# Cage cleaning: How do you do it?



## mistymornings18 (Aug 13, 2012)

How do you clean your cage? What do you use to do so? 
Any tips for those who are new to rat ownership that you'd like to share? 
How to avoid smelly cages?


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## haunt (Sep 9, 2012)

*To clean my cages is a bit of a chore. I have the 3 level rat manor cages, all my levels are covered in fleece, but even outside of that, can be a bit annoying. I have six of them so it's a ton of work and I usually choose to do them all at once.

I use a small bucket of soapy water, preferably Dawn, to clean the outside of the cages with the scrubby side of a sponge. I always have to clean the sides of my cages because my girls will sit at the top level and pee sometimes. It doesn't always drip down and kinda goes down the bars and that can get really gross quick! Also makes it smell awful. I use Lysol wipes on the very bottom parts of my cage (the pan/tray) cause that is always the filthiest part of the cage, then rinse it with water afterwards to make sure nothing harmful remains from the Lysol.

As for keeping the cages from smelling. For bedding, i use kaytee clean and cozy. It expands a LOT when you pull it out of the bag, so it lasts for a while, is very effective, and there is NO dust on it at all. Also, I'm sure a lot of people would hate this, but if it doesn't gross you out... My girls poop EVERYWHERE. Lately they seem to be favouring the middle floor of their cage. About once a week, I reach in and just pick up all the super obvious ones and dump them in the trash i need to take out already to reduce any smell coming from that.

I have 13 rats, and 6 cages total and the smell is minimal. Just make sure you keep up with them and it shouldn't be much of a problem.


Lastly.. I keep a wax warmer thing in my room to help mask any smells. It's very cheap. I'll show you this link as an example, but there are actually electric ones you can plug in and are much easier to maintain for $10 at any walmart. So, a cheap way to help prevent any smell cages. 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-Warmer-Combo-Pack-Spicy-Filigree/21173352*


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## sarashine (Oct 12, 2012)

haunt said:


> *To clean my cages is a bit of a chore. I have the 3 level rat manor cages, all my levels are covered in fleece, but even outside of that, can be a bit annoying. I have six of them so it's a ton of work and I usually choose to do them all at once.
> 
> I use a small bucket of soapy water, preferably Dawn, to clean the outside of the cages with the scrubby side of a sponge. I always have to clean the sides of my cages because my girls will sit at the top level and pee sometimes. It doesn't always drip down and kinda goes down the bars and that can get really gross quick! Also makes it smell awful. I use Lysol wipes on the very bottom parts of my cage (the pan/tray) cause that is always the filthiest part of the cage, then rinse it with water afterwards to make sure nothing harmful remains from the Lysol.
> 
> ...


I really feel like all of those chemicals are leaving harmful residue behind for your rats. I use Fresh results cage cleaning and deodorizing spray. Nature's miracle also makes some good products and their spray has "Water, Bio-Enzymatic Odor-Lock, Oxygen Boosters, Surfactant, Isopropyl Alcohol, Fragrance." in it. I don't agree with the fragrance, as that's probably bad for their respiratory systems but the other ingredients are safe.


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## haunt (Sep 9, 2012)

sarashine said:


> I really feel like all of those chemicals are leaving harmful residue behind for your rats. I use Fresh results cage cleaning and deodorizing spray. Nature's miracle also makes some good products and their spray has "Water, Bio-Enzymatic Odor-Lock, Oxygen Boosters, Surfactant, Isopropyl Alcohol, Fragrance." in it. I don't agree with the fragrance, as that's probably bad for their respiratory systems but the other ingredients are safe.


I understand your concern, but I'm very meticulous about making sure any chemicals are gone from the cage before I put any of my babies back in there. I've had rats for 3 years now, and I've only ever had two die of an illness that might have been caused by any sort of chemicals, and they both came to me with respiratory infections. I had adopted those two off craigslist, and they were already sick which was really unfortunate. After all the "intense cleaning" has been done ex. the dawn, and lysol for the very bottom (which is a small amount of course since its only a single lysol wipe) they get hand rinsed with a clean sponge only using water, then sprayed down with a hose outside.


