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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A hardwood floor cleaner?

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    • lwayne
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        Hi All,

        We just refinished our hardwood floors last summer and I was using Pine-sol when mopping. However, after I got a bunny (her name is Arduina and she is 2 months old now), I took the time to actually read the warning labels on the cleaners.. all of them look pretty nasty.  Is there one that is good for using on hardwood floors that is also bunny safe?  Any suggestions will be helpful.  Thanks!


      • skibunny8503
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          Hmm I’m not really sure I can answer your question but I’m interested in what other people have to say because I’ve used some kind of pine sol before.  I also have a steam mop that I use.  I have laminate floors in the kitchen and we took out the carpet in our dining room to expose the hardwood floors (which def. need refinished or just put laminate over top).  My mom who has laminate floors will sometimes use a vinegar/water mixture that she said helps shines the floor.  Don’t know if that’s any help at all.


        • katie, max & penny
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            i believe you can use “orange glow” and its safe!
            double check me, though.


          • KatnipCrzy
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              If you can use Pine Sol without damaging the floor- I would imagine that you would have no issues with a steam cleaner- and since all it uses is water to clean it is 100% safe for bunnies.  Pine Sol is very harsh and bothersome to most animals and can cause irritation from contact or upset GI from licking paws that have come in contact with.

              I would think the vinegar and water solution would also be an adequate cleaner- it will not disinfect like steam would though.  But I don’t have any kids- so I concern myself more with “clean” than disinfected- and I used vinegar and water on my laminate flooring where my cats and parrots are.  Though if I had a toddler I might be more concerned about sanitation and use  a steam cleaner so they are not touching the floor that could have had cat litter (or bunny poo if the bunnies were allowed in there), bird mess (food, droppings, etc) and then they might stick their fingers in their mouth, etc.


            • Cake
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                I have refinished hardwood in my house (whole house) I use Murphy’s here and there, but mostly I use the swiffer wet jet (the antibacterial kind)


              • Deleted User
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                  A while ago, some pet deaths had been attributed to the use of the Wet Jet by Swiffer. Apparently these claims weren’t true.

                  http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/swiffer-wet-jet.html


                • wendyzski
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                    I use Murphy’s Oil Soap – it’s great for hardwood floors and very mild.  In my kitchen I use either that or Dr. Bonner’s liquid soap in a bucket of water.


                  • RabbitPam
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                      Well here’s a novel suggestion: I looked it up in my book “Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean” that is filled with easy, basic solutions.
                      I quote:
                      “Tea is a wonderful cleaner for wood because of the tannic acid. Brew 1 quart of boiling water with 1 or 2 tea bags. Let it come to room temperature. Wring out a soft cloth to just damp and wash floor, keeping the rag clean. Do not over wet floor. This will clean the floor and cover many imperfections. Buff with a soft cloth if desired.”

                      So unless someone knows if residual tea is harmful to bunnies, I’d say it sounds like a very gentle solution to me.


                    • lwayne
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                         Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions.  I’ve been doing my own research (googling) and I have found many people saying NOT to use Murphy’s Oil Soap.  Many suggest using 1C vinegar to 1 Gal water, which is a common bunny cage/litter box cleaner, so I guess it will work for the floors too!  I will probably just vacuum and use plain water for mopping, and once in a while use the vinegar solution.  I have also heard windex works well, but I don’t think that would be too good for bunnies.  


                      • MooBunnay
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                          I have heard vinegar recommended for lots of different uses in cleaning, and I also use it for the bunny’s litterboxes. I had a friend who had extremely bad allergies, and couldn’t handle the perfumes in most cleaners, so she did all of her cleaning with hot water and vinegar. So I’d imagine that vinegar and water would be your best option.


                        • BinkyBunny
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                            I have used Murphey’s oil in the past, but I remember also coming across some internet concerns as well, and though you can always find good and bad on the net, I just decided to use vinegar mix and it does clean fine, but since the whole house has hardwood floors (it’s an old 1920’s house), it can get rather smelly (though vinegar mix smell does go away rather quickly).

                            However, I am SOOO happy to about Rabbitpam suggestion! I would much rather my house smell like tea! I will have to try that!! Thanks RabbitPam! I will have to check with my vet about the tea, I mean caffeine issues or ??? and ??? But if it ends up being safe, I’m all for tea.


                          • RabbitPam
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                              I am concerned about caffeine, too – picturing Jack hyper and doing more binkies/humping????

                              I just looked up tea in HRS, and there was only one reference:

                              Hepatic Lipidosis: Hepatic lipidosis, also known as fatty liver, describes the abnormal accumulation of fat within the liver cells. This is usually not a primary condition in rabbits, but is caused by periods of not eating. ….Interestingly, tea polyphennols (found in green tea) have recently been shown to increase hepatic lipase activity and protect liver cells from fatty degeneration in rabbits.7

                              Still don’t know about the caffeine, but this is interesting news. I would guess that, watered down, it’s very, very little. Maybe you can wash the floors with green tea.


                            • jerseygirl
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                                The tannins also kill dust mites – added bonus.


                              • skibunny8503
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                                  I would have never thought about what I used to clean floors as harmful to rabbits since it dries.  If it was still wet when they ran out I would have thought twice but I never thought twice since it was dry.   I have Pine Sol but I’ve been using the oil soup on the floors (just dining room and kitchen) and try to wipe it dry with a towel.  I was going to use Pine Sol after the oil soup had ran out but I don’t think I’ll be using it now!  I’ve only cleaned the floors twice with the soup (been here since last Aug.) and usually just use a steam mop.  Tea sounds really interesting, I’ll have to give it a try!  At least when company comes and I just mop the floors before hand they won’t come in smelling vinegar


                                • RabbitPam
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                                    This old post just got spam. Thanks to FL that deleted it. I am locking this post.

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                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A hardwood floor cleaner?