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Question for all the Kitty Litter Officianodos

Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Cigar 101
Has anyone used this brand of kitty litter? Fresh Step Crystals. I got 'em at walmart. The Fresh Step has bigger rock partcles than the "Mimi cat" that I have been using so far and I would rather use Fresh Step for that reason. But I wondered if you guys have any experience with it. There's no mention of it being scented or unscented on the bag and there's no noticeable odor at all. There's lots of colored crystals in various shades of blue but I don't think that matters, does it?. I know that some of you use ExquisiCat but I am not that close to a Petsmart store. As far as ingredients of the Fresh Step Crystals it only sayson the bag, "contains scilica gell". Any thoughts on this brand? SEE EDIT BELOW PHOTO. EDITED ******* 5/28/13 image EDIT ******* 5/28/13******** EDIT*********5/28/13*********EDIT ******* 5/28/13******** EDIT*********5/28/13*********EDIT ******* 5/28/13******** EDIT*********5/28/13*********EDIT ******* 5/28/13******** EDIT*********5/28/13*********EDIT ******* 5/28/13******** EDIT*********5/28/13*********BAD NEWS! Despite the fact that there's no mention of this litter being scented or unscented on the bag, there IS, I repeat, there IS an odor to this cat litter. When it's dry the odor undetectable (by me), but spritz some water on it and it smells like an air freshener. Too bad, because it was easy to get (walmart carries it), but put this litter on the "DO NOT USE" list.

