Can you mix essential oil in vinegar/water cleaner?

[Charity]

Hello, saw a bunny cleaner that was supposed to be safe. Basically it’s water, vinegar and essential oil for scent. Is this safe for the bun?

[Bam]

Essential oils are powerful irritants if used dirextly on the skin or daily in a in a diffuser, but in a cleaning solution when they won’t come into direct contact with the bun I’d assume they’d be safe.

I use water and plain vinegar for cleaning the bunny area. If you need to properly disinfect, I’d recommend Virkon S. It has no smell and doesnt stain.

[Charity]

hi, I use water and vinegar also but thought i could add a little something to cut vinegar smell… i wouldn’t spray it directly on him but i use it to clean up pee accidents on his cloth cage liner… so he would walk on it if still wet sometimes… you think that would be very harmful to him?

[LBJ10]

Depends on the essential oil and how often he will be in contact with it and how much he will be breathing in the vapors. Some essential oils contain phenols that are harmful to rabbits when they are frequently exposed to them over a period of time. The phenols are inhaled and accumulate in the body.

[DanaNM]

I wouldn’t use anything with an essential oil in it directly in the bunny area. They have much more sensitive respiratory tracts so it could be irritating.

If you use 10% vinegar the smell should dissipate pretty quickly.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Yes, I wouldn’t use these either around bunnies. Rabbits have very sensitive airways, especially dwarfs. Certain essential oils also have a high risk of allergy.

Besides allergies and irritation, scented products can easily overwhelm a rabbit’s sensitive nose. They’re not as good sniffers as dogs, but fairly sensitive. What’s a pleasantly scented hand soap to us humans may smell like a perfume shop for a rabbit.

Our bunnies have always hated scented products, we even switched to unscented hand soap because they ran away from our hands and wouldn’t take a treat. They didn’t like the washing powder that my boyfriend used either.

I live in a tiny apartment where there’s poor ventilation, so I always opt for unscented in any cleaning product, even the washing up liquid. For personal hygiene and washing clothes it’s much the same: it has to be bunny-approved. I use a rosemary herbal shampoo, an almond milk body soap and an unscented day cream now, that seems to work for them 🙂

[Author]

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