How to Disinfect a Bird Cage and Bird Toys

If you have a pet parrot or bird of any type, keeping their cage, toys, food and water dishes clean and disinfected is critical for their health. Using the wrong cleaners can actually harm your pet parrot and can make them very ill.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bleach
• One gallon of water
• Dishwasher
• Liquid dish soap and water
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Tap water
• Measuring cups

1. Cleaned and rinsed thoroughly your pet parrot's food and water dishes at least once a week. The safest way to disinfect these is to run them through your dishwasher after they’ve been washed and rinsed.

2. Clean your bird's cage and toys at least once a week. You should disinfect it at least once a month. There are two primary ways to disinfect the cage: using water with a bit of bleach added or using water with a bit of hydrogen peroxide.

3. Make sure your pet parrot is located in a safe place away from its cage before beginning to clean.

4. Remove toys from your bird's cage.

5. Mix 1/4 cup of regular bleach with 1 gallon of water. You can make this mixture up ahead of time and store it in the gallon water container. Be sure to label this container so that it’s not used for anything else.

6. Use a clean rag and pour some of the solution on it. Using this damp rag, wash your bird's cage including branches and hooks. Let the cage air dry.

7. Let the toys soak for 10 minutes, then remove them. Rinse them thoroughly under running tap water.

8. Be sure that they toys are thoroughly dry before returning them to your pet parrot's cage.

9. Disinfect the cage and toys by using a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water. Dilute 1 ounce of hydrogen peroxide in 15 ounces of water.

10. Use the same cleaning methods as the bleach to disinfect cages and toys with this solution.

Tips & Warnings

• Caution: If you use too much bleach, you can cause serious harm to your pet bird.