Holistic Cleaning

[cristina]

So I didnt know where to put this topic, and I couldnt find a thread already about it either. I was wondering of anyones opinions/suggestions on natural/organic cleaning products for use around ferrets.

I clean green already, though I was hoping for input from anyone if they had any natural cleaning "recipes" for cleaning solutions particularly for carpets. I deodorize with baking soda, but I cant seem to get ALL the ferret urine smell out of my carpet. (I have tried everything from vinegar to borax) so if anyone has any tips to share I would greatly appreciate it!

[josiesmom]

I haven't used it yet, but am planning on trying a bottle of "Nature's Miracle". I've been happy with using white vinegar, baking soda, salt and borax powder along with a decent scrub brush and elbow grease.

But then again I don't have pile carpeting- just flat indoor outdoor carpeting on a concrete floor ( no under padding either). The carpet apparently has been pretreated with some sort of stain release/ water repellent that although the carpeting is quite old, it is still fairly effective.

Cheers,
Kim

[Lynna]

I've heard of using natures miracle 50/50 with warm water in a steam cleaner works well. I use natures miracle allergen reducer in a spray bottle and I think it does well to get rid of odor and help clean up after accidents on the carpet. Plus I don't sneeze as much.

[cristina]

I have the same kind of carpet, indoor/outdoor on concrete, though I have used vinegar and have noticed it leaves a strange smell after it dries and it kinda lingers (not the best smell, but not urine smell). I think Ill try a paste of vinegar, salt and baking soda plus Im thinking of adding in a bit of club soda (maybe that will help dilute the vinegar so it hopefully doesnt leave that strange smell).

Natures miracle I have used and it doesnt seem to work well for my carpet, I still get a slight urine smell and I have even doused the whole carpet area with it (full strength) and it still doesnt work too well.

I was just seeing if anyone had a good solution mixture that they have found to really clean carpet heavy duty (the thing is I dont use commercial products of any sort since I have had a 0% success rate with all of them).

Thank you for your input, I think this thread could be a great "guide" to cleaning (holistically), since I have seen so many people seeking for alternative cleaning methods! Its really helpful to see what others have concocted to clean different pet stains and such, particularly for ferrets (especially since they have their own "unique" smell haha!)

[Forum Administrator]

Excellent thread! I'm gunna scoot this to the "Natural Care" section

I wish I could offer advice, but the Nature's miracle has always worked well for my carpets. Then I use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning hard surfaces.

I'm interested to hear of what other carpet cleaning products people use.

[cristina]

So today I used a mixture of salt, warm water, vinegar, splash of lemon juice, baking soda and corn starch in a bucket and with a scrub brush I scrubbed this on my carpet, let it sit and them added warm water to my carpet cleaning machine and rinsed it then sucked it up and I cant believe the difference!!!! I am absolutely amazed!!!

When it dries I intend to sprinkle on baking soda, let it sit over night and vacuum it up in the morning then put down mats under all the litter boxes (because my ferrets are free roaming and they have a large area to venture into and find hidden places to do their business!) and them I think Im good to go.

My problem was that I had many deep set in urine stains and I used to use chemicals (like bissel pet cleaning solution) that actually made the smells worse and trapped the smells in the carpet!! So now I ALWAYS clean organically and I seriously cannot believe the change, I will never use chemicals again, nature is far better!!! It took me a couple months of cleaning these soiled spots over and over again to just get the old carpet shampoo out!

[weloveourweasels]

I have not shampooed the carpet though I really need too. I want to buy one of those steam cleaners that are on TV. Anyways here is a site with 2 recipes www.naturemoms.com/natural-carpet-cleaner-recipe.html

I found this organic cleaner
www.drycarpet.com/swedry_multi2.htm

This section of the site talks about removing pet urine and stains

www.drycarpet.com/swedry_multi2.htm

[valkyriestorm]

The pet store I work in sells a tun of all Natural cleaning products. A new one I have been using is Natural Chemistry called NO ODOR, says it removes odors permanently with a money back guarantee. It's non masking and it says there is no chlorine in it. 100% biodegradable and harmless to people, pets and the environment. I love their stuff, we use allot of their products in the store. And they have a light smell. Its just lately I havent had to use it because the my ferret Thomas has been getting better using the litter pan. I also use a water and vinegar spray. I make it up every few weeks. Vinegar is supposed to kill and mask smell.

[cristina]

So I really am intrigued about the dry carpet cleaner and I love how it said what to do with different soil problems in carpet and how to deal with them....though Im so weary of products that Im not positive are ok to use around animals.
I get worried when the backs say "Keep out of reach from children and if ingested or anything seek medical attention immediately" even when the front says "organic" or "natural" or "eco-friendly".

I think Im just paranoid to hurt my little ones (Im the most protective and annoying ferret mother lol), but if you try it and like it then let me know and I may try it too.

I have been using vinegar and baking soda with water and I noticed it does leave a smell and they do go back to it so I dont think its working (at least not for me, though I may be doing it wrong).

