The best way to get rid of the guinea pig smell in your house is to keep the cage clean and litter train your guinea pig (this will make cleaning much easier). You can also use an air purifier with a HEPA filter. HEPA filters do a great job of removing odors from the air.
What You'll Learn
As much as we all love our little furry friends, we don’t want our house to smell like guinea pigs. Luckily, you can still enjoy your guinea pigs without leaving your house covered in guinea pig scent.
Preventative Measures
The best way to get rid of the guinea pig smell in the house is to make sure it doesn’t stick around in the first place. With just a few preventative measures, you can avoid developing a smelly situation in your house.
Keep The Guinea Pig Cage Clean
The first thing you can do is maintain regular care of your guinea pig’s cage. With a cleaning routine, you can keep the guinea pig smell down to a minimum.
First, spot clean the cage every day. To spot clean, identify areas in your guinea pig’s cage that are particularly soiled. Check by their food and water as well as in the corners.
Often, guinea pigs like to use the same area for eliminating waste, so you may be able to easily identify these areas. Using a litter scoop or other small shovel, remove the soiled bedding and replace it with clean bedding to finish spot cleaning.
At the end of the week, completely clean out your guinea pig’s cage. Start by removing and setting aside all of your guinea pig’s toys, chews, bowls, and habitats from the cage.
Relocate your guinea pig for the cleaning process by placing them in a travel carrier or clear bin so you can keep an eye on them.
Next, remove and throw out all the bedding. Sometimes, you may have to scrape the bottom of the cage with the litter scoop or small shovel to make sure you remove any hardened bedding.
Once all bedding is removed, scrub the cage with a pet-safe cleaning solution. Use the same solution on any habitats or toys that could use a good clean. Make sure to thoroughly rinse and dry the cage and other objects.
Next, fill the bottom of the cage with fresh, clean bedding a couple of inches deep. Now the clean cage is ready for your guinea pig!
Note! Although it might seem like a good idea to sprinkle the cage and bedding with baking soda to absorb odors, don’t use baking soda. Baking soda can be a lung irritant to guinea pigs and might cause breathing issues if they breathe it in.
Litter Train Your Guinea Pig
Another preventative measure to keep your house smelling fresh is to litter train your guinea pig. Get a corner litter box for your guinea pig. If your guinea pig has a preferred place to go, put the litter box in the corner that’s closest to their favorite spot.
Fill the litter box with new bedding and some old bedding. As you keep an eye on the cage, relocate any accidents to the litter box to help the guinea pig recognize where it should go. Anytime you see your guinea pig use the litter box, reward them with their favorite treat!
Over time, your guinea pig will use the litter box more and more, which will make the cage easier to spot clean.
Guinea Pig Hygiene Care
The last preventative measure is to take regular care of your guinea pig’s hygiene. Dander, dead skin, and excess hair can all start to smell after a while. Brushing your guinea pig once a day can help remove dander, dead skin, and excess hair to prevent smell build-up.
You can also bathe your guinea pig when necessary, about once every six months. Use warm, shallow water and guinea pig-safe shampoo (baby shampoo or special guinea pig shampoo).
Be gentle and rinse all the shampoo out of their fur. When you’re all done, pat your guinea pig dry with a towel so they can air dry quickly. Be careful not to over-bathe your guinea pig; too many baths can lead to dry skin and damaged fur.
Clean the Air
Sometimes even despite all of your best preventative efforts, the house still smells like guinea pig. One way to get your house smelling fresh again is to clean the air.
Make sure your guinea pigs live in a well-ventilated room. If the room isn’t very well ventilated, consider moving your guinea pigs to another room where you’ll be able to keep the air flowing.
Open the windows in the room to air it out. Try to get a cross-breeze going by opening two windows or keeping the door open as well. This should help air out the space and whisk away some (if not all!) of the guinea pig smell.
In addition to opening up the windows, you can invest in an air purifier. Placing an air purifier near your guinea pig cage will help keep the air clean and smelling fresh.
To make sure that your air filter is doing the best work it can, use a purifier with a HEPA filter. HEPA filters are high-efficiency particulate air filters and work the best for removing dander, pollen, and other odor-causing particles from the air.
Give Your House a Deep Clean
A little extra elbow grease will go a long way in removing guinea pig odor from your house. Because guinea pigs still produce dander like any other pet, that means their smell can spread and set into your house.
Giving your home a deep clean, especially in the room where your guinea pigs live, will remove the dander and the smell.
Make sure you clean all the floors in your home. Sweep and mop all hardwood and tile, then vacuum carpets and rugs.
You may need to vacuum multiple times to make sure you pick up all the dander. Pet-specific vacuums also help make this process easier. Once your floors have a thorough basic clean, you can use a steam cleaner to clean the carpets, rugs, and furniture. You will also want to wash anything else in the area that could absorb dander: drapes, couch covers, pillows, and any linens.
Once you’ve cleaned and aired everything out, your house should smell fresh and new!
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