# Cage cleaning



## S-Harkey (Feb 13, 2008)

Wanted to know what products you guys use to clean plastic surfaces.
I've been using dish soap and a lot of elbow grease with lots of rinsing for now, but I need something that will remove everything a lot more efficently.
I also wanted to know if Pinesol with a lot of rinsing would be ok for monthly power-cleaning or if this would be just as toxic to rats as pine shavings.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

White vinegar and hot water is my saving grace.

Something like Pinesol can be toxic. If you rinse, oh, a billion times and then some, it *may* be okay. Honestly? I wouldn't risk it.

With some cages we get surrendered, they are horrific and nasty. I wash them with a bleach solution, then rinse a dozen times. I wouldn't use anything more than bleach.

I pre-soak everything in hot water. Makes for less need for elbow-grease, most of the time.


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## S-Harkey (Feb 13, 2008)

I didn't think Pinesol would fly 
I'm a little scared of bleach- and hopefully will never need it as my girls get super pampered and the cage shouldn't ever be in a grotesque state.
I'll try the white vinegar for sure.
Any other ideas out there?


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

bleach is the easiest thing out there, depending on the size of your cage too. for a deep clean, i vacuum out all the chunks, and then take a wet cloth to scrub off some of the gunk, and then spray clorox bleach something or another on the cage. i let it sit for 5 min or so and take it to the tub (or outside) for a shower-down with hot hot water. insta-clean, and safe after rinsed.

for spot cleans (like pee dripping down the side of the cage - joy) i also use baby wipes, they are killer at cleaning up pee and poo real quick-like. and i figure, if it's safe for our own oh-so-precious human babies, it's probably safe for my fur-babies too.


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## Rattiegma (Jan 23, 2008)

I just usually fill the bathtub up with hot water and dish washing liquid, let it sit for a while, wipe down any remaining gunk, rinse it really well with hot water, and that's it!


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## Phobie (Jun 3, 2007)

Dettol, if you get it wherever you are. It's amazing, and you use it for surface cleaning AND first aid so it's guaranteed to be safe. It's a disinfectant that you mix with water. Lovely lovely.


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## Rattiegma (Jan 23, 2008)

Phobie--hmm, I've never heard of that. Where can you get it?


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## lvratz (Jan 12, 2008)

Vinegar/peroxide mix works wonders and it is SAFE!

Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide as Disinfectants: pairing the two mists killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, E.coli. The best results came from using one mist right after the other - it is 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than mixing the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in one sprayer.

I have peroxide in one spray bottle and vinegar in another. Spray one and then another on top of the other and let them sit for a couple of seconds and then scrub off, rinse.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

umm.... lots of elbow grease indicates to me that there is dried up gunk building up & what that indicates is that maybe you are waiting to long between full spray down cleanings (the one where you drag them out & spray them down with a hose)

I rarely find buildup that I have to even touch so long as I hose them down good once every week for my high number cage & once every 2 weeks for the cages with only 1 or 2 rats in it.


all I use is plain water then a 10:1 bleach solution sprayed down to kill bacteria... let stand for 15 minutes & then rinse again with plain water... done, either no or very minimal scrubbing


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## S-Harkey (Feb 13, 2008)

The elbow grease isn't for tough stains, its for tough rinsings.
I'm paranoid about there being residue.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

ok... same reply as above with the addition of this saying that there is no residue left over on my cages 

I have done the same with large kennels that housed various wildlife from wild rats & raccoons right on up to wild cats, panther cubs & even a pair of black bear cubs.... this was also the same practice of a boarding kennnels that I worked at some years ago... spray it down good, spray it down with a 10:1 bleach solution, allow to sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes & then rinse again.

I know the vinegar method works as well but I prefer the smell of bleach over that of vinegar while cleaning so that is why I stick to bleach. The bleach doesn't leave a residue either. 

For my daily wipe down cleanings I use mostly plain water or just a few drops of bleach to a spray bottle full of water.


cleaners that leave a visible residue are sudsy type cleaners (kind of a milky haze)... avoid sudsy cleaners & you won't get residue.


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## Eliza (Jan 20, 2008)

You could use Seventh Generation cleaning spray. It cleans well, and it's natural and safe for the rat.


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## Kizza (Feb 3, 2008)

i have always used a small animal hutch cleaner called "Clean n Safe" and that works fine for me i buy mine from [email protected] for about Â£2.99


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