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Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby InsanityShard » Sat Jun 11, 2016 4:49 pm

Would I have to worry about any dish soap residue in case I didn't rinse enough? And wouldn't a metal brush shred a soft rope toy?
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby liz » Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:59 am

Hard toys go in the top shelf of the dishwasher. I give them a second rinse when they are clean. Soft toys go in the washer with a second rinse.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby liz » Sun Jun 12, 2016 7:00 am

InsanityShard wrote:Would I have to worry about any dish soap residue in case I didn't rinse enough? And wouldn't a metal brush shred a soft rope toy?


Soap can cause diarrhea.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby InsanityShard » Sun Jun 12, 2016 4:54 pm

We don't use a dishwasher, I was more referring to people just using dish soap to wash, sorry.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby Wolf » Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:43 pm

It could fray a rope toy a little every time it is used but I check for damaged threads every time and remove them. You could use a stiff scrub brush instead and you could not use the soap and rely on hot water instead.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby seagoatdeb » Sun Jun 12, 2016 11:51 pm

The only dish soap I ever use is one from a health food store and it contains no artificial perfumes and rinses away well. I wash all ropes before I make toys out of them.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby InsanityShard » Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:07 pm

Okay, thanks, I'll try a soft scrounger on the rope then to help avoid fraying. We have soft ones, they can't scratch anything but they're still rough enough to work very well. As for the dish soap, I'll use a bar of the all natural goat milk soap with bits of lavender and rose in them. Would that work? They're not big chunks of things like lavender, just enough to give them their smells. You can buy them everywhere here.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby galeriagila » Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:40 pm

I'm basically lazy... it's just so easy to start a pot of water boiling... in goes toy... a minute or so... out it comes, using tongs... it dries... voila! I've never had any toy melt or degrade...
I DO use the dishwasher, but only after the initial just-home-fromn-store boil.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby seagoatdeb » Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:37 pm

InsanityShard wrote:Okay, thanks, I'll try a soft scrounger on the rope then to help avoid fraying. We have soft ones, they can't scratch anything but they're still rough enough to work very well. As for the dish soap, I'll use a bar of the all natural goat milk soap with bits of lavender and rose in them. Would that work? They're not big chunks of things like lavender, just enough to give them their smells. You can buy them everywhere here.


I never use anything that weakens the rope so it can fray. I use an enzyme cleaner that is safe for parrots and people. It disolves bird poop buildups so they just wash away. i use it on my tile floors to get the poop off and also on hard perches, toys and even furniture and clothing.

i would not use a bar soap, it is hard to rinse away and your parrot might injest some soap. Also it is always possible to have a tiny bit of lye residue left in the soap making process in a bar soap. You need to buy something in theses lines....a liquid avian cleaner, a safe phosphate cleaner, a safe liquid dishsoap or liquid clothes soap from a health food store, vinegar, baking soda, etc. Also for safe disinfecting, collodial silver or hydrogen peroxide, rather that chlorine bleach.
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Re: Does anyone else disinfect new toys from the pet store?

Postby InsanityShard » Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:07 pm

Okay. My stepdad wants to use molasses to remove rust from the old cage before we repaint it, is that a good option? Also, by the end of the week my room will be ready to turn into a mini playground/aviary/playground. I'll even be hanging toys from hooks from the ceiling. Would I have to worry about the bird possibly chewing wires? If so, I can easily just block them off. I've seen the DIY foraging toy thread, and I'll be doing that around my room. Do you want me to post a picture of my room to see if you think there's anything wrong with it? I'll make sure the teddies available to me on my bottom bunk are bird safe, such as my limited edition Pokemon crushed velvet teddies. Nothing to pick off, and I'll be using some sheets or something to block off my bed anyway. I even have a small unused cat scratching post I can turn into yet another mini play area, my bird will be very very spoiled. =P
I usually use natural/hypoallergenic cleaning materials on everything, since my mum and brother are allergic to quite a lot of things. The picture, if you want it, will have some things you won't agree with that I'll be changing, such as I've got my fish cleaning supplies on the bottom shelf under my tank but I will be buying a cabinet for those, and another for the bird stuff. I really would like to know cleaning products I can use on places like my desk and my gaming consoles and what to look for to know it won't harm my bird. I already know, on some things like my mini blue drawers on my desk, I have to put something over the outside like balsa wood so the bird can't chew them. It'll have plenty of options but I can't be sure, after all. =P Thanks in advance! I'll probably be getting a Princess Parrot or 2. It'll be mostly indoors in my room, so I want to be sure.
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