# So, how do you clean your CN?



## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

I'm hoping to get a double CN soon, but I'm wondering how do you guys prefer to clean yours? I'm used to picking up my little Rat Manor and washing it in the shower with a sponge.

Do you use some kind of spray and wipe everything down? If so, what kind of spray? Is that sufficient, or do you hose it outside as well?


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

I rinse out the cage in the bathtub and use dish detergent to wash it. Works great.


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## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

I use dishsoap and water and wipe it down. Then, I rinse it with a clean cloth, and finally dry it with a towel. In between cleanings I wipe it down with unscented babywipes. For a really deep clean I wheel it outside and hose it off.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

And I was just guessing that CN stands for rat cage.


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## Lioness (Nov 11, 2011)

DustyRat said:


> And I was just guessing that CN stands for rat cage.


"CN" is a Critter Nation cage.


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## Lioness (Nov 11, 2011)

I remove the shelves/pans from mine, put them in the tub, and turn on the hot shower to loosen the grime.
While that's running, I wipe down the cage with a rag soaked in a water/vinegar solution. If there's any tough dirt (usually not, my boys are pretty clean) I break out the baking soda.
Back to the pans - they get a wipe-down with water/vinegar as well, then I usually leave them in the tub to dry, or I'll towel dry them if I'm in a hurry.

If you leave your pans to dry outside, make sure they're on a flat surface or they can get warped in the sun.
If you have the DCN, you could even herd all the rats into one section, close the ramp, and do one part at a time. I have a separate SuperPet cage they go in while I'm cleaning my single.  Best of luck.


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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

Lioness, so you use the vinegar solution on the bars? Do you have to rinse it off afterwards, or is it safe enough?

That sounds so nice! I probably can't get a DCN until the end of the year, but I'm so excited! 

I was hoping for a pet friendly solution so that I wouldn't have to wheel the cage outside for full rinsing too often. There's a lot of bumps and steps throughout my house.

Thanks!


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## Nenn (Nov 13, 2007)

I have DCN I love the cage, but since our apartment is on the smaller size, I cant push it in the shower  so what I do is take of the pans, and everything that can get loose, drag those into shower, hammocks in the washingmachine. Rest of the cage I just wipe down with dishwashing soap mixed in water, and then with water.
I do wish I could just stick it under the shower though


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I have the SRS which is a similar size. I don't use the shelves that came with it which helps a lot (the lads only urinate on them anyway). I have some cat litter trays filled with substrate, these just get emptied and sprayed and wiped if it's light soiling, soaked in soapy water if it's heavy. The same goes for most of the cage. I find that the bars don't need cleaning often, about once a month or so I'll give them a wash with warm soapy water and a flannel. Generally I'm not one to overclean though.


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## Egween (Jul 9, 2012)

I have a DFN (double Ferret Nation). I have fleece/towels covering each shelf and pan, so I just rip those off, shake them outside and toss them in the washer whenever they start to smell. I wipe down the shelves and pans with vinegar and let it air dry for a few minutes. I have a teeny tiny house and not even the shelves would lay flat in my shower! To clean the bars I just get some soapy water and wipe it all down with a sponge. My boys don't get the bars too messy, so I don't have to do that very often. 
And I made the mistake of leaving a pan outside not laying flat and now it's warped  Oh well. I just stuck a piece of a towel under it and it doesn't move.


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

I use fabric as bedding (if you can get baby blankets and fabric scraps from a garage sale or thrift store they work great, and there's tons of variety) so I change all the cloth items in the cage about every other or day or 2, while spot cleaning daily, and then I wash them using a laundry detergent that contains a lil bit of bleach (not enough to ruin the pattern on the fabric, it just makes me feel like it really sanatizes everything, idk) and then I spray down the shelves of the cage using an organic cleaner my mom uses, Bio Green Clean, which you have to order online and it's really expensive but it works super well and is very safe to use, and I make sure to do that at least once weekly. Then about once a month or every couple/few weeks I take out the shelf tray things and spray them with Bio Green Clean then hose them off outside and towel dry them, and then I spray it around the whole cage, wipe it down with a wet rag, towel dry it off, put the trays back in, and add clean fabrics/hammocks/rats/etc  it's really not as much work as it sounds, I actually love how easy the CN is to clean, it's way easier than my last cage!


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## Siringo (May 7, 2012)

Thanks for all of the details! I just got my DCN a few days ago, and I can't wait to get into a cleaning routine for this cage. So far I have only needed to wipe some parts down.

I have noticed that when I throw their fleece hammocks into the wash, they still smell of pee... Maybe I'll need to try something else.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

Try some white vinegar in the wash - some add it to the final rinse cycle - it really helps with odor. I use it along with little dish soap to clean the cage as well. 

I have a total of 7 DCNs/DFNs, and for a deep cleaning I'll take them apart and really wipe them down, but I don't take a hose to them or put them under a shower head. The main braces are hollow tubes, and if you get water in them they'll rust from the inside out.


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