Safety of Cleaning Products

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 9 months ago by Kokaneeandkahlua.

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- 08/19/2010 at 10:32 PM
  MayaConsuelo
  Participant
  396 posts
  I tried searching for this subject but couldn’t find anything successfully. Just wondering which cleaning products are safe/not-safe around rabbits. I already know about the vinegar/water mix to get rid of urine stains and smells.
  
  I have hardwood floors though, so nothing much gets stained. I mop once a week and use pine-sol. I don’t let the bunny out until it’s dry, he still licks the floor (along with everything else) so I’m wondering if that’s all right. I used to clean with a bleach/water mix until I got my cats 12 years ago, and realized they would try to roll around in the bleach and drink it. So I switched.
  
  Also, Mr. Bun-Bun has a new fancy 3-level cage with a linoleum bottom floor and carpeted top 2 floors. To clean up his pee mistakes and everything else, I use a “natural” glass cleanser which is surfactant and citrus oil. Is that safe or should I switch to the vinegar mix?
  
  Also, I burn a lot of incense, maybe 3 to 4 sticks each day. Don’t think that should be a problem… Mr. Bun-Bun thumps at weird times though, when he’s not running or threatened, I’ve caught him thumping, and just sitting there. Either he just wants attention, or is responding to some stimuli that I can’t perceive.
  
  Thanks for any advice!
- 08/20/2010 at 6:16 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I found this about pinesol on a cat health website and I’m not postiive but I imagine it may affect our rabbits very much the same:
  
  http://www.cathealth.com/Tox.htm
  
  I know pine bedding is bad for rabbits – so I might be inclined to say that it’s probably not the best product to use around him even when it’s dry – I don’t know if it leaves some type of residue.
  
  I know that some members use vinegar/water solution on their hardwood floors so that may be an option for you.
  
  I would just use the vinegar/water in his cage as well.
  
  As for the Incense – I don’t know, I love the smell of it and I would think as long as he cannot get near it while it’s burning it should be fine. He may have to get used to the fragrance but you shouldn’t have to give up everything you love if you can get him used to it. He may thump because he’s not certain what that fragrance is in the air
- 08/20/2010 at 11:30 AM
  MayaConsuelo
  Participant
  396 posts
  Thanks for that link. After digging a little more on the internet I found more info, wow I had no idea pine-sol was that toxic in general. The weird thing is, I have a severe pine allergy (Christmas is a hard season for me, I can’t go over to anyone’s house with a Christmas tree.) But I’ve never had a problem with pine-sol and just assumed it was artifically scented! Well I’ll switch to vinegar/water with some eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil I guess! Thanks again!
- 08/20/2010 at 1:50 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Pine-Sol is quite strong and even disinfects. I love using pine products but NOT around my rabbits.
- 08/20/2010 at 10:31 PM
  Michelle&Lolli
  Participant
  2347 posts
  As for thumping….I know Lolli can hold a grudge and will randomly thump sometimes. It’s usually about an hour after I put them in their pen for the night. She has to make sure i know she’s not happy in there. lol So maybe he’s just letting you know he’s not happy. Maybe it’s the incense. Maybe he’s grumpy about something. Just have to try things out until you can find out why he’s thumping. I have found with mine though that sometimes I just tell them to quit being grumpy cause I either don’t know what their problem is or they simply aren’t getting their way. lol
  
  You might want to check out Seventh Generation products. http://www.seventhgeneration.com/
  
  I first switched because I have asthma and noticed how bad other chemical cleaners affected my breathing. These don’t bother me. Hmm…it’s a bit scary if you really think about it. lol I love the free and clear all purpose cleaner. Gets up anything. But then I have found that so does vinegar and water. lol It doesn’t look they have a specific wood floor cleaner though. I know you can buy like a big bottle of Dr Bonner’s castille soap and use it for all kinds of things as well.
- 08/20/2010 at 10:57 PM
  MayaConsuelo
  Participant
  396 posts
  Well I have about 1/2 organic/natural cleaning products, and 1/2 more toxic cleansers. The natural stuff really does work great on the whole part, the only ant-killer (or ant deterrent) that has ever worked for me is Ecosmart, which is mostly essential oils and nothing artificial. It smells quite strong. But I had a major infestation of ants a couple years ago, and none of the poisonous options worked, but this natural one really did.
  
  I had also asked about surfactant, which is a major component of most “natural” glass cleaners. I’ve looked more online since, and it appears to be only dangerous for marine organisms. I still think I’ll switch to a vinegar/water mix for everything in the living room.
  
  I’m still trying to read Mr. Bun-Bun for sure. He loves his new cage which has about 18 square feet of space on 3 levels. Half the time when the door is open for him to run out, he still plays around or chills out in his cage. A couple times he’s thumped while spooked by outside noise and running back to his cage… but other times he’s just sitting somewhere, either in his cage or near it, and just thumps once and doesn’t move… that seems strange to me… but it’s probably some odd noise or smell he’s picking up, so he only thumps once as a little warning, but then stops…? That’s all I can come up with!
- 08/20/2010 at 11:48 PM
  Michelle&Lolli
  Participant
  2347 posts
  Mine do that sometimes. Just randomly thumping. And it’s not loud either. And they’re not scared. lol So I don’t worry about it and just figure they can get over it. haha I swear Eddie can’t hear due to his lop ears cause he will hear something all of a sudden and start thumping like crazy and take off for safety. He’s my little scaredy boy so I have to gauge what’s going on by Lolli. If she’s not scared, they’re fine. LOL
  
  For bugs I have been using Ortho Ecosense brand bug spray. It has some kind of chemicals in it but it’s apparently safe to use around children and pets. Again, due to my asthma, I had to find something different. Plus too cause of the rabbits. It kills on contact. It’s amazing. lol It doesn’t spray very well in it’s spray bottle so I’m thinking about using a different one and see how it does. I haven’t used it near the rabbits though of course. It states that it’s safe, but I’m not chancing it. I just like that it’s not an aerosol and isn’t Raid. lol
- 08/22/2010 at 12:12 AM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  In general so long as the product is GONE when I’m done cleaing I don’t worry. Like I wouldn’t mop with a product and leave it-I follow up mopping with no product-just water. Smells in general are breathed in and have to be cleaned by your body and are shown harmful in bunnies-so you want to make sure there is nothing to smell or lick when your done cleaning. Since I remove the clearner when Im done I don’t worry about what the cleaner is, besides making sure it’s a pet friendly clearner
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