# Best Way to Disinfect Rat Cage



## Millie & Daisy (Mar 7, 2015)

My girls are so dirty...they also have loose stools at the moment, making the need for cleaning up their cage ever more present. I clean it out a couple of times a week as it is, but the poo just sticks like glue. What is, in your opinion, the best way to disinfect the cage? My vet told me she just soaks it in the bathtub. I do the same, but I add some soap and vinegar. Doesn't seem to be cutting it, though. Does bleach work, or is it unsafe?


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## Mene (Mar 13, 2015)

I don't think that bleach is a good idea. I use equal parts vinegar and water, and regular soap. My fleece may smell, but the cage never. Are you wiping the cage sides and ramps, and floors with a vinegar and water solution? I wipe my cage, all surfaces, almost everyday. I change out their fleece and hammocks and their sleeping-fleece-tunnel-thing every 2 days. Dont forget the wall behind the cage. Sometimes my wall smells. Weird, but the vinegar takes care of it. I only wash the pee rocks once a week. This works for me. Hopefully, this helps!


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

If you do bleach for your pans, you only need a 10% concentration to kill of any biological nasties... Don't do 100% bleach, that can burn your lungs if you breathe in too much of the fumes. And DON'T mix it with vinegar! They'll react and form chlorine gas.


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

My wife uses Soft Scrub with bleach. It does smell very bleachy, so I have no doubt that it works.

It's gentle enough that I can wash with it without wearing gloves, but people with sensitive skin may need to wear gloves anyway. 

And I naturally rinse the surface. I mostly use it for plastic toys and the DCN shelves. For the bars, I use baby wipes or Clorox wipes during deep cleaning. 

Just to really drive home the point already made: Be very careful about mixing cleaners.


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