hand washing bird dishes vs. dishwasher

[crimson]

how many of you hand wash your bird dishes or do you put them in the dishwasher?
I can see you hand washing them if you only have 1 or two birds, but since I own quite a few, we go thru 45 dishes per night!
we don't own 45 birds, but some cages have multiple dishes in them.
I use to hand wash them, but now it's the dishwasher, on sanitize.

the problem is I find that the dishes don't come clean as well as hand washing them, and may not be getting rinsed thoroughly enough.

I have been breeding for more than 3 years with excellent results on raising chicks, never ever lost one, until I stopped hand washing them, and started using the dishwasher.
Ever since then, I've been loosing chicks, and I can't help but wonder if there is a connection somehow. It's taken me a while to peace this together so I thought I would run this by everyone.
my breeding techniques have not changed.
nothing happens to the adults, just the chicks.
anyone else who breeds ever had this problem? I really don't know if there is a connection, just thought I would ask.

 

[weco]

I don't breed, hand feed or change diapers, but I have, like you mentioned, had problems with bird bowls not coming clean.....I figure humans can fend for themselves, so I started a bleach bucket in the morning, when I change out the morning dishes...about aa gallon of water with 1/2C +/- bleach, rinse out bowls & let soak.....same with evening bowls, but dump solution & re-make, then include morning bowls again.....solved my stuck-on-crud situation.....

Since we don't have a lot of throughout the day dish traffic, usually just run the dishwasher at night before bed, dump out bleach solution & load bird bowls.....

That might solve your sanitizing problem..or...could there be any residue from your dishwashing liquid/powder that would cause problems ? ? ?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I do both, I hand wash and use the dishwasher. I give them a extra rinse myself afterwords just be so sure there is no invisible residue.

When hand washing I use a clean wet paper towel, dish soap, and hot water. I don't want to mix up the kitchen sponge that is bound to have germs on it.

 

[MickeysMom]

I handwash only, with Hot water, dish soap (Dawn) , GSE and paper towels. I probably over rinse, but I am afraid of my babies getting something toxic. I would think if anything it's the dishwasher detergent residue, probably only affecting the babies due to size/dose ratio.

 

[crimson]

I don't breed, hand feed or change diapers, but I have, like you mentioned, had problems with bird bowls not coming clean.....I figure humans can fend for themselves, so I started a bleach bucket in the morning, when I change out the morning dishes...about aa gallon of water with 1/2C +/- bleach, rinse out bowls & let soak.....same with evening bowls, but dump solution & re-make, then include morning bowls again.....solved my stuck-on-crud situation.....

Since we don't have a lot of throughout the day dish traffic, usually just run the dishwasher at night before bed, dump out bleach solution & load bird bowls.....

That might solve your sanitizing problem..or...could there be any residue from your dishwashing liquid/powder that would cause problems ? ? ?

that is what I've noticed, but have been rinsing them rather than re-washing them with dish soap....what do you think?

 

[crimson]

I do both, I hand wash and use the dishwasher. I give them a extra rinse myself afterwords just be so sure there is no invisible residue.

When hand washing I use a clean wet paper towel, dish soap, and hot water. I don't want to mix up the kitchen sponge that is bound to have germs on it.

when I use to hand wash them I had one dish rag I used just for the bird dishes, which I changed every other day.

I'm starting to think this has been the problem, not to mention the death of my babies, unbelievable

 

[momto3]

I hand wash daily and I put a bit of bleach in the dishwater also. I use a paper towel to clean and dry. My vet told me to sanitize them in the dishwasher once a week to kill any bacteria.

 

[Jtbirds]

I hand wash my dishes, I feel like the dishwasher doesn't get them clean enough as hand washing does, I have rags that are just for cleaning and drying my bird dishes that never come in contact with any other household scrubbing.

 

[Customcasket]

I hand wash my guys bowls. It's only 9 bowls. I use hot water, dish soap, and a specific brush that everybody knows to avoid because it's the "bird brush". The brush is the only way for me to scrub the crud out of the corners of the square, plastic parakeet dishes. I hate those dishes. I prefer my conures stainless steel dishes. They come up so clean.

