Cage Cleaner Discovery

[llough]

Hey Everyone,

So, I've been using a vinegar and water mix to clean my chinchilla's cage, as per the excellent advice of many members here.

However, I really don't like the acidic scent of vinegar, and it usually doesn't cover up much of the pungent smells of the cage for very long. I was walking through an arts/crafts marker this morning, and found a local producer selling handmade organic, safe, household cleaner.

I cleaned Izzie's cage with it this afternoon, and the difference is AMAZING. The ingredients in the cleaner are: distilled water, white distilled vinegar, sodium bicarbonate, organic castile soap (optional), and organic essential oils. I got the Spearmint and Eucalyptus blend, and now my chin room smells like a spa, hehe.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. The creator of the product said that she would be willing to concentrate the bicarbonate, castile soap, and essential oils into a paste, with instructions on how much water/vinegar to add per tablespoon, so that I could take a bunch of it easily to Arizona when I move and she could ship me more for a low price if I need it.

If anyone has any interest in the produce or the paste, I'm sure she'd love/be willing to ship you some as well. The maker is so sweet and very flexible (she made me a custom exfoliator scrub with the essential oils I asked for, for no extra charge). The price right now is $6 per 22 oz, but she said she's be happy to give a better price on a jar of the concentrated paste, since its in bulk.

I love supporting local arts/crafts makers.:grouphug::

 

[AZChins]

Do you just wipe it off after you apply it? Do you use a spray bottle for it?

 

[Laurie]

It sounds like it smells wonderful and much better than vinegar!

 

[lydz]

That sounds great. I also don't like the smell of the vinegar and feel it doesn't do that great a job. How much would the paste be?

 

[llough]

Well, you can buy it in a spray bottle already formulated with the water and white vinegar added, but it would be very heavy and expensive to ship that way.

That's why I asked her if she would sell just the concentrated paste of sodium borate, organic castile soap, and the essential oils blend in a jar with instructions on how much water/vinegar to add. Then you can ship it cheaply (which is what I plan to do when I move to AZ), and take a tablespoon or two and mix in your own distilled water and white vinegar in an empty spray bottle.

I just followed her instructions to spray the mixture on the cage surfaces (when the chinchillas were out playing) wipe it clean once, and then let it stand to dry for 5 min. I think it worked great for me, just as easy as the vinegar/water mix, but smelling SO great. I went in to check on Izzie and Dante and it still smells like a spa, so I think the scent will stick around for a little bit. It's not overpowering or anything, so I don't think it would harm their respiratory system, would it? I asked which essential oils she used, and none of them have any toxic properties, and they're all organic.

I asked her to custom make some body scrub for me (she is SO nice and helpful), and when I go to pick it up next Thurs. I'll ask her what she would charge for the cleaner concentrate per oz., or something.

 

[InkedupTara]

Do you know which oils they were?

 

[Dustbunnies]

Eucalyptus is toxic. as little as 4mL of oil can kill a child. Koalas are so inactive because they use all of their energy digesting the stuff.

 

[llough]

Hmmm, ok, well I'm not trying to start a debate here or anything. Here is some information to think about:L

The LD50 for rats (the scientifically tested amount of a substance that will statistically be lethal to 50% of the animals that are exposed to it) is 2.5 ml/kg for eucalyptus oil ingested (so a little under 2.5 ml for an average chinchilla). This is according to the International Program on Chemical Safety as cited by a peer reviewed journal article.

I guess that's something to think about, but if you're worried about the toxicity of eucalyptus oil (whose amount is tiny in this cleaner compared to the vinegar) you should really worry about all that vinegar everyone is using to clean their cages because the LD50 of vinegar or Acetic Acid (according to various peer reviewed sources, take your pick) is only slightly less toxic at a level of approximately 3.3 ml/kg for rats.

Keep in mind that we're pretty much dousing our cages in vinegar, and there is only 5-20 drops max. of eucalyptus oil in the entire 22 oz bottle for scent purposes.

 

[AZChins]

It doesn't sound like it's going to be harmful considering the concentration being used in the solution. I had no idea that that was the test amount for vinegar! Is that at 100% acetic acid or the 5% (diluted with water) that we use? (I have to ask...I know that it's probably pure acetic acid being used!)

 

[Ash]

It also sounds like there may be other scents available to purchase for those who aren't sure about using the eucalyptus mix.

 

[llough]

The numbers I quoted were for a 4% solution of acetic acid (standard table vinegar) according to the Fisher Scientific Material Safety Data sheet - but there are other sources as well, with the LD50 going slightly up or down my a tenth of a ml.

I'm sorry I didn't clarify that (I reread my post and it does sound like I was talking about 100% acetic acid, which would actually burn the skin right off of you . . ouch )

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the LD50 of bleach or other commercial cleaners is WAY higher . . .so maybe vinegar is the lesser of two evils, haha? I mean, we've got to clean the cages with SOMETHING, right? And it might as well smell good while we're at it

 

[AZChins]

The bleach would definitely have a higher LD50.

Sometimes I wish that I could find the vinegar in a higher concentration for cleaning pans.

And, with the eucalyptus you could always go with less in your mix. It's strong stuff, after all.

 

[Ziora]

I'd like some of the paste. I want to use it to clean kitty boxes, too. Mind sharing the info on where to order it?

 

[llough]

Hi Everyone,

So, I spoke with the maker of the cleaner and we figured out a way to make the cleaner from a powder concentrate! You just add water, vinegar, and castile soap.

Here is a link to the powder concentrate that she sells: http://lillybudnaturals.com/cleaning-solutions.htm#herbalscouring

Ingredients are just sodium bicarbonate, sodium borate, and essentials oils blend, just like the spray.

She said that you can simply mix a tablespoon of the powder in a 20oz bottle of water (spray bottle), 1 tsp castile soap, and 1/2 cup vinegar (add this last), making sure the water is warm/hot to adequately dissolve the powder.

At $6 for a 16 oz jar of the powder, I'd say that would last you for a while for the price!

Anyway, she is just a very small, local seller and has said that she doesn't yet take online orders or ship.

However, I'm happy to be a good citizen:dance3: (especially since you all have been so helpful to me!) and pick up some from her and ship it to people, if you would like, as long as you pay me back for shipping. First 10 people to PM about it, I will ship it to you, does that sound ok?

I've been using the spray this past week to clean the cages and love it, plus I love supporting local, home grown businesses.

 

[llough]

Just as an aside, I forgot to mention, I'll ship to as many rescues as might like some of the cleaner

 

[lydz]

She said that you can simply mix a tablespoon of the powder in a 20oz bottle of water (spray bottle), 1 tsp castile soap, and 1/2 cup vinegar (add this last), making sure the water is warm/hot to adequately dissolve the powder.

Just figured out why the vinegar goes in last...... Though it will still explode on you. You think you can throw some of this powder into the wash?

 

[burritothechinchilla]

This looks like basicly the same thing. Would this be safe also?http://www.ehow.com/how_4930223_organic-safe-household-cleaner.html

 

[GorillaJTA]

WAIT WAIT WAIT!!! Is it borate or bicarbonate? If I want to make this at home I need to know. Bicarbonate is gonna make a fizzy solution with the vinegar, but borate is Borax.

 

[Laurie]

Jer the original ingredients list both bicarbonate and borate, they also mention adding the vinegar last but in the home how to instructions they say to add the vinegar first.

 

[fireflycafe]

I add the vinegar last per the instruction from here, and oh boy does it bring back memories from grade school The volcano experiment was the coolest to show off during the science fair... sorry, off topic.

I really do like the smell of the spray, and it does work nicely with my girls cage and around the home ^.^