# Rat Safe Cleaning Products?



## BlackBirdSeesYou (Nov 4, 2012)

yesterday, i was at whole foods (my new favorite store) and found this: (sorry if pic. is really big)










it's supposed to be all natural, doesn't test on animals (yay for lab rats!) and contains no animal ingredients. and says it's grapefruit seed and orange essence cleaning powder. i haven't used it yet so i don't know. --and dang, it i just realized that orange is toxic to males! ughhhh...... i cannot believe i didn't think of this. do you think it would hurt my males if i used this to clean their cage with? 

if so, what other cleaning products would you suggest?


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Use vinegar and soap . Scrub and rinse. 

I've read online to use hydrogen peroxide after for disinfectant... I have been using alcohol, but I think I'm one of the only ones . 


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

You can of course just use an actual pet disinfectant as recommended, like a Bob Martin one or Johnson's I think it's called?


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Vinegar, baking soda, water. If things get really messy, a drop of Dawn.

That's all you'll ever need!


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

Technically, you can use anything to clean with. If it is something strong, just make sure your animals are away and you rinse the surface well with water. I believe I used Spray 9 on occasion in the pan of my old cage. I added water, let it sit in the tub, rinsed it well in the shower and dried it before putting it back in the cage. Orange is only bad for males if they eat it. And it had to be a certain part: the white layer between the rind and flesh I do believe.


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

I've got cage cleaning spray, and cage cleaning wipes. Honestly, they're most likely 99% identical to general purpose cleaners, but marked up slightly for being animal specific... Yet they're easy to get, and guaranteed to be safe. 

As others have said, you can use anything as long as you properly rinse it afterwards. You shouldn't be spraying anything where your rats actually are anyway, so they're perfectly safe if you just do it thoroughly.


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## Misfitdolly (Feb 16, 2013)

We have always used vinegar/water and it works great. My grandmother used to clean everything with vinegar. I used a bleach solution on everything (as recommended by our vet) when we had mites and just rinsed really well then let it dry completely before letting the rats around everything again.


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