Calcium crust on cage

[keninphilly]

So, moving to the new house required me to take apart all the cages to transport the 450 miles and reassemble. Well, my Niko likes to pee everywhere but where he is supposed to. Wherever he is, he just lets loose. To say the least this is disgusting, but I have just resigned to wiping the shelves with peroxide and an occasional sanding.

The problem now is that the metal of the cage itself have a coating of white smelly crust in some places (I assume calcium from urine). I have washed and scrubbed with vinegar and peroxide which doesn't help. I used a steam cleaner with little effect. I thought about taking the whole **** thing to a car wash and blasting it with high pressure hot water. That is the only thing I can think of- very hot water and very high pressure.

Anyone have any ideas, suggestions? Maybe there is something I can buy at the hardware store that will do the same thing for me at home, I can only imagine the looks of people at the car wash!

 

[Rickman]

I've been pretty sucessful with a small wire brush on the end of a drill - at Ace!
Wear a dustmask outside though - makes a powdery mess!

 

[addictedtochins]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. If you don't have a drill just use a BBQ wire grill cleaning brush. I would make a melamine sp? cage for that guy.

 

[Newt]

I just boil a kettle, pour the boiling water on the stain and let stand for 10 mins.
Then I use one of those green pan-scourer pads on it....seems to work really well!

 

[AZChins]

I have the BBQ wire brush, too. That and my vinegar spray bottle usually can get it all off of the cages. Sometimes there's a little of the stuff that I can't get to, but it's manageable. Also, sometimes I will take a pair of needlenose pliers and pull off that crud...sometimes that works best.

With some chins you just have to clean up the cages all the time to prevent there from being any build up at all. I took a cage outside that I had two boys in for about two months without scrubbing the cage and you would not believe the mess that they made. Most chins do not create that much build up on their cages, but there are some chins that make such a mess.

 

[BellaBella]

I use Lime away on Kiwi's pan in the corners - it comes right up. I then rinse it really well, then wash with my regular cleaner and rinse again (in the bathtub) that lime away stuff is pretty nasty.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I've been pretty sucessful with a small wire brush on the end of a drill - at Ace!
Wear a dustmask outside though - makes a powdery mess!

Wow, what a great idea! I have a new job for the hubby (I need to take a little bit advantage of just having surgery!)

 

[alli713]

I think for on the bars a dremel type tool would work best. I only have this issue on my pans, so what I do is soak them in water/vinegar mix and then chip away the crust with either a flat nosed screwdriver or similar flat metal surface. But on bars I think something small would work best.

 

[keninphilly]

I will try the wire brush on the drill, I never thought of attaching a brush to a drill! As for the Lime Away, is that the same as CLR?

 

[AZChins]

You know, I think CLR may be the same thing but only a little stronger. I've used both to get the mineral deposits off the cages and sometimes they help and sometimes it's just too much for them to dissolve.

I hate to say it...but sometimes it gets to the point where it isn't worth it to keep cleaning a cage because the results aren't worth the effort.

 

[Bethany]

I use clr, it is toxic. I use it, rinse the cage, scrub the cage down with dawn (dish washing liquid), rinse and do it again with dawn.

 

[keninphilly]

Ok, I found CLR at the hardware store. I got the kind that is specifically for metal. I cannot stand it anymore, the cage is turning white in certain places...YUCK!

 

[saszygirl1]

Man I am so bleesed mine arent that bad.....Just poop manchines thank God.. I hope you get it clean....Good luck..

 

[Bethany]

Just be sure that if you start finish it, and make sure that you rinse well and go over it a couple times with soap.

 

[keninphilly]

Just be sure that if you start finish it, and make sure that you rinse well and go over it a couple times with soap.

Oh, don't worry about that! I am clean obsessed with their cages, which is why this drives me crazy! Only Niko's cage gets like this. I tried a steam cleaner to no avail. I was actually considering taking it to one of those self car washing places (the ones you put quarters in and then spray the hose yourself). I had no idea what to do and was fed up.

I'm going to do it this weekend. I don't want to have to take the cage apart, it is a Martin's cage and all those C clamps are a pain! I will soak the whole thing in the bathtub, I think. How long should I soak it, do you think??? The bottle says 3 minutes, is that enough??? Do I need to get a mask, it says on the bottle that there are fumes!