Is Bob Ami a safe cleaner?

[happycat]

Is Bon ami a safe cleaner? The ingredients are limestone, feldspar, surfactant, soda ash, and baking soda.

 

[ChristaNL]

Safe for the cage, perch of bird ?
It reads a bit like it is somehting that might scour a bit (the first two ingredients are stone) - so possible damage to surfaces.


Always, always finish your cleaning with loads of (just) clean water to rinse of possible residue and your birds will most likely be fine (no chance of ingesting it by accident).


Not sure about the type of surfactant
( Surfactants )
there are many.
The ones we use in Europa are (by law) biodegradable, not sure about yours...


When in doubt- stick tot the ones that are proven to be safe!

 

[Scott]

Found this safety sheet: https://www.hillyard.com/images/msds/MSDSFAU04030.pdf

Seems far more benign than typical cleansers, but be alert for eye and respiratory issues.

 

[EllenD]

If I recall correctly, Bon Ami is a powdered-cleaner that is an "all-purpose" cleaner that is advertised as being "non-toxic" and "safe for pets and people". It's very, very abrasive, and the idea is that you can use it to clean anything and everything and get anything and everything that is "stuck-on" and hard to clean-off with it, without the use of chemicals because instead of using chemicals to "dissolve" dirt/grime/grease/etc., it uses the really abrasive ingredients to scrub it off.

As far as using it on your bird's cage, perches, toys, dishes/bowls, play-stands, etc. it should be fine, as long as you rinse everything extremely well and get all of the cleaner off of the objects (as with anything you use to clean your pet's stuff).

I would think that the only real risk to birds from this stuff, as Scott already mentioned, would be the dry powder getting into the air and your bird breathing it in or getting it in their eyes. It's extremely abrasive stuff (hence the limestone, feldspar, soda ash, etc.), and if your bird was to inhale even a tiny little bit of this stuff (or you) I imagine that it could cause a great deal of irritation and possible breathing issues, and may end-up resulting in an Upper Respiratory Infection. So I'd make sure that you don't ever use it in the same room that your bird is in, and it's probably best to even use the stuff outside, in a garage, basement, etc., or a room of your house that the bird doesn't go into with the door shut. And I'd be careful yourself too, as if you were to breath this stuff into your respiratory tract through your mouth or nose, or even worse, if you were to get it in your eyes, my god would that be irritating and drive you crazy...It could very easily scratch the lens of your or your bird's eyes...But as long as you're safe about using it, you keep the dry powder totally away from your bird, and you rinse everything you use it on very well, it actually sounds like a pretty safe alternative to using chemical-cleaners, which you should never use...

 

[noodles123]

I agree with the risk of powder getting into the air...also, abrasives could wear away at the powder-coated metal on your cage which could expose more harmful layers of metal below the surface.
Also, it likely does not disinfect..just based on what you listed.
If you want a good disinfectant, F10 SC is excellent and bird safe with proper dilution etc.

 

[lplummer52]

I use white vinegar and water putmin spray bottle and spray all surfaces. Wait 5 minutes and wipe clean. No scrubbing.

 

[EllenD]

I use white vinegar and water putmin spray bottle and spray all surfaces. Wait 5 minutes and wipe clean. No scrubbing.

Exactly what I use, works great.

 

[BoomBoom]

One more for vinegar + water (and in my case + few drops of dawn dish soap). My a-vet okay'ed this very clearly as being a very good cage cleaner and gentle enough for daily use.

 

[Sandy19]

I just have a spray bottle of plain old water and vinegar that I clean the bird's area with. I spray it on, let it sit for a few minutes and the bird poop comes right up. I keep up with it though. If you do it at least a few times a week it's not that big of a deal. And the thing with special cleaners is that it is really a hassle to rinse it all off, it's easier in my opinion to just keep up with it with plain old water, vinegar and maybe some dish soap.

As far as cleaning my house, I do use some commercial cleaners, but the bird is in another room or out on the porch.

 

[dhraiden]

I can attest to having used bon ami in the kitchen and around the fids' cages. I don't over-spray, just spray and wipe down. There's a bird-cage cleaner brand - Ruffled Feathers, iirc, that's also safe and works well.