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## sarashine (Oct 12, 2012)

That's good. I was only saying anything because since the person who made this thread is new to this, I didn't want them thinking they could liberally use any cleaning product that is safe for other household chores.


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## haunt (Sep 9, 2012)

Makes sense. i probably should have clarified that a little bit better. n_n;

if you use any common housecleaning supplies please, please, pleaseee make sure none of it remains before you put your rats back in there. 
Rinse it several times if you aren't sure. The chemicals can be incredibly dangerous for them!


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## mistymornings18 (Aug 13, 2012)

I am the one who made this post lol. I am not new i made it for those who are new because these are questions i have been asked repeatedly by new rat owners so i thought it would be handy to have this info there for others


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## sarashine (Oct 12, 2012)

mistymornings18 said:


> I am the one who made this post lol. I am not new i made it for those who are new because these are questions i have been asked repeatedly by new rat owners so i thought it would be handy to have this info there for others


oh! haha, I'm sorry. I assumed you were asking for yourself. I was a bit confused by the amount of rats you have in your signature and the supposed newness.
I cleaned my cage out yesterday and I was just thinking how much of a chore it is. Mostly disassembling it is the worst part. And then of course trying to fit the stupid cumbersome bars back onto the bottom.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

My entire cage goes into a hot shower for a few minutes, sprayed down with vinegar, and then another few minutes in the shower. If any bits are particularly yucky, they get scrubbed with a drop of Dawn and a scrub brush that is used only for the cage.

Smells are kept at bay with a box of baking soda by the cage. You can buy boxes with mesh sides that are designed for placing in your fridge, but they work great for soaking up odors beside the cage. Also, wiping the cage down with baby wipes between cleanings helps a lot.

I would NOT recommend using any scented room fresheners, be it aerosol, oils, wax tarts, etc. It just isn't a good idea.


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## sarashine (Oct 12, 2012)

I use vinegar for all of my apartment cleaning, HOW did I forget about it when it comes to cage cleaning? also, great tip with the baking soda box. That'll be a mainstay near my setup from now on.


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## sarashine (Oct 12, 2012)

oh, the only scent related thing that I do in my room is burn sage (and I also smoke pot, but I do that by the window) I only break off a teeny bit to burn at a time because if it goes out I was advised not to relight it for metaphysical reasons. What do you think, sage okay or not?


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## Charliesmom (Nov 13, 2012)

*I make a mix of vinegar, baking soda, and water, and put it in a spray bottle *after it stops fizzing, lol*, I put Charlie in his safe box, then make sure I detach and empty his food bowl, and remove the water bottle. 

I detach top from the base, I put the top in the tub and spray it down with the vinegar mix, let it sit while I work on the base. I dump the base with the bedding in it into a garbage bag, spray the base with the vinegar mix. let it sit. go back and scrub down the top and shelves, then rinse with HOT HOT water. take it outside to dry in the sun. I scrub down the base rinse it, and sun dry it. I then wash food bowl, and scrub out the water bowl with dawn, rinse very well and refill. I fill the base with carefresh proearth crinkles in the natural brown. *








*Charlie loves it, it has zero dust, it has charcoal in it to kill odor, and it keeps it so dry the bottom never gets wet!
put everything back together, fill the food bowl, take out hammocks wash them, chunk them in the dryer on wool setting, put those back in when dry, and then give Charlie a bunch a treats and let him go back home.**
*


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## mistymornings18 (Aug 13, 2012)

LOL i have been a rat owner for 5+ years now. Definitely NOT a Newbie  I actually haven't even updated my signature to include all my rats yet lol


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## Drowsy (Oct 23, 2012)

I'm pretty new to owning rats but what I do seems to be working so far. I layer paper towels on my rat cage levels. But my rats don't like to rip things up so I know that won't work for everyone.
I just change them out when they get dirty. (every few days.)
When I take them off I spray everything down with vinegar water and wipe it, then put fresh paper towels on and done. c:

For a deep clean I just remove everything and scrub it with the vinegar and rinse.


