Murphy's Oil Soap Safe for the Parrot Room?

[dutchputch]

I've heard conflicting reports about Murphy's Oil Soap being non-toxic and safe for parrots. Therefore I don't want to use it on my hard wood floors so does anyone have a safe non-toxic solution for cleaning wood floors?

[danmcq]

It is one of the least toxic cleaner and conditioners you could use on your hardwood floors.

 

I would recommend taking your bird outside if possible while you mop it on and let it dry. However, you can also open windows (with screens) to provide good air flow with your birds remaining in the house.

 

The data sheet on this product can be viewed here: http://www.ppd.ufl.edu/pdf/msds/Murphy_Oil_Soap_Liquid.pdf

 

We use the greenest cleaning chemicals in our home for floor care and other cleaning purposes. We normally just open the windows and ensure there is good air circulation. If you want to increase circulation, place a good strong fan where you are cleaning and point it towards an area away from your birds. This will suck any fumes away and darw in clean air from a window in the room birds are in.

[reggieroo]

Why would cleaning floors with a floor cleaner affect a parrot?

[judygram]

Paul, birds have very sensitive respiratory systems and are affected by fumes from cleaners more so than we are, remember they used to use canaries in coal mines because if the gas buildup gets bad the canary dies first before it becomes toxic enough to kill humans, we have to be very careful of using cleaners around our birds.

[reggieroo]

I knew they had sensitive respiratory systems but thought that would only be affected by a spray cleaner or something along those lines. You wouldn't go round spraying your cage with say a kitchen cleaner with your bird in it, as most people know that can be dangerous. I'm guessing that the oil soap is just put in a mop bucket & then used? Would a soap solution for cleaning floors really give off toxic fumes?

[judygram]

I'm guessing that the oil soap is just put in a mop bucket & then used? Would a soap solution for cleaning floors really give off toxic fumes?

 

Thats exactly how it is used and like Dan said it is one of the least toxic cleaners you can use for your wood floors but removing the bird until it has dried is just a precautionary measure, better to be on the safe side than sorry.

[danmcq]

Anything thing that you can smell, whether sprayed or mopped on a floor is giving off "Fumes". The chemical producing those fumes and the concentration of it being released in the air is what can be very harmful to your bird.

 

Thus, the need to review the chemicals contained in things you use to clean your household with.

[Poe&Raven]

Murphy's Oil Soap is not good for birds. Especially birds that fly free around the home. If your bird likes to pick toys and food off the floor this can be toxic to them if MOS is used. The oil can also be harmful to their skin. For hardwood floors, you can mix bicarbonate soda or club soda (without quinine), with a touch of all natural almond oil (unscented). This will clean the wood floors, restore shine and give a protective coating. This will NOT give off any scent, and if you have a bird that flies freely and occasionally settles on the floor or what not, the oil will not harm them and or the soda is harmless if they pick a toy or piece of food up from the floor. The soda also works so well it makes it so that you don't have to clean the floor as often. This solution minus the almond oil is also an excellent bird friendly cleaner for the cage. If, after removing the bird from the cage, you lightly mist the bedding with the solution, this will prevent the dander from entering the air when removing bedding. This keeps the allergens down so that your allergies are not antagonized as well as your bird's respiratory system is not compromised.

 

I have a friend who would take her bird into the shower with her and the bird would perch on the side of the shower stall playing in the water while she showered. This is harmless....AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT USING SOAP...most soap products will affect your birds skin and feather makeup and this can also be bad for their eyes and the fumes are not good for them. It's best to ask your vet what "soap" to use when cleaning your bird or to use just room temperature to SLIGHTLY warm water.

 

Peroxide should not be used when cleaning around a bird's environment either. This dries their skin and also can be harmful if ingested at all.

[MarcusCAG]

I read at another parrot forum that a nice recipe for cleaning/dusting wood furniture is about a cup of white vinegar with a couple teaspoons of olive oil mixed in a spray bottle filled to about the top with water. Then you just shake it up and go! (They did say you could add a drop or two of lemon essential oil to make it smell like one of the "name-brands".) Anyway, I imagine you could make that recipe in bulk and use it on your wooden floors, too, sans the essential oil...