Safe Floor Cleaner And General Cleaners

[valentine319]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for pet safe cleaners. From linoleum floor cleaner to general cleaners. I'm used to doing lots of research but something like natural floor cleaner is confusing me with all the different ones especially at $11. I'm also concerned about and wanting to avoid anything with essential oils.

Feel free to add the good, bad and the ugly.

 

[laura mae]

I use Murphy's oil soap even though I don't have any wooden floors.

 

[LTS3]

A baking soda and vinegar and hot water solution works well for all sorts of cleaning and it's non-toxic.

 

[stephanietx]

I use baking soda and vinegar to clean almost everything in my house. I use water/vinegar to mop the floors.

 

[lalagimp]

I use 50/50 water/vinegar to clean all kinds of things in my house.
I started when I got guinea pigs a long, long time ago.

 

[Ardina]

Forgive me for butting in with a rather inconvenient question, but doesn't baking soda and vinegar just neutralize to a dilute salt water solution? It probably seems to work as a cleaning agent because hot water and scrubbing are pretty effective.

I tend to use hot water and soap. Or occasionally hydrogen peroxide, which I then rinse off with regular water.

 

[catdaddy007]

Hi everyone! I'm looking for pet safe cleaners. From linoleum floor cleaner to general cleaners. I'm used to doing lots of research but something like natural floor cleaner is confusing me with all the different ones especially at $11. I'm also concerned about and wanting to avoid anything with essential oils.

Feel free to add the good, bad and the ugly.

I had read online that using vinegar and water is a good, safe floor cleaner, so I tried it last weekend. I cleaned the place and let my cats into the kitchen- and they refused to eat for two days. They were acting really strange, like edgy and just not themselves. I would put food down, they'd approach it, smell it, and walk away. Or even only look at the bowl and walk out of the kitchen. So I followed them around with their bowls; they would take one or two bites and walk away. Lexi can be finicky with food, but Jasmine is a glutton; I have never seen her turn down anything once. I tried different flavours, opening like four different cans but no dice.

So the last couple of days I've been worried, wondering if they are sick. A bit of online sleuthing yesterday turned up the fact that cats hate vinegar, and also vinegar reacts with cement tile grout which is what my kitchen floor tiles are laid with. So I spent two hours tonight scrubbing the grout with baking soda/water paste on a toothbrush and washing the floor with it as well- happy to report that as soon as I did it and opened the patio doors to let fresh air in, they started getting frisky and enjoyed some food. I think what was happening was that because vinegar smells sour, it interfered with their sense of smell and made them think their food was off. Needless to say I won't be washing anything with vinegar again. Baking soda works well although you have to then clean up the residue. The best thing for cleaning any floor is supposed to be to simply steam clean it with just water and a steam cleaner. Disinfects, no residue, cleans well, and it's essentially free once you buy the steam cleaner. I'm going to look into that.

 

[tabbytom]

Me too, 50/50 water and vinegar for cleaning., wipe off spills n so on. Best thing is there's no more ants. Vinegar clears all ants scent trails.

For fruit flies, get a plastic cup, fill half with vinegar, a few dash of liquid detergent, wrap top with clear food wraps and secure with rubber band. Poke a few holes big enuff for fruit flies to enter and wait to see them visit the cup and never getting out.

 

[jcat]

A steam cleaner is a good investment if you have pets. It can be used on floors, walls, litter boxes, cat trees, carpets, sinks, etc., and obviates the need for chemicals. I even use it on a low setting on laminate or parquet floors.

 

[cheeser]

I use Dawn dishwashing liquid (the non-concentrated kind), as well as the aforementioned baking soda, vinegar, and water.

Oh, and I've found that a mixture of one part Dawn to one part full-strength vinegar works wonders for loosening stubborn soap scum and mineral deposits in the shower. I do have to air the bathroom out for an hour or two afterward, but since the cats don't take showers or spend much time in the bathroom, it works out for us.

 

[nansiludie]

I move the kitties out and just bleach the floors and rinse with plain water. Works well and kills all sorts of nasty bugs. I do clean litter boxes out with dish soap then vinegar and let air dry. cat beds get washed in the laundry with laundry detergent and bleach. My FIV kitty has his area cleaned with bleach and air dried and he goes back daily. So far we've been quite well and I have quite a few kitties.

 

[momof3b1g]

A steam cleaner is a good investment if you have pets. It can be used on floors, walls, litter boxes, cat trees, carpets, sinks, etc., and obviates the need for chemicals. I even use it on a low setting on laminate or parquet floors.

Which steamer do you have? I have a couple and it doesn't work well on my wood laminate floors. Leaves them streaky.

 

[Neo_23]

Swiffer floor cleaners are supposed to be safe for use with pets. I think they ran a study a while ago when there were some false rumors flying around that swiffer was unsafe. It is actually fine to use with pets and they confirm on their website.

 

[valentine319]

jcat yes, would love to know the steam cleaner you use.

 

[jcat]

Which steamer do you have? I have a couple and it doesn't work well on my wood laminate floors. Leaves them streaky.

jcat yes, would love to know the steam cleaner you use.

Mine is a Kārcher. We use the SC4 at the shelter most of the time, but also have an older, bigger model. Everyone likes the smaller SC4 because it heats up very quickly and can be refilled while in use.

I'm on my second one at home in 18 years. It's the prototype of the SC models that I got for testing purposes through our nephew. To make a long story short, I raved about my first steam cleaner so much when he was in his teens that he applied for a job at Kārcher when he got his engineering degree and has been with the company for 10 years. His mother and I have therefore had a few opportunities to test products.

I don't use the expensive terry cloth stuff that comes with it. Cheaper microfiber cloths or old hand towels are just as good.