FINCHforum

Does anyone have recommendations for safe floor cleaner to use near finch cages? We have them in our dining room, which has hard wood floors. I've used just plain hot water in the last, but would like to do them more thoroughly. I'm worried about the smells of most of the commercially-available ones. I use pine-sol in the rest of the house, but worry about the proximity of the cages to the floor (lower cages are only inches off the floor) in the dining room.
I use Clorox's Seventh Generation line for other things, but even these have a (naturally-derived) fragrance, which I worry might be problematic for finches.

Any suggestions, preferably tried and true?

Try mixing in Vinegar with your hot water. It works great and it's non-toxic.

Thanks J-Netty
I have considered that, but I wasn't sure if it would be ok on the hardwood.
What's your recommended concentration?

White vinegar and water

i use it on my hard wood floors and it works great, leaves a nice shine and the floor is fresh and clean. Try 2 cups to a bucket of water. If you think it's too much, cut it back some. Good luck!

I might try a gentle dish soap instead.

There's some controversy over using vinegar on hardwood, as it's acidic and some say it causes damage to hardwood and stone like granite, marble, etc.
I only happen to know this as I just rewrote a bunch of content for a floor restoration company and the owner was fanatical about this point. LOL

Personally, I have tile, so I have no opinion on whether vinegar is good/bad on hardwood.
Though I love vinegar for glass, though. It works beautifully!

The first part of this writeup has a bit of info on why it's supposedly bad (second part is a sales pitch.)
http://www.restorehardwoodfloors.com/vi ... od-floors/

Another idea: Do you have a setup that would allow you to move them into another area for a bit while you clean? Obviously that won't work if you have fixed cages. But if you had some on rollers, it could work nicely.