Bleach vs Vinegar for Cleaning Cages

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MuddyFarms

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I am interested to know your thoughts on these two cleaners for when you are cleaning cages, feeders, water bottles, nest boxes (wooden and metal), etc. I have three specific questions about them, but feel free to share whatever you've noticed or are aware of with them, as well.

1) What factors do you use to choose when to use bleach vs vinegar for cleaning? (presence of disease, etc)
2) Does one damage cage wire more than the other?
3) How important is it to thoroughly rinse these cleaners off of the items you are cleaning (for cage longevity and animal health)?

Thanks!
 
Cleaning and disinfecting are two different processes. With cleaning you're trying to remove organic matter---fungi, bacteria, viruses, mites and eggs, etc. Disinfecting is actually trying to kill these pests.

Vinegar isn't a very good disinfectant, but it is a good acidic cleaner to remove calcium deposits. It has to stay wet for a while to do the job. The danger is that it will also eat into the zinc coating on your cage wire.

Bleach at 1 part bleach with 10 parts water is a good disinfectant, but only if the surfaces are thoroughly cleaned before using the bleach. Any organic matter quickly uses up the chlorine and you're left with a solution that won't disinfect. For that reason, the greenhouse industry gave up on using bleach a long time ago.
 
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