Comments

  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077 ✭
    I like the idea of bigger particles and less dust. MSDS says this is hydrated silica (silica gel) 100%. Don't know if hydrated means anything different vs. beads or 'silica sand' maybe they are also hydrated, I suspect it is all about the same. It looks like the right stuff. Maybe put it in a ziplock bag with a hygrometer overnight and see what happens to the humidity (?) Let us know how it turns out. Or maybe someone else here has used this brand already.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Roberto99:
    I like the idea of bigger particles and less dust. MSDS says this is hydrated silica (silica gel) 100%. Don't know if hydrated means anything different vs. beads or 'silica sand' maybe they are also hydrated, I suspect it is all about the same. It looks like the right stuff. Maybe put it in a ziplock bag with a hygrometer overnight and see what happens to the humidity (?) Let us know how it turns out. Or maybe someone else here has used this brand already.
    Cool that you were able to check the MSDS. I started looking online so I could try to check the MSDS on the mimi cat and the ExquisiCat and compare them but all the sites that I found that would allow me to check MSDS wanted me to sign up for an account. Just what I need, another account ID and password. So I gave up for now. But I will try again later. I'm wondering whether the MSDS on ExquisiCat and Mimi cat also show the exact same ingredients. Somewhere on the mimi bag it says “porous silica sand”. And on the bag of Fresh Step Crystals I have it says “contains silica gel”. Neither of these descriptions posted on these bags are explicitly labeled as “Ingredients”. So it would be good to get the MSDS on all of these to compare if there is a difference.
  • blurrblurr Posts: 962 ✭✭
    Pretty certain some people use this brand. If it has no noticeable odor its fine. Its 100% silica, so it should work just fine. Bigger pieces are better in my opinion. Let us know how it works, but I'm pretty confident it will work just as good as the Mimi litter brand.
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    welll i use that for my cats, its actually unscented, fairly large crystals and the lil jerks track it around the litter area, have i used for my humi's? nope i m not a fan of using litter in a humi
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thedjfish@comcast.net:
    welll i use that for my cats, its actually unscented, fairly large crystals and the lil jerks track it around the litter area, have i used for my humi's? nope i m not a fan of using litter in a humi
    What do you use to control humidity?
  • blurrblurr Posts: 962 ✭✭
    Hey the first time I heard litter I laughed. Then I switched to beads from conservagel, and for the first time I could leave my humi alone for a week at a time and it NEVER moved from 68 to 70rh. I was paying 30 bucks for a pound and was thrilled how great it worked. Using gels before that, they worked ok but could get a little high rh levels (because they don't absorb well just give off moisture). Everyone thinks its nuts at first, but after 6 years in my experience nothing works as perfectly consistent as silica. If cat litter is the exact same composition and costs like 8 bucks for 5 big a$$ pounds, eventually most people get over the initial silly factor. It works and its cheap, and it works better than more expensive media types. Silly not to try it in my opinion. Ill never go back to any other way, but that's just my 2 cents.
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    It has to be 100% unscented silica. You can order it online. It's the best humidification out there. All the major collectors I know use it. Litter pearls or exquisicat. I've yet to find a more stable humidity control, and have all the other beads/gel/boveda at my disposal
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077 ✭
    Bob Luken:
    Roberto99:
    I like the idea of bigger particles and less dust. MSDS says this is hydrated silica (silica gel) 100%. Don't know if hydrated means anything different vs. beads or 'silica sand' maybe they are also hydrated, I suspect it is all about the same. It looks like the right stuff. Maybe put it in a ziplock bag with a hygrometer overnight and see what happens to the humidity (?) Let us know how it turns out. Or maybe someone else here has used this brand already.
    Cool that you were able to check the MSDS. I started looking online so I could try to check the MSDS on the mimi cat and the ExquisiCat and compare them but all the sites that I found that would allow me to check MSDS wanted me to sign up for an account. Just what I need, another account ID and password. So I gave up for now. But I will try again later. I'm wondering whether the MSDS on ExquisiCat and Mimi cat also show the exact same ingredients. Somewhere on the mimi bag it says “porous silica sand”. And on the bag of Fresh Step Crystals I have it says “contains silica gel”. Neither of these descriptions posted on these bags are explicitly labeled as “Ingredients”. So it would be good to get the MSDS on all of these to compare if there is a difference.
    http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=3027073 Here is the link to the website I found. Interesting though that I was unable to find Mimi litter on this site.
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    thedjfish@comcast.net:
    welll i use that for my cats, its actually unscented, fairly large crystals and the lil jerks track it around the litter area, have i used for my humi's? nope i m not a fan of using litter in a humi
    What do you use to control humidity?
    i use electronic humidifiers,been using them for more then a decade, no problems for me, i had one die out but like anything thats expected it took 7yrs for it die so i think i got my use out of it, as for anything being the best? thats questionable and personal preference to each's own,
    i know quite a few people using electric's, some use the beads, others use the pucks, in all reality they all work, just depends on how many cigars your keeping vs. your humidification, most common problem is that people keep more cigars then their humidifiers can support, hense they say it dont work,
    in the end you need to determine how many cigars you want to keep at one time, and use what ever humidification you want, just make sure its enough to support the cigars your keeping,
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    catfishbluezz:
    It has to be 100% unscented silica. You can order it online. It's the best humidification out there. All the major collectors I know use it. Litter pearls or exquisicat. I've yet to find a more stable humidity control, and have all the other beads/gel/boveda at my disposal
    How do I know if it's 100% unscented silica? Of the two kinds that I've got here with me neither one mentions scent or specifically list "ingredients". One bag says Silica sand on it somewhere, one bag says silica gel on it somewhere. The Cat litter industry doesn't care about me knowing exactly what their stuff is made of. Why should they? They're in the cat piss & **** business. Do you know specifically which brands are worthy enough to be re-purposed into a cigar lover's tool kit?
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    catfishbluezz:
    It has to be 100% unscented silica. You can order it online. It's the best humidification out there. All the major collectors I know use it. Litter pearls or exquisicat. I've yet to find a more stable humidity control, and have all the other beads/gel/boveda at my disposal
    How do I know if it's 100% unscented silica? Of the two kinds that I've got here with me neither one mentions scent or specifically list "ingredients". One bag says Silica sand on it somewhere, one bag says silica gel on it somewhere. The Cat litter industry doesn't care about me knowing exactly what their stuff is made of. Why should they? They're in the cat piss & **** business. Do you know specifically which brands are worthy enough to be re-purposed into a cigar lover's tool kit?
    litter pearls or exquisicat are fine. 8lbs-$20... It's no different then cigar beads, other then they are more stable. You do have to slowly raise the rh to your desired point, and then they just stay. I've used heartfelt, Xikar, drymistat, boveda, and electrics. Nothing beats it. I'll smoke 5 behike for the $100 people spend on electrics, boveda packs, or lbs of heartfelt. Four humis all humidified for under $10....
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077 ✭
    blurr:
    Pretty certain some people use this brand. If it has no noticeable odor its fine. Its 100% silica, so it should work just fine. Bigger pieces are better in my opinion. Let us know how it works, but I'm pretty confident it will work just as good as the Mimi litter brand.
    +1, Like I suggested before, if you have any concerns about the brand you got, put a hygrometer inside the bag overnight. The reading you get in the morning should tell you what you need to do next.

