Fabuloso is a popular multi-purpose cleanser that is effective at removing dirt while giving your home a clean-home smelling fragrance. The range of Fabuloso products are, manufactured by Colgate and come in a variety of formulas and fragrances, with lavender being the most popular.
Is Fabuloso Safe Around Birds?
Fabuloso is a really effective multi-purpose cleaner as it kills 99.9% of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and klebsiella pneumoniae).
Fabuloso can be used on almost any hard surfaces and it will certainly prove an effective cleaner for your bird cage.
Although it is said not to be toxic, if you do decide to use Fabuloso to clean the cage then it is still advisable to wash the cage and its accessories thoroughly in clean water to ensure that no traces of the cleaner are lefty on any of the surfaces.
What Floor Cleaner Is Safe For Birds?
While Fabuloso is regarded as safe to use near pet birds, many owners prefer to use a water and pure vinegar solution for cleaning – an effective solution can be made with organic apple cider vinegar mixed with water using a 1:1 ratio – equal parts.
Alternatively, you can make a floor cleaner using grapefruit seed extract or grapefruit essential oil mixed at a concentration of seven drops per litre.
The only important point to remember is that this mixture will not kill any bacteria in the cage.
What Household Cleaning Products Are Safe For Birds?
Most modern cleaning products are not toxic and if they are they have to be inhaled or swallowed in a large quantity.
Birds are most likely to inhale the cleaner or taste it in the food bowls or perches.
The manufacturers have run tests on animals and found that inhalation does not cause any side effects, but swallowing the cleaner can cause sickness.
Fabuloso and many other cleaning products can also cause irritation if it gets onto the skin or into the eyes of your bird.
There are specialist cleaning products on the market that have been designed specifically for cleaning bird cages including avian disinfectants.
They certainly work very efficiently, but because it is a niche market, they usually have a hefty price tag.
What Cleaners Are Safe For Birds?
If you want to be really cautious about what cleaning products you use on your your budgie’s cage, there are some products that will make easy work of keeping the cage clean and healthy for your bird but are in no way toxic or harmful to birds..
Steam
Many bird breeders recommend using steam to loosen all the dirt in the bird cage before using a bird-friendly disinfectant, dish soap or baking soda.
Steam is totally natural and cannot cause your bird any problems unless you do not dry the cage thoroughly afterwards as steam and humidity do accelerate the growth of mould.
Washing Up Liquid (Dish Soap)
Most of the varieties of dish soap are bird-friendly, it is best to select a mild washing up liquid and to dilute it well.
Use a soft cloth rather than a pan scourer on your bird cage as the scourer will scratch the surfaces and the scratches will provide a breeding ground for bacteria.
Dish soap can be successfully used to clean food dishes and perches.
Once you have cleaned all parts of the cage, it is a good idea to rinse everything thoroughly in clean water to remove any traces of soap because if you budgie/parrot swallowed any it could give them an upset stomach.
Castile soap is a brand to watch out for as it is a natural product, made from a variety of oils.
Dilute this dish soap in warm water in the ration of 1:10.
Related article you’ll find useful – Is dawn dish soap safe for birds?
Baking Soda
Baking soda is a traditional cleaner that has been used for generations and is very bird-friendly.
Mix the baking soda with warm water in the ratio of e one tablespoon of baking soda and one tablespoon of lemon juice per teacup of warm water.
Apply this mixture with a soft cloth to all parts of the cage and then rinse everything thoroughly in clean water, before drying.
What Products Should I Avoid For Cage Cleaning?
It really is important to check out the suitability of any cleaning products before you use them.
Certain chemicals release toxic fumes and these can make parrots/ budgies very unwell.
The cleaning products to avoid are those containing ammonia, bleach, chlorine and phenols.
When choosing cleaning products to use for your bird cage, it is very important to understand that that pet-safe does not mean necessarily bird-friendly.
When a product is pet-safe it usually means that it is suitable for use in rooms with dogs and cats.
Double check if the product is bird-friendly or for advice, ask your Vet.
How Often Should You Clean The Bird Cage?
Your budgie will be noisy, sweet, loving and extremely messy!
Afterall, budgies do poop everywhere!
It really is important to keep the bird cage clean to keep your bird healthy.
You will need to complete a mini clean-up every day to get rid of uneaten food and to clean the feed and water bowls.
The cage will need a thorough clean once a week.
It is important to remember that your budgie has sensitive skin and a sensitive respiratory tract so you need to remove bacteria from his cage but using only bird-friendly products to ensure that you do not cause him any health problems.
When you make your weekly clean, you will need to clean the cage itself by wiping all the surfaces and removing the cage paper.
All perches need to be cleaned and food bowls given a really thorough clean.
Your bird’s toys need to be wiped too.
Once you have cleaned everything with a bird-friendly disinfecting cleaner, wash everything thoroughly with clean water and dry thoroughly.
On a sunny day, leave the cage to dry in the sunshine.
Once the cage is thoroughly dry you can replace the cage paper with new sheets and replace the perches, food bowls and your budgie’s much-lived toys.
I go into more detail in my article How often should I clean my bird cage?
