General Toy Cleaning Questions...

[Chief's Mom]

I just put all the fids' boings through the clothes washer and they all survived..yay! I have always put their acrylic toys through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher (no detergent though) and never had a problem. I do have a question about wooden toys though....the keets and Petey have natural wood ladders, perches, etc that could use a really good cleaning. I have always scrubbed them in hot water and let them dry, but I've never felt they were as clean as I'd like them. Has anyone put those through the dishwasher? I'm more concerned about warping than anything else. I guess warping can't be any worse than a bird chewing through it though?!?

I also have a very large wood ladder than my husband built for Chief, but that obviously won't fit in the dishwasher. I usually take that one outside with the hose and a stiff brush and leave it to dry in the sun. Wish I had dishwasher big enough for that one too!

I've also heard of folks drying their wooden toys in the oven, but with my luck, I'd catch the damn things on fire !! If you're one of the ones who normally does this, what temp. do you maintain and for how long?

Thanks in advance for any cleaning advice that you've got. I'm on an OCD cleaning rampage and the bird cages are my first victim!

[birdlady49]

I use good soapy hot water to wash my toys, sometimes with a dash of bleach -- wooden, acrylic, whatever. Sometimes I dry them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Most of the time, however, I put them out in the sun. Nothing beats the good old sun.

[JavaJoy01]

Originally Posted by Chief's Mom

I just put all the fids' boings through the clothes washer and they all survived..yay! I have always put their acrylic toys through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher (no detergent though) and never had a problem. I do have a question about wooden toys though....the keets and Petey have natural wood ladders, perches, etc that could use a really good cleaning. I have always scrubbed them in hot water and let them dry, but I've never felt they were as clean as I'd like them. Has anyone put those through the dishwasher? I'm more concerned about warping than anything else. I guess warping can't be any worse than a bird chewing through it though?!?

I also have a very large wood ladder than my husband built for Chief, but that obviously won't fit in the dishwasher. I usually take that one outside with the hose and a stiff brush and leave it to dry in the sun. Wish I had dishwasher big enough for that one too!

I've also heard of folks drying their wooden toys in the oven, but with my luck, I'd catch the damn things on fire !! If you're one of the ones who normally does this, what temp. do you maintain and for how long?

Thanks in advance for any cleaning advice that you've got. I'm on an OCD cleaning rampage and the bird cages are my first victim!

I've gotten into steaming. I got a hand held steamer and it does a really good job on the cages and the toys. I even use the window tool with a rag over it to steam clean the mats under the cages. The steam just melts the poop off the bars and I wipe off. Obviously I remove the bird from the area :)

[Valo's Moirana]

Originally Posted by birdlady49

I use good soapy hot water to wash my toys, sometimes with a dash of bleach -- wooden, acrylic, whatever. Sometimes I dry them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Most of the time, however, I put them out in the sun. Nothing beats the good old sun.

i do the same - also, the fact that CO has 300 days of sun per year is inviting for this kind of treatment

[Nazir's]

I wash my boings and soft toys in the washing machine. I add PetFocus solution to the wash. Hard toys are soaked in a bucket and scrubed down, using the same solution. I've always air dried all toys.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by JavaJoy01

I've gotten into steaming. I got a hand held steamer and it does a really good job on the cages and the toys. I even use the window tool with a rag over it to steam clean the mats under the cages. The steam just melts the poop off the bars and I wipe off. Obviously I remove the bird from the area :)

Do you mind telling me what brand of steam cleaner you have? I want one, but when looking through online reviews it seems like many of them don't work very well. I want a good one!