Birds frequently have “accidents” on their toys and perches, as well as goop them up with regurgitated food on purpose. Pet bird toys and other cage accessories that have been pooped on may contain harmful bacteria, putting your bird at risk of infection. We layout a recommended schedule as well as some useful tips for cleaning your bird’s cage in maintaining a clean environment. It’s also crucial to include in your weekly environmental plan the inspection and cleaning of toys and perches.

Type of toys and bird accessories

There are many types of toys and they are made of many different types of materials. Some of them are wood, plastic, cement, metal, leather, etc. All of these toys have different ways of cleaning. Some of them match each other but not all. Pet bird accessories can be hard to clean if not looked after and they can be harmful to your pet bird. Cleaning your pet bird toys is as important as giving your birdbath.

Wooden toys

Firstly, Cleaning wooden toys requires something that is non-adhesive or concentrated. That will cause any adverse impacts on the wooden toys themselves. There are three main methods you can use to clean them thoroughly.

1: Use a steam cleaner to clear any bacteria or fungi and also the hot steam takes out any gunk in the toys too.

2: The use of alcohol cleaners or wipes to clean the toys. It’s not as effective but it gets the job done generally.

3: Submerging the toys in detergent and water combined, diluted in the perfect condition to help kill any bacteria and dirt the toys have both inside and outside.

Plastic toys

Plastic and acrylic toys can be sterilized by washing them in the dishwasher if they don’t melt. Scrub any dirt away with a polyester brush or toothbrush, being cautious not to damage the toy’s paint, decorations, or stickers. Rinse. Each toy should be wiped clean with a moist cloth or rinsed under running water. Plastic toys are the easiest toys to clean. Because the shell of the toys are deterrents to any of the cleaning reagents unless the reagents are highly concentrated. These toys can be cleaned in bulk, all at once. In short, these toys can be easily cleaned without any hassle, to begin with.

Metal toys & bird accessories for cage

Similarly, metal toys can be cleaned by the same method but differently, as metal can be oxidized through steam or in contact with water, it depends on the metal type which makes the metal rust or not. There are some effective methods to clean metallic toys without them deteriorating in the process:

1: the use of sanitizers for metallic toys and killing any bacterial hints along with wiping any dirt off without causing the metal to dwindle in its condition.

2: Although it depends on the metal type for the rust to take place, one can submerge the toy into water and detergent mixture but perfect concentration can lead to a perfect and safe yet hygienic way to clean the toys as well.

3: Of course, steam is a universal process that always does the job to cancel out any bacterial or fungi build-up as well as clean the dirt in the process too.

Consequently, after the cleansing, the toys must be kept in the sun for some time. So that the odors of the items we used began to fade and the toys become back to the form they once were at first. Not close but close enough.

Leather toys

Leather toys can be tricky to get cleaned as they are highly sensitive and often starts to decay. Such as faux leathers and can end up badly for the pets. To intercept this scenario, we use the brushing method, not vigorously yet smoothly. So that it doesn’t mess up the surfaces of the toys that may end up in the pet’s stomach. Similarly, the brushing method with either detergent (diluted with water) or even a water brushing method can help in the cleaning process. But one has to be careful in the procedure as well. A person can even wrap the leather in secondary sanitized clothing. So that the bacteria get killed. And if the cloth around the leather toy is steamed enough. It can end up weakening the dirt that is engraved inside the toy which can be taken out.

Conclusion

To summarize, cleaning bird toys are as important as giving a bath to your pet bird. Cleaning is necessary to avoid any infection or disease in your pet bird. Before applying a cleanser or disinfectant, make sure any lumpy organic material (food, excrement) is removed, so the disinfectant can work properly. Always use bird-safe cleaning chemicals and keep your bird out of any room where you’re doing any cleaning.