What is safe to use in my home???

[yvette]

Ok, I am not saying I was a hippy or anything like that, but I did find myself burning incense and candles and using all the great smelling household products when I cleaned and vacuumed. Now that I have my Bently, I knew all that had to stop. What I wanted to ask, is there ANYTHING I can use to freshen up the house that will not harm by baby? :unsure: I find myself washing the floors with just hot soapy water, but that doesnt give you that great "clean" smell I use to love so much. How about potpouri? ( the dried up flower kind)

[Hanna]

Haven't tried this myself yet, but heard that you could dilute some citrus essential oil with water and use it in a spray bottle as air freshner. Vanilla essential oil also supposedly does the trick.

[siobha9]

There are lots of things you can use, but you just need to be careful about it. Natural ingredients always work great. Tip no. 1 is put Bently securely in his cage and open the windows for 30 minutes. Try cutting a lemon in half and microwaving it... leaves a lovely lemony scent in the air. Make a natural beeswax polish to rub onto your furniture. Use a few drops of essential oils in your water when you wash the floor.

 

I have also heard that there is a pet friendly Febreze available in pet shops. It isnt for sale here (Ireland) but you may be able to source it somewhere.

 

I also roast a few coffee beans every now and then! Or put on a fresh brew of coffee.

 

I don't use pot pourri because my birds are not clipped and I found one of them sitting happily on the rim of the dish shredding it - which definitely cant be good for them

 

Siobhan

[lovemyGreys]

I would avoid the pot-pourri, here are a few ideas.

 

NATURAL CLEANING SOLUTIONS

Add twenty drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to a 32-ounce spray bottle filled with water. Use on all surfaces around the house and to clean sprouts, fruits, and vegetables before feeding to parrots.

 

Baking soda with water is a good all-purpose cleaner (1/4 cup baking soda to 1 quart water).

 

Sprinkle baking soda on surfaces to be cleaned or make a paste with baking soda and liquid soap. Scrub with a damp nylon scrubbing pad, soft cloth, sponge, or very fine steel wool. White distilled vinegar diluted in water removes baking soda residue. Dry with a soft cotton cloth. Recycled cotton clothing serves as a good cleaning and drying cloth.

[judygram]

Thanks for the tips Tracy, boy that grapefruit seed extract stuff must be powerful to be able to use 20 drops in 32-oz of water, I will give that a try.

 

And of course baking soda has long been known as a good odor eliminater.

 

And thanks go to you too Siobhan for your ideas as well.

[yvette]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will give some of them a try later.

[Laurie]

I use a Swiffer on the kitchen floor. Klaus isn't in the kitchen so I'm assuming it's safe. The liquid that comes with that smells kinda nice.

I also will burn a candle (again, away from Klaus only) and I've never noticed the scent make its way all the way over to him.

I use regular cleaners (like Lysol) in the bathroom - I keep the fan on, door shut & window open. You can still smell it a little, later on in the day, but I don't think it's affecting Klaus.

When I dust the living room furniture (this is where Klaus is) I spray the Pledge into the rag being careful not to let it disperse into the air.

I would say some scented stuff is ok in moderation (and with proper ventilation).