cleaning bottom of cage and water bottle

Question
hi ryan-it's nice to know someone can help with this one! i've heard you should use bleach and a mixture of water when cleaning the bottom of the cage and the water bottle(both are plastic).  but then i just read an article about only using a mild soap instead of bleach-they say the bleach gives respiratory problems! but i thought the soap whould give skin irritation problems-especialy since i have a "skinny pig".I've always used bleach i figure that definatly kills the germs(i work at a preschool).  what do you suggest that is the least harmful agent to use in cleaning both bottles and cages?

Answer
Hello Nancy and thanks for the question,

I use bleach and open air to clean my GP's pen. Both my GP's are extremely healthy, clean and happy.

I tried both methods in the past and came up with this method. I also feared using bleach and/or soaps on the GP things from reading books and websites. Trust me and do the following.

Mix bleach with warm water sparingly (bleach is strong stuff). Wash and scrub the items that need scrubed. Rinse VERY well and then LET THE ITEMS SIT in open air for 15 minutes. This will dry them and cause the "heavy" part of the bleach odor to subside. You can then put the GPs back in. It may "smell" like bleach (which in my opinion is good) but it will not be strong enough to hurt your pets' lungs.

SOAP (even antibacterial) doesn't do it when it comes to killing germs and soap doesn't like to rinse clean most oftenly. I would fear my GP's licking IT up and becoming sick to their stomaches then getting ill from bleach fumes.

Thanks and have a nice day,
Ryan
PS: If this is useful to you, please rate me. THX