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I got so fed up with winter that I bought a rain suit and took my huge cage outside and scrubbed and hosed it down today. Just like in the summer. Took me 45 mins. and I was done vs doing it inside and taking all day so I don't spill sudsey water anywhere and have even more mess to clean up. Birds are happy and I'm happy. They of course stayed inside on their play stations with my husband. I also changed their heppa filter, vacuumed and steamed cleaned under the cage while it was outside drip drying along with all their toys. Yeaaaah! And all their play stations are clean now too (much easier, do them inside anyway). It sure is nice when the weather is better though and you can take the big stuff outside. I just couldn't stand it anymore and the clean after a power wash just is so.....clean compared to the wipe downs I can do inside. I got my rain suit at Walmart for 9 dollars in the sports/hunting dept. and it was worth every cent.
Cindyluehoo

Cindy, I am envious of you being able to take the cages outside. I live in a one bedroom apartment so have to contend with washing cages the old fashioned way and every Friday night it takes me 4 hours to clean 4 sleeping cages and 4 big cages. Of course, if I tried to wash anything outside right now, I'd probably freeze to the balcony. It's been very, very cold (minus 7-20 C) lately.

Bev

Whoa, that's cold! You're water source would freeze at that temp. even if you could take the cages outside!

My breeder gave me advice on indoor cage cleaning - go to dollar store and buy a dozen shower curtain liners and always keep one under the cage so when you go to clean, you can just roll it up with the whole mess contained, wet newspaper and all. It helps.

I would be careful with the shower curtain liners, from any store. There were some warnings out in the last year that they were off gasing some nasty, very harmful fumes.

You're right, they do gas off but I keep my birds and cages in a HUGE family room with heppa filter sucking the gas away from cages and into the great outdoors (due to my allergies) so it works out for me but that's a good point as when I first open the bags the liners come in, I do smell that plastic smell and usually air them out over the deck rail over night (then it doesn't smell so much). I've tried washing them first but they just get torn up in washing machine.

I am pretty lucky.....Ivy's cage never gets SO dirty that I have to do this, and is so easy to clean that I can do everything inside easily. In summertime I still take it out and clean it once, but hers survives the winter pretty well. Pip's cage is small enough that I can lug it out into the kitchen on the floor and just clean away.....take all toys out and I use a toothbrush and hot water to get into the cracks. I just did his like this yesterday! Then there is Woody and Boss's cage......it takes more of a beating because there's two of them in there and they spend the most time in their cages compared to the others, AND everybirdy likes hanging out on top of it! Add to that the fact that they like to sleep in the back of the cage and all the poop goes down the back, and I get really itchy to get that cage outside for a good cleaning too! I do pretty good though inside in the winter.....I also just gave their cage a good thorough cleaning about a week or so ago. I think I do a pretty good job inside, but boy it sure would be alot easier and better if I could take it outside for a good hose down! unfortunately it's WAY too cold here to do that......if the water gets turned on to the hose, the pipes can burst. Supposed to warm up, but the cold soon follows again and we still have tons of snow on the ground! So springtime I'll get it out there. It's nice my other two cages survive pretty good without having to go outside.

I too am lucky
I do wipe down my cages with some home made wipes (made of vinegar and waterand paper towels in a subermaid containter) each morning when i do the paper change for the morning. I change the paper twoel on the grate twice a day (they like to play down there) Once a week I take apart and wipe down I just pull them apart in the bathtub and spray with a hand sprayer and never never had anything so bad that it needs extreme washing and scrubbing. I take out all perches and toys and change them around and clean really well the other perches toys etc that come out and run them through a no soap no nothing dishwasher cycle.
I also use a lot of fresh branches from a local Organic Farm as the birds love tearing back off and chewing on them and I have natural places to hide and hang foods

I find as long as I stay on top of things I do not get to the scrubbing point like that.
Than again I am home all day and well they are what I spend the day doing and I know some can not do that.

April

I can not wait to get back outside to do the cleaning. It seems like the cages just do not come as clean during long ohio winter months, when you have to just wipe down.

My unit is huge, but not a walk in (a crawl in), a double stack and I have Khaufu on top of the unit playing all day and in the lower unit a Lorikeet, very very messy. Going out side is the best way for me to get cages really, really clean with very little effort. I enjoy that. Wiping down and vacuuming just isn't the same to me, between the TAG and the lorikeet, the dust, the liquid poo going every direction, nectar getting wiped on every bar, nope, nothing compares to the good old power wash outside. Spring is almost here....