Cleaning Sandbox

If a stray has been using it as a litterbox, you honestly need to remove ALL of the sand and start over with fresh sand. Try to find a cover to fit your sandbox. I LOVE cats, but they can carry many diseases -especially strays -that can be passed to humans in some form through fecal and urinary germs.

I don't really think you can "wash" the sand. I don't think hot water, soap and sand is going to mix or rinse very well. I understand it's too big to dump, but you should shovel all of the sand out (or shop vac it out if that will work) and start over with fresh, new sand. You can get it pretty cheaply at Home Depot or Lowe's.

You can buy generic-sized covers from a number of places or make your own using a tarp and bungee cords.

For sure discard the sand, and if it was not so deep or the cat was there often, put in new weedstop as well. Don't put that through the shop vac if you ever want to use it in and indoor workshop again. And sanitize the wood with bleach or whatever you can. I use a clear plastic shower curtain and some bricks to cover our sandbox, we are religious about it for exactly this reason, also insects are less likely to nest if they can't get in and out easily.

Very easily--pitch out all of the sand and scrub it out completely and buy new sand and put the new sand in the sandbox. Maybe get a sandbox with a lid.

After you have discarded all of the sand, clean the box with bleach and water then let dry in the sun before adding new sand. Find some kind of cover...

Actually, I have a large sandbox in my backyard(on fake grass carpet on top of blacktop). You CAN wash the sand in your sandbox, and you CAN sanitize it. Two ways, both involve bleach in some form. Regular Household or Medical Bleach or Pool Chlorine. Judge how much you need depending on the size of your sandbox. If using household or medical bleach, dilute 1:1. Pool Chlorine, disolve any powder well, and use your judgement on how much to use per gallon of water. Use more than you would for a pool. You can use hot water if it makes you feel like you're doing more.

FIRST, you MUST sift through the sand to make sure you got all little presents. If you have a bottom on your sandbox, hard or cloth(like mine) turn all the sand from one side up and pile it on the other side so you have the bottom exposed. Spray or pour some chlorine/bleach water there, put the sand back in layers and spray/pour more chlorine/bleach water over each layer. Do the same on the other side. Then COVER the sandbox. Sunlight destroys chlorine(and chlorine is in bleach) so it needs to be covered for a while to allow disinfection. Judge how long you think is necessary to keep covered. I do this overnight. Then uncover and let the sun dry out the sand. You could rinse the sand with the garden hose before you let it dry if it makes you feel better. I don't. I just don't let the kids in until I feel it's ready, nor do I let them wear clothes I care about in it.

Rake the sand to make sure you get all the sand dried out. This may take several days depending on how big your sand box is. You can do this as bleaching process often as you think necessary. Word to the wise, wear clothes you don't care about or white while doing this. Pool Chlorine bleaches clothes too. Always cover the sandbox at night or whenever not in use to keep the critters out. Use cinnamon powder in the sandbox to keep the bugs out.

You might also consider a method to cover the sandbox so it stays clean. My husband built a sandbox also, but he made a cover from some 2x2s and some of that corregated plastic. The lid just lifts off when you want to let them play. And it does a great job of keeping out leaves, cats, etc.

I'd recommend replacing the sand once you've been able to remove it all. We purchased some last weekend at Lowe's for $3/bag - QuickCrete sandbox sand. Our sandbox took 2 bags.

The price of replacing the sand is much less than having to take your kids to the pediatrician from being exposed to e.coli or other bacteria that may have been growing in there over the past several months.

Washing the sand sounds like an awfully huge job to me. It will take forever for it to dry!!! I would just replace the sand. Check around and see if there are any service organizations that do free sandbox fills. I think it is the Lions club here that does one every spring. Then can your husband build a top of some kind that you can put on it to keep the cat out? Unless that cat is gone from the neighborhood he will keep coming back.