Clean inside of cage?

[lorika]

Hi all!
A month ago I asked a question about how to stop a cage from smelling and got some great advice.
Now I have a new question: I need to clean the inside of the cage. As you may know, I have a lorikeet, and even though he sends to poop straight down, he sometimes projectile-poops against the bars of his cage. More than that, there's food residue on the bars from his wet lorikeet mix. It sometimes sticks to his beak after he's eaten and he'll climb the bars of his cage and get it all over.

The food really hardens against the bars of the cage and I don't have a good way of cleaning it. Right now, I just try to reach inside and scrub the bars with a hot, wet scrubbing sponge, but it takes forever for the darn stuff to soak so I can take it off and it's impossible to reach every nook and cranny.

I've considered getting a steam cleaner, does anyone know if this will work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Christinenc2000]

I just bought a Steam Cleaner last month. Amazed at how much easier it is to clean the whole cage. Inside and out. My cage is to big to take outside and clean. It was a pain standing inside of the cage to clean it . I learned i had to move a little slower with the steam wand but I would not do with out it .

Yes it gets into every little spot .

 

[Mimsy01]

Vinegar dissolves bird poo so it wipes off easily. Veggie and fruit matter are more difficult and a steam cleaner is awesome! If not, it's a matter of soaking in the vinegar solution and then wiping, I may use one of those dish abrasive sponges if it's really stuck.

 

[itchyfeet]

I wasn't going to buy a steam cleaner - but was given one the other day. Wish I'd purchased one sooner! It works a treat

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I always use 'poop off' and/or warm water and a scrubby sponge and paper towels (scrub with the sponge and final clean with paper towel).

 

[OOwl]

I'm a clean freak and I really do have a higher standard of "clean" for my cages and I couldn't maintain it without my steam cleaner. I got a really good one because I quickly wore out the cheaper models. I clean daily (fresh paper and spot clean), do a full wipe down (every single bar and cross bar) mid week, then do a deep clean with the steamer on Saturday or Sunday (whichever day we have less going on). That steam cleaner is great on the oven, too. I don't use the self-clean feature for obvious reasons so I have trouble getting the baked-on spills off (sorry, but vinegar just doesn't get those well) but the steam cleaner immediately just melts that off, all with being safe for the birds, as well. Win-win. Yeah to the steam cleaners of the world.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

What kind of steam cleaner is this? Hmm. Why don't I know about this? Lol

 

[CbusGrey]

What kind of steam cleaner is this? Hmm. Why don't I know about this? Lol

Please share the steam cleaner suggestions. I'm thinking about getting one after seeing this thread. [emoji106]

 

[greytness]

My son uses a power washer to clean the dried poop off our cages. Works great!

 

[OOwl]

Mine is a McCulloch model MC1385. It's about $200 but the best tool I have for cleaning my parrots' cages. I even use it to steam mop my floors. It's pretty versatile and I give it quite the workout every week. I hate the cheap units. They clog; they don't hold much water; they don't get hot enough; they run out of steam in the middle of a big job, but not this unit. It holds about half a gallon and it will steam clean for well over an hour without having to reheat. It's the best one I've used.

Ya'll get a steam cleaner! You need one with parrots.

 

[RavensGryf]

Mine is a McCulloch model MC1385. It's about $200 but the best tool I have for cleaning my parrots' cages. I even use it to steam mop my floors. It's pretty versatile and I give it quite the workout every week. I hate the cheap units. They clog; they don't hold much water; they don't get hot enough; they run out of steam in the middle of a big job, but not this unit. It holds about half a gallon and it will steam clean for well over an hour without having to reheat. It's the best one I've used.

Ya'll get a steam cleaner! You need one with parrots.

Good to know, you get what you pay for! Where did you get yours?

I have a question... I'm totally ignorant about steam cleaners, but I've definitely been interested in one, and the more I keep hearing about them the more interested I am.

How damp (or dry) does it leave surfaces? Is it so hot that the steam evaporates immediately? I've seen an ad for one that says to use it on fabric (sofas, beds, etc) but then I've heard somewhere else they leave things damp, so I'm confused.

 

[OOwl]

I got mine on Amazon.

The initial spray is wet but after that it's not terribly wet. You develop a technique that works pretty quickly. I spray (comes out in a steam cloud) and then I wipe with a rag (not paper towel because the water is pretty hot). I steam about six inches at a time, then wipe, steam six inches and wipe. Goes quickly. Each section of the cage is cool within seconds and sparkly clean. You can also get into all those tiny nooks and crannies that are not possible with just a hand cleaning. It's also pretty easy on the finish because I've had zero problems with powder coating chipping or anything. In fact, the vinegar/water solution I was using was making my glossy finish on my cages look cloudy but the steam cleaner doesn't.

The unit I bought has a HUGE mop head and I use it on my floors regularly. It's less damp after I go over it than with the sponge mop. When you're done, you simply peel off the pad and throw it in the washing machine.

Yeah, I kept reading people talking about these things and got my first few cheap ones and was even impressed with the cleaning power with those. Melts that dried poop and dried fruit wiped on the bars right off. I got hooked on that "power," but the cheap ones were forever clogging and spraying out streams of boiling hot WATER instead of steam (the use of distilled water delays this from occurring) so I finally just got a good one. The mop function is something I didn't intend on using but, gosh, that thing has been a lifesaver in a house of all-tile floors! No more worrying about what is safe to mop with. . . I just mop with steam, and those floors just sparkle. It also comes with this evil looking wire nozzle thing that makes quick work of an oven (or even the grill).

If you get one, post about how it works for you. I think you're really going to love it.

 

[Christinenc2000]

This is the one I have. LOVE it

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-915-0282014-500-Watt--Demand/dp/B003PGQI3Y/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1442491255&sr=8-7&keywords=steam+cleaner"]Amazon.com: Wagner 915 (0282014) 1,500-Watt On-Demand Power Steamer and Cleaner: Home Improvement[/ame]

Good to know about the oven I will have to try that. I did use it to clean the windows . Great attachment for that included

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Hey!! I got one of these for my birthday from my dad! I haven't used it yet but I want to try it on Gilbert's cage soon. Gilbert is a major slob (I always say he is Pig Pen) so it may be fun to use this instead of my sponge/poop off/paper towel method.