[cristina]

So I have given up on a "natural" carpet homemade cleaner, I just bought an organic non-toxic carpet cleaning solution from my organic health food store and I actually love it and it works great!

Its made from natural ingredients and makes my carpet smell great so I couldnt be happier, in case anyone is interested I believe the name is Seventh Generation Carpet Shampoo.

[animalsgetrevenge]

[I just had to chime in about Seventh Generation products. I had seen their products around for years but never bought or used them. One day I decided to try their All Purpose Cleaner.

I looked the bottle over and was shocked by information I found. Unfortunately I used and recycled the bottle so I can quote it exactly and the website doesn't show all the information but it said something like: This product is non-toxic but we don't recommend drinking it in large amounts! I have never seen a cleaning bottle that said that! Hahaha. It also contains no animal products/byproducts and no animal testing. It's also hypo-allergenic and biodegradable


This is the only product I have tried and I was satisfied. It was just as affective as any other "all-purpose" cleaner, but it didn't give me a headache and actually smelt NICE!
www.seventhgeneration.com
It seems like a lot of people use vinegar and baking soda to clean.
Can anyone give me a recipe of proportion estimate so I can make my own cleaning products at home?
What kind of vinegar should I use? (I have a ton of apple cider vinegar in my cupboard and I use 2 tablespoons a month for cupcakes, it will last forever!)
Does it disinfect and sanitize? Does it leave a vinegar smell at all?

Any other natural cleaning recipes you can share?
I have heard of using a tea tree oil mix for cleaning but DANG that stuff is expensive! [/pre] [/left]

[cristina]

It does leave a vinegar smell if its not diluted properly, I have found this out the hard way! But I use "healthy habitat" (an animal area cleaner, non-toxic, safe to use around pets, and is organic) around most surfaces or anything really in my ferret room, it disinfects and is totally safe for them. Other surfaces around my house I use the 7th gen all purpose cleaner, but I looked at the bottle after you said that and I was kinda surprised as well!

I dont think I will be using the 7th gen all purpose cleaner anymore now that you brought that to my attention so Im going back to my mixture: (I use a small bottle so I dont know the exact ml) but I use: 1 tbls vinegar (white distilled), 1 tbls baking soda, 1 tsp lemon juice (more could be used if desired) and 2 cups warm water. I shake it so the baking soda dissolves and it lasts me usually a month or 2, depending on the messes I make haha.

This is what I have found to work, instead of using more vinegar I use lemon juice with it since lemon is a great disinfectant and smells much better than vinegar!

You could even skip the vinegar and use more lemon juice since it pretty much works the same, its all up to u!

Let me know if you find any other methods/mixtures that are worth trying!

[weloveourweasels]

I used seventh generation free and clear all purpose cleaner. It smelled a little funny and left and film on the plaster sheves in my ferret nation. I have since switched to Natures Miracle Stain and odor remover. There is isopropyl alcohol in it which noone can drink but even if they licked something off the shelves they wouldn't be able to consume a large ammount of it. Plus Mine have shelf covers and floor mats so no worry here. It leaves no film and smells great. I used to use Seventh generation products like laundry detergent and fabric softner but after investigating their ingredients on-line I found out the use sodium lauryl sulfate! I was shocked and stopped using it. I use the natures miracle now. I have used clean cage from superpet in the past (It is all natural and biodedradable but I can't find the ingredients.) It left a film as well but not as bad as seventh generation. It smelled excelent though. I would love to try the healthy habitat stuff. It has no alcohol in it.

www.ferret.com/item/healthy-habitat/

www.ferret.com/item/super-pet-clean-cage-for-ferrets-16-oz/

www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750968

[cristina]

ok I dont know what sodium lauryl sulfate is but I dont like the sound of it lol so you have converted me totally away from that product (thanks! I would have never known)

I only really use natures miracle on carpet because of the alcohol in it (its so strong and I get a smell of nail polish remover from it and it doesnt make me feel to good about it, so thats y I only use it on carpet...also for the enzymes in it too)

Heres a product I love and use all over and pretty much as a general all purpose, even though its for places around pets, I use it all over the house. Love the smell and the ingredients (so far anyways haha)
www.ferret.com/item/healthy-habitat/

[cristina]

I have a quick question to Guili (since you mentioned you use it), or anyone else who uses hydrogen peroxide to clean with. I want to make a mixture with hydrogen peroxide in it, since I now am starting to find the raw, old, dried up pieces of chicken EVERYWHERE! LOL....I need to make sure I clean it properly so I can rid any chance of salmonella and such.

Preferably I would like to make a solution with it and be able to use it on everything (like an all purpose), though I am not sure if hydrogen peroxide is "ok" to use on all surfaces.

Please let me know how you all use hydrogen peroxide for cleaning, what you (or could) mix it with, and anything else that has to do with this product thats necessary for cleaning.

Thanks so much! ;D ;D