would tell you to do, it makes a HUGE difference.

VACUUM! Every week! It's amazing how much smell you can keep down by vacuuming up the dust.

Auto fragrance sprayer if you feel so inclined. Not sugary sweet smells, but spicy or lemony smells.

You can try an air filter, it will keep down the dust anyways, but may end up costing you more since rats do put out a lot of dust when using pelleted bedding.

[anendeloflorien]

I've found the best thing is just using the equine fresh or if you want something "specific" to small animals you can always get Woody Pet at most feed stores (I get mine from Blue Seal Feeds don't know if they're national or not). The equine fresh is pretty much the same thing just larger pellets plus it's about 1/2 the price per pound. I've heard of using grapefruit seed extract in water bottles also helps keep the smell down but I've never tried it. I have my rats in my bedroom and using the equine fresh I don't even notice the rats in there unless I happen to let it go just a little to long but it still adds a ton of time in between regular cleanings.

[Drew87]

Clean Clean and more clean, Only thing i found that helps. Rats just smell end of story haha.

[TaMan]

I've only mice and with smell I add EM (Effective Microorganisms) in water bottle or some time mix with food.

[crsaz]

if you want a mechanical means make an activated carbon air filter it will suck the smell out in a hurry I have on in my reptile room and it works so good that I hav to shut it off somtimes so I can tell if got all of the smell out of the cages and thats alot of smell because I keep burms and retics when and they do crap the smell is horrific wihout the filter

[GirDance]

I put a layer of Yesterday's News under the shavings and then Vanilla in the water... Thought them "not smelling" might have been all in my head, but everyone who visits comments on how they can't smell them.... So it does seem to do wonders.

[Clear]

I bought an air purifier for like $90 and spent another $10 on additional active carbon, I put a layer of the active carbon on the filter (the filter lays flat so the carbon doenst move) and it helps keep a lot of the smell down also.

[Freakie_frog]

The easiest thing to do is make sure that you use enought bedding to absorb everything that they put out. I have found that running a fan so that it blows through the rack greatly does away with the smell.