I personally would never use the dishwasher for my birds bowls. I guess if I had a lot of bowls I would but the fear of dishwasher detergent residue gets the better of me. I wash the cats dishes in the dishwasher once a week. I've never had issues with them and never feared any issues with washing their stuff in the dishwasher, but the birds are a totally different story.

 

[Mudkips]

Wow, going though 45 dishes per night is like running a mini restaurant!

Here's what I'd do in your situation - Firstly I'd check that the dishwasher is running hot enough to sanitize the dishes. Next time you run a load of dishes, open the dishwasher door slowly (you don't want water everywhere!) around the middle of the wash cycle and check to see that it's hot and steamy inside. It should be hot enough that you wouldn't want to stick your hand in there. If not, your dishwasher is not doing its job killing germs and you are better off washing by hand.

Secondly I would get myself something like one of these - you may have seen them behind the bar at restaurants, pubs etc. sitting in the sink next to the mini glassware-dishwasher.

Simply fill the bucket with soapy water then use the stationary brush to quickly scrub the inside of your fid's bowls, stacking them in the dishwasher as you go. Then start the dishwasher without any chemicals or tablets, and your dishwasher will effectively become a dedicated rinse-and-sanitize machine.

Of course, you could just go out and buy a brush and use a sink of soapy water to replace the glassware bucket, but then you're moving back towards washing by hand... anyway I hope I got the idea across...

 

[crimson]

Wow, going though 45 dishes per night is like running a mini restaurant!

Here's what I'd do in your situation - Firstly I'd check that the dishwasher is running hot enough to sanitize the dishes. Next time you run a load of dishes, open the dishwasher door slowly (you don't want water everywhere!) around the middle of the wash cycle and check to see that it's hot and steamy inside. It should be hot enough that you wouldn't want to stick your hand in there. If not, your dishwasher is not doing its job killing germs and you are better off washing by hand.

Secondly I would get myself something like one of these - you may have seen them behind the bar at restaurants, pubs etc. sitting in the sink next to the mini glassware-dishwasher.

Simply fill the bucket with soapy water then use the stationary brush to quickly scrub the inside of your fid's bowls, stacking them in the dishwasher as you go. Then start the dishwasher without any chemicals or tablets, and your dishwasher will effectively become a dedicated rinse-and-sanitize machine.

Of course, you could just go out and buy a brush and use a sink of soapy water to replace the glassware bucket, but then you're moving back towards washing by hand... anyway I hope I got the idea across...

yup your right Mudkips, it is like a mini-restaurant, we load all of our dishes onto trays, just like a waitress. I checked our dishwasher before, and it is good and hot.
At this point I'll have to go back to washing all those dishes....uggggg, it's extremely time consuming, but worth my time, I just can't bear loosing anymore chicks....I can't believe I missed it.

 

[mtdoramike]

I only hand wash my birds bowls. But of course, I have never owned a dishwasher in my life except for my two hands. I've just never seen where a dishwasher saved me anytime or less handling of the dishes. So I saw no need in it.

 

[crimson]

I only hand wash my birds bowls. But of course, I have never owned a dishwasher in my life except for my two hands. I've just never seen where a dishwasher saved me anytime or less handling of the dishes. So I saw no need in it.

when people use to ask my father if we owned a dishwasher his reply was "yes, we own five, myself,my wife, and my three kids"

 

[Customcasket]

I only hand wash my birds bowls. But of course, I have never owned a dishwasher in my life except for my two hands. I've just never seen where a dishwasher saved me anytime or less handling of the dishes. So I saw no need in it.

when people use to ask my father if we owned a dishwasher his reply was "yes, we own five, myself,my wife, and my three kids"

My grandmother always told me that. "I have a dishwasher... my two hands!" and before moving into her new senior apartment complex she got really excited that she would have a "real dishwasher" for the first time in her life. Of course we had to teach her how to use it... she can work a computer but couldn't figure out the dishwasher lol