    When I first tried this route there was only information on exquisicat that I could find on the net but I had Mimi litter available to me; so I tried it out and haven't looked back since. There are many botl's here who have done something similar and now swear by it. So if there isn't any information out there on the brand you bought you may have to do the same.

    EDIT: Sorry, I just noticed that you are already using Mimi Litter, so u must already know most of this. My humidors are rocking because of the Mimi litter so I don't see any reason to change but I do like the idea of larger crystals. However that would decrease the surface area for the same weight of silica so that might be a negative.
  • ehehatehehat Posts: 1,536 ✭✭✭
    Does the bag say unscented? I'm always nervous with those blue beads mixed in. I think technically the rule of thumb is 100% unscented silica and you should be fine. Just my preference: I wouldn't put those blue beads in my humi, something is making them blue. Others have said they're fine so I'm sure they are, I still wont use them.
    EDIT: on a whim I went to the Fresh Step website and followed the drop down menue. Choosing "Crystals" and "unscented" showed no products available which would lead me to believe these are scented.
  • Roberto99Roberto99 Posts: 1,077 ✭
    "We take pride in the rare, high-quality clay and crystal ingredients in Fresh Step® litters. Fresh Step® clay litter products contain encapsulated fresheners to freshen your house with every step. Our scoopable litters now have odor-eliminating carbon for maximum odor control. Both Fresh Step® Clay and Fresh Step® Scoopable formulas contain a patented odor neutralizer that inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria in the litter. Fresh Step® Plus Dual Action Crystals® and Fresh Step® Crystals offer premium-grade crystals for maximum odor control to lock in odors and absorb wetness on contact."

    From their website...This and the statement that it is 100 percent silica gel leads me to believe that it is unscented. (But I do agree with you that something is making those crystals blue so it can't be 100 percent!) I do use the ones with blue crystals and I have no problems with any fragrance. I am also concerned about the chance there may be some fragrances added, but most of these products are probably all being made in the same factory in china so my guess is they are likely the same. They sure look the same from the pictures.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nope. There's nothing on either bag that says scented or unscented on the bag. I've got Mimi cat and Fresh Step. I first got the mimi based on forum users having experience with it. I cant smell anything from the mimi that I have been using. Cant smell anything on the fresh step either but I have not used it yet. Both have lots of blue crystals. I would rather get exqusicat from petsmart but I don't live near petsmart. The mimi has very small particles. Gritty silica falls through the panty hose bags I'm packing them in. The fresh step granules are noticably larger and maybe they'd be less gritty.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    catfishbluezz:
    Bob Luken:
    catfishbluezz:
    It has to be 100% unscented silica. You can order it online. It's the best humidification out there. All the major collectors I know use it. Litter pearls or exquisicat. I've yet to find a more stable humidity control, and have all the other beads/gel/boveda at my disposal
    How do I know if it's 100% unscented silica? Of the two kinds that I've got here with me neither one mentions scent or specifically list "ingredients". One bag says Silica sand on it somewhere, one bag says silica gel on it somewhere. The Cat litter industry doesn't care about me knowing exactly what their stuff is made of. Why should they? They're in the cat piss & **** business. Do you know specifically which brands are worthy enough to be re-purposed into a cigar lover's tool kit?
    litter pearls or exquisicat are fine. 8lbs-$20... It's no different then cigar beads, other then they are more stable. You do have to slowly raise the rh to your desired point, and then they just stay. I've used heartfelt, Xikar, drymistat, boveda, and electrics. Nothing beats it. I'll smoke 5 behike for the $100 people spend on electrics, boveda packs, or lbs of heartfelt. Four humis all humidified for under $10....
    I'm convinced that it's a good system. Especially when you are shooting for 65% and many of the standard equipment is designed to keep a 70% RH. I'm using mimi already but I was hoping that there was a broader list of brands that would be recognized as good enough and also any brands that one should avoid. I'll give this FRESH STEP a try and if there's any good or bad in it I'll pass it on.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'll stick a hygrometer in there like you said. I'm going to go ahead and be the guinea pig on this Fresh Step brand since nobody else has been able to vouch for it.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Roberto99:
    blurr:
    Pretty certain some people use this brand. If it has no noticeable odor its fine. Its 100% silica, so it should work just fine. Bigger pieces are better in my opinion. Let us know how it works, but I'm pretty confident it will work just as good as the Mimi litter brand.
    +1, Like I suggested before, if you have any concerns about the brand you got, put a hygrometer inside the bag overnight. The reading you get in the morning should tell you what you need to do next.

