Cleaning A Wooden Cage Floor

[Swissgreys]

I hope this is in the right place - I couldn't decide between daily care and housing.

Anyway our guinea pigs are in a cage with a mix of plastic and wooden flooring.
The majority of the floor is removable plastic trays, which I am liking a lot, but there are a couple of small sections of wooden flooring too.
Of course these wooden parts are where they have chosen to do most of their wees.
The cage is freshened daily, and a the moment I am just wiping the wood with a damp cloth.
But how can I clean it properly? What should I be using to give these areas a decent clean once a week?

Advice and tips would be much appreciated.

 

[7squeakers.]

That is a very tricky one! Is it just plain bare wood? If so, I think your best plan would be to put your pigs into a different cage for a few days in the summer and let the wood dry out completely and then either varnish it or maybe put a piece of linoleum or something like that over it to stop it getting wet again.

 

[madguinealady]

A lot of people use stick on floor tiles in hutches.Might work ok for you.They put it up the walls as well

 

[RosieMaia]

I've got this one: COTTAGE LARGE | Indoor rabbit hutch, made of wood - Ferplast The two main floors have plastic trays, but the small house on top has a wooden floor. I glued on some water-resistant adhesive sheets that imitate wood (sorry, I'm not sure of the proper English term), and then cover these with a fleece blanket. The sheets are very securely taped to the wood, so they can't be chewed on. Otherwise, I'm afraid the wood would absorb the urine, and it would be constantly at least a bit damp and oh-so-stinky.

 

[ayemee]

I put sticky back plastic type material over the wooden floor. Makes it so easy to clean and keep dry.

 

[gizzy]

Virkon S Disinfectant

l find these very good , they were recomended by my vet

 

[Swissgreys]

Thanks everyone. That's really helpful. I will be off looking at self adhesive floor tiles this weekend I guess

Virkon S Disinfectant

l find these very good , they were recomended by my vet

Thanks Gizzy - I will cover the wood with some laminate or plastic, but I was also looking for cleaning tips.
I want to make sure it is clean before I go sticking stuff on top! I will check to see if we can get Virkon here.

 

[Wiebke]

I hope this is in the right place - I couldn't decide between daily care and housing.

Anyway our guinea pigs are in a cage with a mix of plastic and wooden flooring.
The majority of the floor is removable plastic trays, which I am liking a lot, but there are a couple of small sections of wooden flooring too.
Of course these wooden parts are where they have chosen to do most of their wees.
The cage is freshened daily, and a the moment I am just wiping the wood with a damp cloth.
But how can I clean it properly? What should I be using to give these areas a decent clean once a week?

Advice and tips would be much appreciated.

I would consider lining the wooden parts with something that doesn't soak through, like an offcut of linoleum from a carpet or DIY shop, which you can easily clean and replace if necessary. Without that layer, the pee will eventually soak into the wood; you cannot remove it completely. Wood is nice and warm, so they like - it also keeps the smell. Piggies like their toilet corners!

I know that the Swiss and Germans are much more keen on natural materials.