Cage/litter pan cleaning-- what disinfectant do you use and why?

[MyRabbits]

I have always wondered why vinegar is listed as a cleaner for rabbit messes -- I didn't find it very effective at getting urine stains out. Is it actually a pretty good disinfectant even if it is not a great stain remover?

What about vanodine and some of the new iodophors (did I get the name right)? These are basically chemical combinations using iodine, isn't that right? I've heard that these are very good for controlling fungi and bacteria, etc.

What about Cage Clean made by SuperPets? My sister uses that and it is sold in many PetsMarts, but it doesn't list its active ingredients. What is it?

I thank you in advance for anything you provide on this subject. I am quite ignorant in this area and really wish I knew more. . . .

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I've used vinegar mixture with water to take urine stains out of my rabbits' feet before shows. You have to rub it for a while but it does take a lot of the stain out.

I use cage diodorizers from PetSmart and it works to keep the stink down when I use it.

When I disinfect the cages I use a mixture of bleach and water and that's it.

Emily

 

[Happi Bun]

Right now I'musing good old hot water and dish Soap.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

I use Vinegar and have never had any problems with urine stains on cages or in pans. For the more tougher stains use straight vinegar and leave it sit and then gently wipe. For the not so bad messes you can use vinegar and water stains. Other then that soap and water on the pans , and sometimes i use the lysol wipes on the boxes, but they are only good for light, very light cleaning

 

[lucylocket]

tony cleans lucys plastic cage out every day
she is a little tinker
she will not go in her cage till tony has done it out
and she will sit and inspect it and then when tony has finished she will jump in and fall asleep
varna xxxxxx

 

[lucylocket]

sorry he just uses washing up liquid and hot water

 

[Leaf]

lucylocket wrote:

tony cleans lucys plastic cage out every day
she is a little tinker
she will not go in her cage till tony has done it out
and she will sit and inspect it and then when tony has finished she will jump in and fall asleep
varna xxxxxx

Thats too sweet!

 

[undergunfire]

Vinegar for the bunnies. I am going to experiment with Clean Cage by Super pet for the rats, though. I have heard only good things about Clean Cage by other rat owners.

Rat pee smell + vinegar smell = :yuck.

 

[NZminilops]

I don't use anything really :huh. My litter trays don't get diry because I have a thick layer of newspaper under the litter, so the urine doesn't get to touch the plastic. I run them under the tap in the bath sometimes but that's it.

 

[Spring]

Really? Vinegar not working? How long do you leave it on for?

I clean litterboxes daily, so usually doesn't have much buildup on the bottom, but I usually just take them outside, spray them with the hose, then leave vinegar in the bottom, then rinse it off. I maybe do this monthly since they don't really get that much buildup on the bottom and don't smell, unless I am low on wood pellets in the litterboxes. I've used vinegar on stains in plastic that are years old, left it for 10 minutes or so, and it rinsed right off. Amazing stuff!

Since I have pens with tile floor on the bottom, I use water/vinegar mixture, then put some baking soda to get rid of the vinegar smell, then wash up with plain water. Works really well for me.

 

[degrassi]

I use vinegar to "decrust" my litter box. I usually spray on pure vinegar and let it sit. After a few minutes, the crusty pee spots are easily scrubbed off. I use a grate on top of my litter box and it gets really gunked up with pee. The vinegar breaks it up and makes it easy to clean off. Then I just rinse with hot water and finish scrubbing it clean.

I also sometimes put a few drops of bleach and let the box sit a few minutes. Probably isn't necessary, and I usually only do this every few cleanings.

I also have a spray bottle with vinegar and water that I keep next to his cage incase I need to wipe the inside of his cage down.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

MyRabbits wrote:

I have always wondered why vinegar is listed as a cleaner for rabbit messes -- I didn't find it very effective at getting urine stains out. Is it actually a pretty good disinfectant even if it is not a great stain remover?

Where are the urine stains that you find the vinegar isn't working?

I use vinegar mainly on my plastic cage floors, and litter boxesfor clean ups and stains. Vanodine is for disinfecting and killing bacteria.

 

[Maureen Las]

If you've got poop stuck to the floor.... hydrogen peroxide and vinegar combined ..let it sit a few minutes and it comes loose...also very effective at getting bird droppings up

 

[Leaf]

angieluv wrote:

If you've got poop stuck to the floor.... hydrogen peroxide and vinegar combined ..let it sit a few minutes and it comes loose...also very effective at getting bird droppings up

I've never mixed the two that I can recall. Do they react at all?

 

[Maureen Las]

no fumes or anything but from what I know it is considered a disinfectant. I think that someone brought up using them separately andI used to do that but now I just mix them together


I don't keep them combined in one bottle but mix them out of the bottles as I use them.

 

[Spring]

Ohh, really? Should try that, since I have a few stubborn cecal smooshies on the tile that I've tried to get off, but they're super stubborn!

Answered my question before I posted it!

 

[kirst3buns]

Another vote for vinegar here:

• vinegar and water mixture to wash the floor
• straight vinegar and a scrub brush for any stubborn spots (pee spots in the cage and litter pans)

And even though I completely dry the cage after washing, I don't worry about it if the rabbits run through it wet. Basil actually fell into the vinegar water bucket before with no ill effects (I did try to wipe as much off as possible and dry him) so I'm sure its safe.

 

[MyRabbits]

Thanks, everybody! I am particularly inspired by the suggestion of baking soda to get rid of the vinegar smell and of the combination of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar to get off really bad doo that has stuck. That is a bit of an issue at times in the current linoleum covered "rabbit room" that three of the house bunnies currently occupy. I like to just use the floor cleaner weekly in there (I just use antibacterial dishwashing liquid) and change the litter pans, but sometimes there is stuff that is stuck harder than the floor cleaner can scrub out in the short time that I run over it.

My problem with vinegar not working was when I lived in an apartment. At that point I had three house bunnies, one of whom thought it was all right if she got next to the potty pan to pee, not actually in it. There were bad stains in the carpet. I thought I did a pretty good job of getting them out in the end with a carpet cleaner and lots of vinegar, but I ended up coughing up a huge amount from the deposit when I moved out because the apartment manager still noticed the spots. . . .

We're going to start breeding on a small scale, using wood-bottomed hutches (there are Flemish Giants) and I want to make sure that I have adequate disinfection with that. I'd hate to lose any bunnies to the inadequacy of my cleaning. The wood surfaces, covered with lots of aspen bedding, are a new issue for me. The litter pans and things that I have used up to this point are plastic. I am really concerned about stuff soaking into the wood I guess and wood becoming a place where dangerous bacteria or fungi can grow. I know that clorox can be effective, but I don't want to strain the rabbits' respiratory tracts with traces of chlorine gas.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I've always just used vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to clean the litter boxes and the floor of the cage. I sweep up/wipe up any poop, hay, water or pee, then spray on a good amount of hydrogen peroxide followed by a good amount of vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes and wipe it off. It works well and is cheap! I did the same thing with my ratty cages.

 

[polly]

We use vanodine. It works really well and just dilute it as and when we need to. very effective and had no problems with it