Air Freshener

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Paws4Chins

Paws4Chins

Chin Spirit
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
161
Location
Saline
Is it safe to have a plug in air freshener in the room with the Chins? I was not sure if the fumes would cause issues and lead to URI. The room is quite large and well ventilated and I could plug the freshener at the opposite side of the room from the cage.
 
Since chins if kept clean don't stink, there is no need for a air freshener. If they do stink clean cages more often.
 
I do clean the cage everyday and clear out 3/4 of the litter pan. The liners get replaced every other day. But there is still some smell. I wont use the air freshner...I don't want them to get sick because of it.
 
Thanks for sharing that thread. I never thought they would affect the chins. I have one in my basement where my boys are, it's s huge space but I'm gonna remove it tonite as it is fairly close to their location.
 
There are a load of web pages which discuss the toxic effects of various air fresheners & although some of them are completely "out there" in terms of scare mongering, some of them are excellent sources of info.

Better to be safe than sorry & not use plug-ins I reckon. :thumbsup:
 
it is myth to say chins don't smell because they do--because they are kept in a cage, and because they waste in the cage there is a smell. So to say chins don't smell isn't not exactly accurate. Is it the chins themselves that smell, no--but they should be kept in a cage and because they waste in their cage there is an odor.

I have kept my chins both in a livingroom and now in my bedroom as because I don't own my home I always use an air freshener. I have both a diffuser and a plug-in in my room. Diffuser is on the dresser, plug in is on wall across from the chins. When they were in my livingroom I also used a plug-in on a wall across from the chins, and in the nearly 6 years I've owned chins I have not seen or had a problem directly related to air fresheners.

I also haven't seen any ill effects of my using perfume in my room or deodorant in my room where the chins are located--and both of these also give off a scent, as well as lotion that is used on a regular basis.
 
Yes, Laurie I agree. I keep my chins in a seperate bedroom and I keep my cages clean as well as their room. There is still a slight smell. Not anything serious, just with the combo of their cages and the aspen shavings...

I do use scented candles in the living room at times and they do play in there. I don't use air freshners in their room though.
 
My cages produce no odor-I have tile shelves, do not use fleece or bedding except a cup of pine in the potty boxes that is dumped every night and the tile is wiped down every evening. Wood shelves soak in urine and can stink, fleece soaks in urine, bedding left for a week in the cage will become smelly, by using solid surfaces and dumping the potty boxes every night the cages produce no odor. Customers are amazed that 8 cages produce zero smell, so its not just me having a bad nose!
 
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Well....you're the exception, not the rule Dawn. Your cages are meticulous and are able to be so because of their set up. Walk into my barn. It doesn't matter if the cages are freshly cleaned or not. There is still an odor.

I use a plug in in my house, either the living room or the kitchen, and sometimes the bathrooms. I don't put one near the chins, the birds, or the rats. I would also never spray perfume near them. I hate perfume. I think it stinks and I hate when people bathe in it and subject me to it's nastiness; therefore, I would never use it near my animals. It hurts ME to breathe it in, I can't imagine how it would feel to them. However, I do use scented things in other parts of my house and I haven't had a problem with it either.
 
I don't use air fresheners around any animals. They don't have the ability to move if it bothers them. And I know the smell of air fresheners bother me.
 
tunes said:
Well....you're the exception, not the rule Dawn. Your cages are meticulous and are able to be so because of their set up. Walk into my barn. It doesn't matter if the cages are freshly cleaned or not. There is still an odor.

I use a plug in in my house, either the living room or the kitchen, and sometimes the bathrooms. I don't put one near the chins, the birds, or the rats. I would also never spray perfume near them. I hate perfume. I think it stinks and I hate when people bathe in it and subject me to it's nastiness; therefore, I would never use it near my animals. It hurts ME to breathe it in, I can't imagine how it would feel to them. However, I do use scented things in other parts of my house and I haven't had a problem with it either.
Click to expand...

I was actually refering to the OP with only 2 chins that it should not be a problem keeping the cage scent free. With 8 chins I can do it with the right modifications, but with 2 chins and a normal cage set up cleaned well I still don't see it stinking enough to need a air freshener.


Edited to add, the OP bought a FN that was stinky and has plastic pans, I bet if they got rid of the pans and replaced then with metal ones the odor problem would go away.
 
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Wow I was just asking an opinion as I did not want to hurt my chins. I am very meticulous with the cleaning...they don't go 1 week. The little bit or urine in the fleece probably smells a little. As I said the liners are changed every other day which seems to be the general consensus here and cages wiped with vinegar after and sometimes the liners get changed daily. Then I was them with vinegar and detergent with bleach and do presoak and extra rinse. However, these guys are not completely scent free with what I do. The smell is tolerable. I just want info. For someone to say that I don't clean my cage enough is a little insulting as you really have no idea what I do. Being relatively new here I am a little put off by being attacked for my question and suggestion that I don't clean enough. Thank you to everyone else who shared their opinion it is very helpful to know this information.

As for TickleChins comment about me buying a used stinky FN...yes I did but it did not stink after cleaning and soaking in vinegar. It was not stinky before putting them in when we first got them. And for everyone's knowledge I have metal pans on order. It would be nice if some members of this forum would take a step back and realize it is great educational source but if the new members get attacked and judged for simply asking questions then they will seek other sources for advise that might not be accurate. I think after this post I will think twice about posting anymore.
 
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Rather than having a tizzy, do a search here on "smelly cage" or "cage odor" and you will find many other pet people who have a few chins state find the source of the odor, a couple of chins should not smell enough to need to have the odor covered up if the cage is cleaned, call me mean but I will stand behind what I said.
 
I did do a search on this subject before I posted this thread. I was not successful in finding what I needed and I tried many different key words in my search. I did read the one about air freshener but it did not totally answer my question as I thought they were just discussing the spray kind. I did not see the other thread you posted however and maybe it is a musky smell being emitted by the Chins and not the cage. Since we just got them maybe they are still not quite as relaxed as I thought and releasing this smell. Didn't think we had done anything to really startle them but I am sure from their perspective how they might feel uncomfortable and edgy with the new surroundings. Maybe after a while it will go away if it is due to this. I only wanted information and not to be judged or put down. Maybe my Chins are just a little stinker then others and as I said it was a tolerable smell but it would be nice not to have to smell it at all. I was just looking for a solution and asked before I did something harmful to them. Lets just agree to disagree on this issue about whether or not my 2 Chins should not have a smell. This was supposed to be educational not a debate! And as I stated earlier I wont be using them after getting input.
 
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What sort of odor? Urine? Mine do not have smelly urine...just a light musk to it but maybe I'm just immune to it because I've had guinea pigs before and they smell SO much worse. I'm guessing you probably smell them more because you are using fleece. Every odor really will come out...you could try using some Nature's Miracle and see if that helps. Works for me :)
 
To the OP, make sure the feed you are feeding has yucca schidigera extract in it. The extract reduces levels of nitrogen compounds such as ammonia, urea, nitrites, and nitrates which reduces the odor of urine.
 
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