# What do you use to clean your rats' cage?



## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

I'd like to find out what the best and safest product is for cleaning my rats' cage. What do you guys use?

I've been using baby shampoo mixed with water, and then I rinse really well. But does baby shampoo not clean well enough and/or is it not safe enough? I also sometimes use water and vinegar. Is this a better option?

I am also wondering if it is safe to use unscented baby wipes to wipe down the bars and levels in between cage washings? 

For deep cleaning (the kind where you pull your cage outside and hose it off), should I be using bleach? Bleach seems so harsh, so I dont use it, but i also don't want to leave bacteria behind. What other alternative is there?


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## Keelyrawr (Mar 7, 2012)

I use unscented baby wipes to wipe down all of my rats shelves/bars, then i wipe them with hot water and soap. I've only used bleach once.. And It was no fun.
Try using Vinegar, and be sure to wash it down really good afterwards.


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

Here is my complete cleaning regimen:
http://ratwhisperer.blogspot.com/2012/05/q-cage-cleaning.html

Includes daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning tasks. I have 7 rats and live in a 900 square foot duplex home- no one would ever guess I had rats unless they saw them! I pride myself on this!


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

For a soap I use dish detergent. I figure if it is safe for our eating utensils, it is safe for the rats.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

It depends on the mess. Any cleaning products for babies are good and safe. Those usually do well for small messes. For stinky messes, diluted vinegar is great. Anything greasy or downright filthy gets cleaned with Dawn, which is safe for animals. It's what they use to clean animals affected by oil spills.


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

I usually use dawn  It works great for sanitizing and cleaning anything stuck on ( a rare occurance but still)


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