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Hi all I was given a big macaw cage that was in very good shape. The only problem is, it smells like cigarette smoke.Can any of you tell me what to use to wash off the smoke smell. Thanks, Mark

Car wash if it breaks down. If not spray down w/ bleach/water solution.

Mike

EWWWWW, Id bleach the heck out of it- pressure wash, rinse and allow to air-out. This is why I wont even consider anything from a smoker- dont care how free it is. Just think of the poor bird and the nicotene- being absorb through their talons and lungs- GROSS!

thank you I already washed it down with bleach but it still smells. I think I will wash it down with some dawn dish soap. Maybe it will cut the smoke tar. I was wonder what happened to the bird. I feel sorry for birds who have smoker owners. A friend who knows me was cleanig up an appartment. Fixing holes in the wall and painting . The cage was in the appartment and the people were gone. The owner asked him if he knew somebody that could use it. I take in unwanted birds some times so its nice to have a spare cage around.. It 36x48x72 rod iron cage and heavy. I may just air it out for awhile. thanks again.

I took in a cockatiel family (4 cockatiels) who were stuck in a California Ferret Cage, about 18" x 18" x 46"H. At best, this cage should not have more than 1 cockatiel in it... yet there were 4. On top of that the birds were smoked around so heavily, that the off-white color of the cage was yellowish and when I put a cotton sheet around the cage (to keep the birds calm while I made room for them... they were bothered by the cats) I thought I'd kill them because the smell was just so HORRIBLE!

I'm not a smoker, but I don't live in a smoke-free home. At that, I wont even have my birds smoked around, which is why they are kept in bedrooms, one which has a door always closed, and the other door only closed for a special circumstance (since most birds in the room have gotten used to having the cats around them).

Least bit, what I did with the cage, was I stuck it in the shower, and power washed best I could. Then, I washed it off with Dawn Dish Soap and rinsed again. I thought about using bleach but decided not to. Instead, I put pure white vinegar (i.e. not diluted) into a spray bottle, and sprayed down the ENTIRE cage. I let sit for 15 minutes and rinsed again. After that the smell was gone as far as I could tell!

Try Pine sol. But don't use it around your birds because it is toxic to them (as is bleach). Use it outdoors. Mix it in a spray bottle and spray the cage down several times before rinsing then sponge the cage down with Pine Sol mixed in a bucket and rinse again.

Bleach is a good disinfectant but not a good surfactant and can be hard on the cage finish.

I use bleach daily on our cages and dont have any problems- but I also use it weak enough you cant smell it, and we only have Kings cages.

It has been documented in many professional avian medical publications that bleach is harmful to birds' fragile respiratory systems. The damage done to their respiratory systems from bleach is often cumulative so you probably won't see symptoms until it's too late.

well guess it takes longer than 64 yrs then( age of Moms Macaws and grey). I mean a ounce to 10 gallon bucket is nothing, we dont drown cages- ect in bleach, Yes I have bringing home cages from others due to No one cleans them and covered- caked on crap is more harmful than the amount I use. But then Again Im different

Bleach is a noxious and corrosive substance. It should not be used around birds at any dilution.

The typical bleach solution to kill many organisms is 5-10% bleach to water. Then there is contact time. All disinfecting methods require contact time to work. 5 minutes is usually the minimum. That is after all organic material has been removed. So that means the surface has to be thoroughly clean before it's disinfected. Surgical instruments are first soaked in an enzymatic solution to loosen the organic material. Then they are scrubbed by hand and put in an ultrasonic machine to vibrate remaining material off then rinsed well. It's after all of that is done before they are sterilized. The same or similar procedure would apply to a disinfection technique. Sterilzation and disinfection are not interchangeable terms.

To truly disinfect a cage is not practical nor is it possible due to the fact that gravity doesn't allow a disinfectant to stay in place long enough to work. It drips off the bars before contact time can be achieved. The most practical way to disinfect a cage is to clean it, rinse then air dry in the sun.


Unless there is a known disease in your aviary then there is no need to disinfect. Clean is good enough in most cases. Cleaned with an effective surfactant is enough. No need to add more work to your day if it's not necessary or useful. If you really think daily disinfection is necessary then use undiluted white vinegar. It is a low level disinfectant that is not harmful to birds or their cages.

Please understand that I am not picking on you LJ. I am trying to educate you and anyone else that reads this and hope that birds are not put in harm's way.

cathyt wrote:... The most practical way to disinfect a cage is to clean it, rinse then air dry in the sun. Unless there is a known disease in your aviary then there is no need to disinfect... If you really think daily disinfection is necessary then use undiluted white vinegar. It is a low level disinfectant that is not harmful to birds or their cages.

Please understand that I am not picking on you LJ. I am trying to educate you and anyone else that reads this and hope that birds are not put in harm's way.

Thank you for the good information. Important too to turn the cage every few hours so the sun hits as many welds and corners as possible.

Paca

I want to thank all you for your info.Have a nice day. Mark