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Dettol

KarinB

Warren Scout
Have bought some Dettol Sea Minerals disinfectant which states kills 99.9% of Bacteria and Viruses today - it can be used for hard surface pet areas.

Does anyone use this? I only normally use hutch and cage cleaner but feel the need to clean their hutch out with something else.

I assume it will be used diluted but should I use it every time I clean out their hutch (every three days) or just now and then?
 
Why do you feel you need something stronger? There are lots of alternatives which kill plenty of germs that are natural (like vinegar) or aimed specifically at pets (Virkon, Genie, Formula H to name a few)
I personally would never use something like Dettol around the animals - the smell makes me ill and it's toxic too. Someone on here's parent washed their bun in very diluted Dettol apparently and sadly the bun died I believe.
 
I disinfect my hutches using Dettol. They get regulary disinfected with a specific pet cleaner but once a year or so I pull out the big guns and use Dettol. I scrub hutches with dettol, rinse throughly then leave to completely dry before putting rabbits back in them. I've never had any problems doing this.

I wouldn't disinfect every 3 days, how will your rabbits build up immunity to anything if you disinfect that regulary? My hutches only get disinfected if their occupant changes or if their occupant becomes ill.
 
I use a spray disinfectant from P@H (Beaphar or something) once a week when I give the hutches the big weekly clean.

My mum used a cheap pine disinfect once on the hutches and put fresh bedding in before it had even dried properly and I went mental at her! I know she was only trying to help but she didnt think that the bunnies would eat the hay and ingest the disinfect. My bunnies were fine like, but she learnt to never do it again
 
The bunny that died had been washed in Jeyes fluid which is obviously alot stringer and completely different to Dettol. I am allergic to Dettol, it brings me out in a rash but if it is rinsed properly there is no reason why it can't be used to clean a hutch.
 
Why do you feel you need something stronger? There are lots of alternatives which kill plenty of germs that are natural (like vinegar) or aimed specifically at pets (Virkon, Genie, Formula H to name a few)
I personally would never use something like Dettol around the animals - the smell makes me ill and it's toxic too. Someone on here's parent washed their bun in very diluted Dettol apparently and sadly the bun died I believe.

It was Jeyes fluid actually - and that's what everyone's been told to use for killing coccidia :rolleyes: I think dettol and jeyes shouldn't be used unless you have a real reason to use them as they contain phenols which are harmful to your rabbit's liver.

I use a dilute solution of bleach, as recommended on a guinea pig website - in a plant spray bottle one part bleach to 9 parts water, soaked for 15mins - it's great and kills most nasties except coccidia, which you don't normally need to worry about unless you have a high turnover of stressed rabbits, like a rescue or breeders. I don't usually wash my hutches at all - just the litter trays, and I tend to use just washing up liquid rather than disinfectant. If they've peed on the floor I'll spray the bleach mix just to get rid of the smell so they don't do it again.
 
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Sorry, mind's not with it today with all this stuff going on here.
Still - plenty of safer alternatives so I don't see the need to take the risk.
 
Think it's a bit late in the year now for using the Dettol as the hutch would probably take ages to dry properly so I will just continue to use the hutch and cage cleaner like I have done for the last three and a bit years (with no problems).
 
i use dettol disenfectant diluted with water.always have done.never done my rabbits any harm.leaves a nice smell too but not too strong.x
 
I wouldn't disinfect every 3 days, how will your rabbits build up immunity to anything if you disinfect that regulary? My hutches only get disinfected if their occupant changes or if their occupant becomes ill.

Ok i am concerned now, i used the p @ h spray disinfectant Monday and today so thats every 3 days! :shock:
Lionel is not litter trained yet and keeps doing it all over the cage and it really smells so what else should i do until i can just wash a litter tray?
 
Ok i am concerned now, i used the p @ h spray disinfectant Monday and today so thats every 3 days! :shock:
Lionel is not litter trained yet and keeps doing it all over the cage and it really smells so what else should i do until i can just wash a litter tray?

Well at least you are keeping flies away - which is very important this time of year :)

I had a problem litter training Maa till I put lots of trays in her hutch - there's barely any floor now but it's so easy to clean out as she's chosen one tray as a toilet :)
 
I have read a number of times that dettol is inactivated by organic matter (including faeces, stray bits of hay/straw or ground on wee etc) so even if you are splashing a lot of dettol around, chances are it actually isn't working! In particular, the places most in need of disinfection are those nooks and crannies around the corners and edges where the bits of bedding and poo accumulate, and that's exactly where it won't work! Look at the bottom of the page on this article from the RWA - or google 'dettol inactivated organic' and you will find lots of references to the fact that it won't actually work if the area is not absolutely 100% spotlessly clean. I even found one from an NHS trust which specifically states that dettol is not recommended for hospital use!

There are specific animal disinfectants like virkon which do continue to work properly even in areas which are not absolutely spotlessly clean, so I would definitely suggest using one like that instead. Something like virkon looks expensive but because it is a powder, you only make up as much as you need each time, meaning it stays fresh and lasts ages. Plus it's perfectly safe around animals!
 
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I have read a number of times that dettol is inactivated by organic matter (including faeces, stray bits of hay/straw or ground on wee etc) so even if you are splashing a lot of dettol around, chances are it actually isn't working! In particular, the places most in need of disinfection are those nooks and crannies around the corners and edges where the bits of bedding and poo accumulate, and that's exactly where it won't work! Look at the bottom of the page on this article from the RWA - or google 'dettol inactivated organic' and you will find lots of references to the fact that it won't actually work if the area is not absolutely 100% spotlessly clean.

There are specific animal disinfectants like virkon which do continue to work properly even in areas which are not absolutely spotlessly clean, so I would definitely suggest using one like that instead. Something like virkon looks expensive but because it is a powder, you only make up as much as you need each time, meaning it stays fresh and lasts ages. Plus it's perfectly safe around animals!
thats exactly what i was going to write. it is useless for cleaning buns cages and if you read on the bottle it states not to be used around cats. i know cats and buns are different but i think its so strong it should be avoided and can be harmful...so it doesnt work, and its dangerous:shock: im smiling honest im not being a cowbag:D but id find something else personally.;)
 
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