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

I am new as well, so I am still figuring out what works best for me. I use fleece and towels as liners. I pick up stray poops once a day. The litter box gets changed every 1-2 days. If it gets bad, I spray it with natural cleaner and rinse with water. I replace the fabric they sleep on in their hidey every 2 days. If ANY part of the cage smells, I replace the liner on that level. I wipe that level with Lysol wipes and water. The bottom tray gets swept out, then wiped with Lysol, then washed with a wet cloth. Every once in a while I remove the tray, spray it with natural cleaner and rinse it in the shower. Food bowls get washed about 3x per week. I don't really have a set schedule. I am usually replacing at least some of the liners every 3 days or so.


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## HeatherElle (Aug 16, 2012)

We have a Feisty Ferret cage and use newspaper under fleece liners. My rats are litter trained. About every other day I wipe down shelves, ramps and baskets with baby wipes and put clean litter in their boxes (they have one on each level). Every weekend I wipe everything down with a vinegar/water solution and replace the newspaper and fleece. About once a month I take everything out, soak it in bleach and deep-clean the whole cage.


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

I have a single unit critter nation and use fabrics as bedding, so I obviously do regular 'spot checks' and change the fabric out very regularly (every other day or two), but for the actual cage I spray it down with a natural spray (Bio Green Clean in particular, it's pricey but works really well and lasts a really long time) and then wipe it all down with paper towels and rinse it off with either a hose or a wet paper towel (depending on how thoroughly I clean it, I only take it outside and hose it off for a deep clean about once a month) It works really well though


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

For cleaning, we use 2 products called 1-18 and Greasonator. My dad used to be house cleaner(he suffered back injuries from a car accident last year, so he's slowly retiring from cleaning) and so we have access to a bunch of these Environmentally friendly products that actually work. They are by Envirox if anyone is wondering. Once a month or so we use a product called Mineral Shock, same company, it helps make sure to get All urine, poop, ect. off the cage. Today was suppose to be the day we do the Mineral shock but the bottle's broken. Greasonator basically kills off Urine, which is really good for me since I'm allergic to rat urine. the 1-18 kills bacteria, the cool thing is that it foams up where there is bacteria, so I spray and wipe till there is no to little foam.

I also sometimes use Dish Soap if needed to help get extra stuff off, and to make it smell nice. Typically once a week or every other week we'll soak the cage in the bath tub (rat manor) So that everything gets really clean.

We use Aspen so it takes a long time for it too smell, but my boys Love to knock over their litter box, Then still poop in the litter box with no litter in it so their poop gets stuck to it. It can get quite annoying. But I just clean it like a normal cage. Take it apart, wipe it down and wash it, put it back together.

Speaking of which don't be an idiot like me and fill the Cage pan (on the rat manor it's 2 inches deep) to the brim with soapy water (From me washing the cage and Igloo). It's Heavy and impossible to flip over, I had to use their (luckily clean) Litter box to scoop out most of the water so I could flip it over.

Oh and Sarashine, Sage should be ok in small amounts, if they're not having issues with it it should be fine. Don't worry Mistymornings, I still don't have a picture Icon (I should probably do that sometime when I actually remember to do it)


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## fluffy470 (Feb 24, 2012)

I have a cage with two pull out pans at the bottom. So I just pull out the pans, dump them out, spray them down with a mixture of half vinaiger and half water, then I add fresh litter and slide me back in. All hammocks of course get washed but that's about it 


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## lenk25 (Nov 26, 2012)

I have 2 big cages and usually I spend about 3 hours to clean it completely (1-2 times a month)and 20 mins every day. In summer time I talking cages out and powerwash them with vinegar or bleach or both))It helps to take out stuff between wires.This is the only one thing that I don't like about Martins,that u can't clean good in the cage corners. In winter time I just wipe the shelves with water and cage cleaner,washing all hammocks.For shelves I'm using shelf liner,because u can cut it for the size of u cage. also I found in Walmart plastic shelves for pantry and its works perfect and easy to clean.This way all poop can't fall dawn and u can take it out easy.For bedding I like Aspen but my rats making huge mass,so now I prefer cat paper litter,the one without smell ,but I need to change it more often...


