Vinegar vs. Bleach

[Greencheek13653]

I have been hearing many ways of how to disinfect a birds cage when you are cleaning it, but the most popular seem to be use a little bleach and the second is to mix water and vinegar and disinfect with that. The debate between which one is better has been killing me. So I read up on both methods and according to what I read the vinegar and water method kills germs and is parrot friendly, but with bleach I heard that it is more effective in killing germs and it won't be harmful to your pet if you dry it in the sun. Personally I think bleach is dangerous and should stay as far away as possible from your pet, but again I keep hearing it is perfectly safe. But in my opinion it is better to be on the safe side.


So please correct me if I am wrong.

[Pajarita]

I don't use vinegar, it's definitely safe but it's also not really effective as a disinfectant and I don't like the smell. Soap does better than vinegar, actually. Bleach is not dangerous if used sparingly and it's VERY effective even when used extremely diluteed. So effective, as a matter of fact, that it is the recommended USDA protocol for disinfecting when you have an avian contagious disease (and I know because I had an epidemic of chlamydiosis in my birdroom and their epizootiologist sent it to me). I use it once a week when I do the thorough cleaning (warm water with a small splash of Clorox -about 1/2 cup in a gallon- and some dish detergent) but not every day. I think that it's bad to kill all bacteria all the time because, for one thing, not all bacteria is harmful and, secondly, even exposure to 'bad' bacteria is beneficial as it strengthens the immune system.

[NICrosis]

I jut use a store bought brand that is designed specifically for birds. It's edible and safe for the bird. Works in about 10 seconds and cleans out 99.9% of things.

[NICrosis]

edit: Not the stuff we use, but these can work:

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/ ... 5813961983

[Pajarita]

I couldn't find the actual ingredients of this product but it's advertised as a cleaner and deodorizer, not a disinfectant.