Better Pan Cleaning Liquid

[chinchillachris]

Hi All,
I have a quick question. Up until now I've been using a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 1 part water to clean my chinchilla's pans. The cleaning solution works well, but what I really don't like about it is the smell. The vinegar smell is so strong and pungent, which makes it extremely unpleasant to use in cleaning (the vinegar/water also seems to leave a white coating on the trays, but maybe that's because I'm not drying the pans off well enough). So anyway, I was just wondering if anybody else has any suggestions for a better cleaning mixture that works the same or better than the vinegar/water, and which preferably doesn't smell too bad. I was also wondering if maybe I could use lemon juice or something else to scent my mixture to make it more pleasant to clean with? Has anybody tried that before? Thank you all!

 

[AZChins]

The vinegar is going to do the best of anything I know of for thorough cleaning. It cleans the urine deposits completely as well as any other deposits. You could clean the pans off with soapy water after you use the vinegar. Vinegar is going to leave a residue behind if you don't rinse it off after cleaning. The lemon isn't going to help much with the smell if you don't rinse the pans.

 

[michelleideeaz1]

Is this on plastic pans or the metal?

 

[halfstache]

Has anyone tried using Simple Green? I know that is what is typically used for cleaning up and disinfecting areas where pigeons have been roosting. I figure if that's what is being used professionally it probably would work well for cleaning cages. I've only ever just used warm water and elbow grease, but have been looking for something a little better without using vinegar. Can't stand vinegar... That's a smell that makes me wanna :vomit:

 

[becky12883]

You can put orange peels in a jar, then fill it up with vinegar, cap it and stick it some place cool and dark for two weeks. After two weeks strain out the orange peels and mix the liquid one to one with water and you have an all natural citrus cleaner. I use a spaghetti sauce jar and always have some steeping under my sink.