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

Well I just got my DCN about 3-4 weeks ago so I'm still figuring out what works best for me, but I've done the same thing the last 2 weeks and it seems to be working well. I use fleece liners with cotton batting quilted into the middle to absorb any urine, so I only need to change them once a week (my girls are spoiled; there's only 3 of them in the DCN so it stays pretty clean ). I also have them litter-box trained and use paper-based litters--just whatever's cheapest at the store that particular week. lol. I scoop the poop out of the litter boxes every 1-3 days (they spend at LEAST 3 hours out every day and I have 3 litter boxes around the room, and 2 in the cage, so the poop gets really spread out and it doesn't smell at all ). I wash fresh food dishes every day with soap before I give them dinner, and whenever they run out of dry food I wash those dishes. Before they get their fresh food, I also vacuum out the cage to make sure it stays nice looking.  Everything made of fabric gets thrown in the wash with vinegar and scent/dye free detergent once a week, and everything plastic (including litter boxes, water bottles, food dishes, etc.) gets soaked in hot water in the bath tub. Then soaks in dawn dish soap. Once I add the dish soap, I was the pans from the DCN in HOT water with the soap, spray with vinegar/water solution and then spray hydrogen peroxide on top of that, and let it sit for about 15 minutes. (The hydrogen peroxide sprayed on top of the vinegar works 10x as better as using either on their own or mixing them before hand) Then I rinse it off, and once the laundry is done I rise and dry everything and put the cage back together. I also put the rats in a carrier for about half hour while I vacuum and scrub all the hard surfaces and walls with vinegar to eliminate any odors that might be coming from the room itself. It's been working great so far, so fingers crossed! Next week I'm going to try sprinkling baking soda on the carpet and letting it sit for 1/2 hour before vacuuming, because I read that helps take any smells out of the carpet. My boyfriend has a sensitive nose and always complains even if I can't smell anything, so I'm trying to find ways to keep him satisfied. lol.

The boys' cage gets cleaned with vinegar once a week, same drill, but I use paper towels for the bottom of their current cage (I'm saving up so my 2 boys can have a DCN too. Right now they're in a small cage, but they're out literally every minute of the day the girls aren't, so they're doing fine. XD) I chage their paper towels at least every other day, depending how messy they get, and then every 2-3 changings I wash the bottom of the cage out with hot water and soap. Just to make sure everything stays squeaky clean for them.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Be very careful with your DCN to not get any water inside of the frame. It will rust very quickly.


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## Freecia (Jan 24, 2013)

Right now I have thee double critter nation cages, one cage that is two by two by four, and one that is something like one by two by three. Two dcn have three boys and one has four girls. The smaller cages I HATE and each have one male. We will soon have an add on for the critter nation and they will hopefully be able to go into that together. All main levels have towels on them with binder clips to keep them on. All shelves are bare. They are all pretty good with their litter boxes, so once a day I put the poos that didn't make it into their litter boxes into them. I sweep up the crumbs and such off of all shelves, and use vinegar/water to wipe them down. I have three rats that love this, and will lick the vinegar off the shelves and the spray bottle. I do this part quickly. Then I check the cage's food bowl/s and either fill it or wash it. Bowls usually get washed three times a week, but more as needed. Water bottles get filled as needed and every tip checked. I remove their fresh food bowls. This COULD take less than ten min. A cage, but I'm too busy playing with rats so it takes forever. Once a week the towels get changed, too, and the floors and shelves all get sprayed and scrubbed. Bars get wiped down, food bowls always get washed, and each rat gets a 'check up'. Then I bathe, clip nails, or whatever is needed. Litter boxes get dumped, cleaned, and refilled with yesterday's news. All of their furniture gets scrubbed in the tub with dawn and a brush, wood gets a wipe down with a rag and vinegar. Toys get inspected and replaced if needed. Hammocks get washed as needed, but they rarely pee in them. I do have to remove pieces of chews, though, as hamocks seem to be their favorite place to use them. Once everything is clean and dry, it goes back in. Then I take the towels outside and shake them well. They get laundered. 
Each cage has a day to be cleaned. I absolutely hate cleaning the smaller cages. Ugg. They seem to get dirty very fast, and often get cleaned more often than once a week as they are just yucky. I am OCD, though, so it could just be me...


