Laminate flooring and bird poop?

[aether-drifter]

Next month, I will be moving into a new apartment that has wood laminate flooring. I've never had this type of flooring before, but I am excited not to be dealing with carpet anymore! Right now, I lay towels down in front of the bird cages to catch poop, but it's obnoxious because I end up doing an extra load of laundry every week. I would like to discontinue the use of towels when I move to the new place.

My question is, is this type of flooring easily damaged by bird poop? Would it be okay to not use any protective coverings, and just mop the floor daily? Or should I still lay something down? I have four cockatiels who are free to come out of the cage all day, and they like to hang out on top and poop off the edges.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Generally laminate is super easy maintenance, especially compared to real hardwood flooring. It's best not to use any polishes or heavy-duty detergents (not that you really can anyways, haha!) because they'll leave a film, and they definitely don't need waxing either. You'll want to clean up spills quickly so it doesn't warp the material, but really all you need is a dampened paper towel or cloth and then to go over it again with a dry one. You can mop daily, but make sure you give it adequate time to dry in-between or just go over it with a dry rag. My alternative is using computer chair mats under the cages

Hope that helps!

 

[MikeyTN]

Cleaning would be a breeze with that sort of flooring!!!! That's the reason why I went with Pergo flooring due to the maintenance and cleaning of the animal mess.

 

[inge]

For my dogs, I was not a fan of laminate. I can see how it will be pretty easy to keep up with for birds, though. I have a box of personal cleansing cloths that I keep handy to wipe up floors and furniture, and it works well on my floors (tile and hardwood).

 

[MikeyTN]

For my dogs, I am a fan of laminate as they're big dogs. They'll wreck the hardwood in no time.

 

[mtdoramike]

You can not MOP laminate flooring as in mopping it because this type of flooring should not get wet. The only thing you should do is use a damp mop on the flooring. You also have to be mindful of water spilling on the floor from the water bowl. I would put down a layer of plastic sheeting under the cage and surrounding area, especially if it's not my flooring.