Question about used toys/cage cleaning

[gotfaith1989]

Hello, I am *finally* getting a Grey I have dreamed of getting. I bought a used cage off Craigslist and will wash it down with a bleach solution and possibly also a vinegar solution. My question is: It comes with a lot of toys; wooden, leather, plastic, rope. Is there any way to wash/clean these toys down? My dad insists I can wash the wooden toys lightly with antibacterial soap, NOT soak them and then dry them quickly either in an oven or with a hairdryer to avoid bacterial growth. Is this possible?

 

Thanks in advance

[danmcq]

You can soak and wash them in a vinegar solution which will clean and disinfect them as well.

 

Congratulations on your dream of getting a Grey come true, what a Xmas present.

[Guest]

After you soak them in a vinegar-water solution (look on the Internet for the proper proportion) you can hang them to dry in either a sunny window or preferably, outside in the sun. That will help de-funkify them, and dry them quicker, too.

 

Congrats on getting a birdy and may you have many years together.

[birdhouse]

Porous materials like wood & leather absorb enough chemicals & potentially harmful stuff that I really just don't take the chance with 2nd hand. Vinegar or vinegar & hydrogen peroxide should be fine to clean things that are made from metal & plastic, though. And sunlight is pretty effective for killing bacteria & drying thoroughly.

 

Congratulations on your new fid!

[Pandora]

we usually take a tub bath or use the sink or

then we cook up a lot of water and pours it over and we let the first round be a little while, everything dissolves dust and dirt.

then we hang them up and pour over boiling water.

I believe that by our parrots bite at all, so the risk is greater that they may in itself bad chemicals than different viral diseases.

[Mort's Dad]

Hope it is as special as it was for me when you finally get your Grey.

 

I use "F10" disinfectant (recommended by a vet ... although I had read quite a bit about it before) which seems to work on everything pretty well. I usually hang them to dry naturally but have to be careful as some of the colour runs off of some of the wooden toys a bit but other than that no problems.

 

Have fun :>)

[RedDragon1288]

I use 10% bleach to 90% water (hot) with antibacterial soap in a small bucket to soak the wooden, rope, leather, and plastic toys. I than rise them all with running water and bake only wooden, rope, and some plastic toys (as leather with burn and turn into carcoal and some plastics will melt) at 200 degrees for 30 to 1 hour. I also use vinegar mix of 1 to 1 for cleaning leather parts.

[chezron]

The vinegar solution followed by some days in the sunlight will kill just about anything. Be careful with antibacterial soaps as they foster resistant bacteria. Good pure soap like Bronner's does as good a job of removing bacteria without the threat of resistance.