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## HolyyMoleyy (Mar 8, 2013)

I have a single ferret nation. I spot clean my cage everyday, scoop out the stray poops, empty out and refill the litter box, give them fresh water and food, and clean nesting material. My rats don't pee or poop in their hammocks so I can get away with washing them once every week and a half to two weeks. First I soak them in a tub of hot soapy water with vinegar for about an hour, and then put them in the wash with unscented detergent and vinegar as the fabric softener. I clean the cage every 5 to 7 days, now that i'm using aspen as bedding the smell has been cut back ALOT. I take out everything, scrub the bottom pan and levels with antibacterial dawn, rinse well, then spray them with a vinegar and water mix and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Then I soak the toys and igloo in hot water and vinegar, wash the food bowl and water bottles, then rinse the levels and pan WELL with hot water. Put everything back together and add clean aspen. Once a month I take apart the cage and hose it down outside, scrub it with antibacterial soap, then spray the whole cage with vinegar and wipe in between all the crevices I can't normally reach. I let it dry in the sun and then i'm done! I rinse everything that I wash with soap until there is NO soap scent left, and the vinegar helps rinse any soap residue off as well.


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

I have a double ferret nation with four boys in it.
I honestly dont even spot clean anymore I just clean everything completely every other day.
The bottoms of each unit have fleece liners and I use rags, towels, ect. for the shelves.
All but my oldest boy are litter trained my oldest has back and hip issues and doesn't like to leave his perch at the top of the cage.
I take out all the washable bedding throw it in the wash, empty the litter pans, wipe everything down with baby wipes, and refresh their food and water every other day.
Now I know this might seem extreme to some people but I don't like to be able to smell my boys urine at all so I clean as often as possible. I have asthma and strong smells bother me more than most people.


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## Oncegoneinsane (Mar 7, 2013)

I have the petco rat manor first I scoop all the litter then I vacuum the whole cage then I wash the cage and replace the blanket that cover the wires for my babies fresh food and fresh water


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## SeaMama (Feb 5, 2013)

I just got a DCN a week or so ago but so far I LOVE cleaning it!! SO much easier that my other Frankencage. 

First, I grab my supplies. This is super important because you don't want to open the doors, have rats everywhere and then realize you don't have your garbage bags, etc. My supplies are: 3 grocery bags (1 for trash, 1 for bedding and 1 for toys that need washing), vinegar/orange spray, little sweeper/dustpan, several rags, replacement fleece and hammocks.

After all my supplies are set up and ready to go, I open the top first. I empty out all the toys and whatnots. Then I slide out each shelf (the half shelf and big shelf), gathering the fleece up so as to not spill any random poops and shake it either into the trash bag or in my backyard. Then each liner goes into the laundry bag. I spray each shelf with my vinegar spray and then replace my fleece liners and slide the shelves back in. I dump the entirety of the litter pans into the trash, spray them out with vinegar and replace with fresh bedding (I have one litter pan per cn unit). I take out any soiled hammocks and put them in the laundry bag. Then I replace all the toys (that aren't dirty) and hang new hammocks. 

I also like to place little treats hidden around the cage so that when the girls get back in, they can run around checking out all the goodies. 

I do this whole cleaning thing with both CN levels. I clean out food dishes, water bottles and plastic toys with hot water and soap. 

I have 3 girls (Ratapalooza is this weekend so I may end up with 1 or 2 newbies) in a DCN. I clean their cage out every 3ish days. (I know that may seem excessive but my husband complained when I had my Frankencage of the smell so I'm just uber diligent.) 

Every day, usually several times a day, I stop by their cage to sweep up any random poos or bits of food. I put all the junk into their litter pan. This is vital, IMHO, to litter training you rats. 

Anyway, I think that's it.


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