Kitty Litter Dust Reducer

We have cats, three of 'em. That means we have a litter box (thankfully, they are all content to share) With a litterbox comes kitty litter - and with kitty litter comes dust. Between the three of them in and out all day stirring it up, and it getting stirred up a couple times a day during clean out, the dust gets airborne and was covering every surface of my house. I love my cats but hate the dust - and when I dust, vacuum, wash the windows...it smelled like kitty litter. (Note: this was not meant to be an odor filter. I added a bit of a smell catcher after we got the kitten, but that was not my main concern. I just needed to stop the dust, dust, dust - ugh)

I know a covered box would help, but due to the 'particular' needs of the two oldest cats, we have to use a large, deep box without a cover. I decided something to reduce the dust during use would go a long way toward making my life easier - so through trial and error, this is what I came up with.  (Sorry for the grainy pics, my camera is getting old. How great would it be to win one ;-)  ) I finished the project without taking pics, so I am recreating the bits I can.

Here it is - my first 'ible

Supplies:
- CPU cooling fans (2)  $6.00
- Wall wart with 12v output (or whatever your fans run on) $8.00
- TIP31 transistor $0.47
- Motion activated light $8.00 (mine is battery powered)
- Filter material (I used the foam stuff for a window A/C unit) $1.00
- Container for your fans (I used the Ziploc large rectangle food storage box) $2.00

Step 1 The fans

When you snip the connector from the fan wires, you will have 3 wires to choose from. Yellow is useless for our purposes; red & black are standard power (red = positive, black = ground)

Attach the wires from the 2 fans together, red to red and black to black (solder or wire nuts, noting they will have an additional wire attached in step 3). Leave as much extra wire as possible to allow positioning later (or cut it close if you have already measured your box)

Comments

[RustyRoller]

Super idea and additional suggestions.

But ... what the heck is a wall "wart"????

[bkennelly]

Just a power supply that plugs into the wall
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hobby-Electronics-Power-Supplies-Part-1-Wall-Wart/

Handy & cheap

[RustyRoller]

Thanks! I came across the term on another posting, but still couldn't figure it out! It reminds me of what I'm seeing now for outdoor Xmas lights that can be poked into the lawn, with a "tether" to an outlet ... multiple light cords can be plugged into it.

Appreciate your note. Boy, did I learn a lot today on the site, my first day, too!

[daxx]

I so understand about cats with "special" litter box needs. I also use large clear plastic tubs for litter boxes since some of my cats used to miss the litter too often.

An alternative may be to use an alarm motion sensor. These are usually designed for 12 volts, so you could just go from the power supply, through the sensor to the fans.

[bkennelly]

I had originally started with a motion light sensor, but wasn't getting consistent triggering. Tried the alarm next, same issue. My guess is they are calibrated to not alert on small movements like animals so they don't randomly go off if the neighborhood cat crosses your driveway. ;-P

(Love those big tubs as litter boxes, keeps them from scattering the litter around the floor, as well)

[beatcal]

Very cool. I'm going to get a cat, just so I can build one of these devices. SAJU.

[hiflyer]

Did almost the same thing but used an activated carbon filter and made a fan sandwich:

Filter ($14.99)
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/activated-carbon-pre-filter/918286

120mm to 80mm fan adapter ($4.99)
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX20843(ME).aspx

120mm Grill which holds the filter in place ($3.99)
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX28858(ME).aspx

And of course any 80mm computer fan on the other side of the 80-120mm adapter - I use a 3 setting fan, but usually have it on low.

The filter is then about 1/2" away from the fan and won't get caught up.

As well, you get ~30 120mm squares out of that one Honeywell filter!

I should do an instructable, but yours covers it way better as my fans are always on...

Much thanks!

[bkennelly]

I wonder if the cone effect from that adapter would increase the airflow at all. May have to look into adding a pair of those for a future iteration; the more air draw, the better.

I considered the "always on" option when my trigger refused to work LOL, and it draws so little power I don't think it would be a problem. Still, I'm glad I got the motion sensor to work as planned.

I hadn't originally planned on the carbon filter, as odor was not an issue when I started the build. When the kitten came along, though, whew! Stinky. When it comes time for a replacement filter for the front, I may look into the type you used - catch the dust & the smell at one time :-D

Thanks for reading & commenting ( you are my first ;-) )

[hiflyer]

Thanks for posting it up!

I set the fans to suck IN through the filter, as then you get a greater surface area...

The active carbon destinkifier helps a lot and totally kills the smell even when they get wet food or eat a mouse / bird / grasshoppers ?!

And that grill catches a lot of the dust before it even hits the filter :D

Much thanks !