o/t can household products cause a problem for your bunny

[lucylocket]

hi all

we have found that on our living room cieling we have dampness and mould growing

my mum have offered to come over and get rid of it but she has to usebleach and water and im frightened about the spores that will come offit

will we keep lucy in another room till it settles or what

and are household cleaners ok to use round your rabbit

varna xxxx

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Varna,

You do have to be very careful of using some household cleaners aroundyour rabbits. As a matter of fact short of vinegar anddilluted bleach, I really don't use much around my rabbits if they'rein the same room. I move them into another room, scour theplace, and air it out, and then let them back in.

Better safe than sorry. I try to keep it as organic aspossible when I'm cleaning their cages. Vinegar, bakingsoda,water and my steam cleaner does a fabulous job ofgetting their cages sparkly again, while at the same time, I don't haveto worry about them inhaling fumes they shouldn't, and if they lick it,also don't have any concerns.



Glad you found the mold. Hope you get rid of it all.

-Carolyn

 

[lucylocket]

hi carolyn can i please ask what cleaners are you not to use or what can u use varna xxxx

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Varna! :sunshine:

I stay away from all sprays and cleaners when I'm usingthemin close proximity to my rabbits. Some mightcall me a bit paranoid, but so be it. I just don'twant them inhaling anything that is in the aerosol form as it can makethem sick or effect their systems.

When I dust my furniture, I use Old English and I spray it on the ragand then polish the wood. That I'll use when the rabbits arein the room, but they're still a good distance away from me when I useit. For countertops, etc., I use a product called SimpleGreen and for glass, I use a glass cleaner. Still and all, asI said, I make sure the place has a lot of air going through so thatthe cleaners don't stay in the air.

Some have told me that I shouldn't use bleach around or on any of myrabbit cages. I've done it from time to time when it'sseriously watered down - for their waterbottles, but after readingabout it, I tend to just use the steamer and baking soda and vinegar todo most of my cleaning.

I would just put Lucy in another room in her cage when you're ready totackle the mold; keep the air flow going in the room your cleaning,perhaps have a fan going, and make sure that by the time she's ready toreturn to the main room, make sure that the room is free of fumes.



-Carolyn

 

HI Varna ,

You can have your Mum put a25/ 75 bleach and water into a normal spray bottleand have her spritz the mold first sothat the mold spors are killed before beingreleased into the air.

Honestly Have your Landlord have a professional come inand check the mold to insure itisnt the kind that can make you very sick. I wouldnt want You, nor Mum ,nor Lucyto get sick when a professional can cleanit up . Mold scares me to death sincefinding out there is a toxic mold .

 

[Stephanie]

Oh, I love Simple Green. Use that all the time.

For the rabbits though, I use a water/vinegar mixture. Pretty much the same thing as you, Carolyn.

Mold is pretty scary stuff though. I hope you guys get it under control.

 

[Lissa]

As Stephanie already said, it's always safe to use the vinegar/water combination.

 

[RebeccaUK]

The only cleaner I've ever used on my bunnyhutches is a liquid available in the uk called Jeyes Fluid - it'spretty strong smelling stuff but my vet recommended it for hutches andit should be very well diluted.

I try not to use anything in my home near where the bunnies sit - Ilike to use shake and vac carpet freshener but I imagine this is notgood for bunnies so this is never used on the carpets they have accesto.

 

[JimD]

Hi Varna!

I found this on the internet:

"Vinegar is a mainstay of the old folk recipes for cleaning, and withgood reason. The vim of the vinegar is that it kills bacteria, mold,and germs."

"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studiesto show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you canbuy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent ofmold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can'tclaim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since thecompany has not registered it as a pesticide with the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). However, it seems to be common knowledge inthe industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBSnews show 48 Hours had a special last December with Heloise reportingon tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this.

Just like antibiotics, common disinfectants found in sponges andhousehold sprays may contribute to drug resistant bacteria, accordingto researchers of drug resistance at Tufts New England Medical Center.Furthermore, research at the Government Accounting Office shows thatmany commercial disinfectants are ineffective to begin with, just likeantibiotics.

Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar inyour kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and usethem for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting boardbefore going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it setovernight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straightvinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on andwipe off."(Ref:http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/164)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I use 50/50 water and white vinegar for general cleaning.


If it's a tough job, like pee stains in pans, I'll use a straightvinegar soak. Sometimes I'll add a bit of baking soda to help break itup.

The only other thing I use is Dawn dishsoap.

~JimD

 

JimD wrote:

Hi Varna!

I found this on the internet:

"Vinegar is a mainstay of the old folk recipes for cleaning, and withgood reason. The vim of the vinegar is that it kills bacteria, mold,and germs."

"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studiesto show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you canbuy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent ofmold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can'tclaim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since thecompany has not registered it as a pesticide with the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). However, it seems to be common knowledge inthe industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBSnews show 48 Hours had a special last December with Heloise reportingon tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this.

Just like antibiotics, common disinfectants found in sponges andhousehold sprays may contribute to drug resistant bacteria, accordingto researchers of drug resistance at Tufts New England Medical Center.Furthermore, research at the Government Accounting Office shows thatmany commercial disinfectants are ineffective to begin with, just likeantibiotics.

Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar inyour kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and usethem for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting boardbefore going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it setovernight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straightvinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on andwipe off."(Ref:http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/164)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I use 50/50 water and white vinegar for general cleaning.


If it's a tough job, like pee stains in pans, I'll use a straightvinegar soak. Sometimes I'll add a bit of baking soda to help break itup.

The only other thing I use is Dawn dishsoap.

~JimD

Not to create an argument but Ihave tried straight vonegar onmolds , it doesnt kill half what itshould , I will still stick with a 25/ 75bleach / water solution formold , I am highly allergic to mold and it hasto be killed completely for menot to have a reaction.

For the Toxic Black Mold call inprofessionals , do not try to eliminate it on your own. Its Deadly .

 

[ariel]

We are also careful as to what we use around the bunnyroom, I just use vinegar , baking soda and water for their house.

I don't even spray fly spray near their room.

If the mould is too bad Varna I'd suggest a professional, or you couldtry a scourer and bleach/water combination and air the room outafterwards.

 

[shadow10978]

After having had to deal with my neighbors sonfor 3 days because a mold test said that it was the Deadly black mold,i strongly recommend having somone come in and test the mold first,before trying to clean it in any way shape or form.

The toxic mold causes major respitory problems, in humans, and iwouldnt want to imagine what it might do to a rabbits lungs. PleasePlease be very carefull hun.