Rat Smell Question

[Ash]

Hey guys, I have a question. I was planning on taking a cage my mom had used for rats and converting it to a cage for Cuda, my chin.

For the rat owners out there. Do you know of anyone to get rid of the ratty smell from the cage? It's a powder coated Martin's cage with a plastic pan. Thanks guys.

 

[fanofdmb84]

I would try white vinegar first, and then maybe make a paste with baking soda and rub that all over it, let it sit a while, and then rinse. But I think the vinegar would probably work just fine if you can soak it somehow (in the tub?).

 

[Ash]

Yeah, it's too big to soak in the tub... not to mention, that'd stink up the house pretty badly... Lol

 

[LoveBug]

i scrub my cage with white distilled vinegar and warm water.
(i scrub it outside)
and then i rinse it off with water
and let it dry outside.
usually never smells.

 

[Ash]

Thanks. I've scrubbed it down with vinegar water. I don't know how long it's been since it had a really good clean, though, so it reeks. I'm hoping I can get the smell to go away. It's a nice cage and I'd hate not to be able to use it due to the smell.

 

[fanofdmb84]

Well if there's lot of dried on gunk you can always haul it down to a carwash and power wash it. I've done that before - it's a pain, but it really gets the job done!

 

[greychins]

I would second the powerwashing it. Especially since you said it's powder coated, everything gunky should come off it pretty easily, and the smell should go with all of that. I would powerwash, scrub with vinegar/water, and then maybe scrub with regular soap and water (not a fan of the vinegar smell here).

Rat smells can definitely be hard to get out... I was using one of our regular chin cages for some rats... big mistake. Within a week, the cage absolutely reeks of male rat (well, 3) and the shelves are all stained and reek as well... they're now in an all-wire cage but it will take awhile for me to get that cage cleaned and scrubbed... and I can tell you, the best way for me to get those shelves clean, and anything in that cage, is to take it outside and powerwash it. It does wonders, and has allowed us to keep our shelves without replacing them for quite some time.

 

[Ash]

I got it pretty clean with a regular hose with the "jet" setting. It's just the friggin smell...