    When I first tried this route there was only information on exquisicat that I could find on the net but I had Mimi litter available to me; so I tried it out and haven't looked back since. There are many botl's here who have done something similar and now swear by it. So if there isn't any information out there on the brand you bought you may have to do the same.

    EDIT: Sorry, I just noticed that you are already using Mimi Litter, so u must already know most of this. My humidors are rocking because of the Mimi litter so I don't see any reason to change but I do like the idea of larger crystals. However that would decrease the surface area for the same weight of silica so that might be a negative.
    I'll stick a hygrometer in there like you said. I'm going to go ahead and be the guinea pig on this Fresh Step brand since nobody else has been able to vouch for it.
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I tried the hygrometer in the bag of fresh step for twelve hours. It read 50% RH! Super low but I thought it could be brought up pretty easily with some spritzing. Then I thought to spritz some of it to double check that it had no scent. BAD NEWS! Despite the fact that there's no mention of this litter being scented or unscented on the bag, there IS, I repeat, there IS an odor to this cat litter. When it's dry the odor undetectable (by me), but spritz some water on it and it smells like air freshener. Too bad, because it was easy to get (walmart carries it), but I'm gonna have to put this litter on the "DO NOT USE" list.

    (On a side note I bought some ExqisiCat unscented litter just yesterday. I finally got close enough to a PestSmart store to make a stop.)
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    most of it rests at 50-60rh. Funny thing is, heartfelt 65 beads...same thing, no different. I've tested both dry and had the same results, and I've been able to produce the same fluctuations in rh with heartfelt depending on water. Good luck Bob
  • Bob_LukenBob_Luken Posts: 10,742 ✭✭✭✭✭
    catfishbluezz:
    most of it rests at 50-60rh. Funny thing is, heartfelt 65 beads...same thing, no different. I've tested both dry and had the same results, and I've been able to produce the same fluctuations in rh with heartfelt depending on water. Good luck Bob
    Thanks. As a matter of fact I failed to mention I also did the same test on the ExqisiCat and it was resting a 60% by this morning in the sealed jug after 12 hours with the hygrometer inside. And had no odor after spritzing. (Although I didn't expect it to. It IS, after all, explicitly unscented.)
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    Bob Luken:
    catfishbluezz:
    most of it rests at 50-60rh. Funny thing is, heartfelt 65 beads...same thing, no different. I've tested both dry and had the same results, and I've been able to produce the same fluctuations in rh with heartfelt depending on water. Good luck Bob
    Thanks. As a matter of fact I failed to mention I also did the same test on the ExqisiCat and it was resting a 60% by this morning in the sealed jug after 12 hours with the hygrometer inside. And had no odor after spritzing. (Although I did expect it to. It IS, after all, explicitly unscented.)
    Yeah, that stuff is said to rest at 59rh, which is about where I've seen it. That's what's nice about it if you are putting it in a seasoned humidor... Just put it in and go. When it drops, add water. Hell I even just put a small shot glass anymore when it drops and it comes up over night to 65.
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