Hamsters around Bleach.

[Gemma_xo]

Firstly, let me explain, and apologies about the title, I didn't want it to be too wordy, nor did I want it to be too vague.

I have a serious fear of germs and bacteria in and around my kitchen and bathroom. I have used bleach on a weekly basis. This concerns my friend, he hadn't known about the bleach use until I had his children and his ex partner (their mum) stay with me for a month when they were between homes. He came in one day when I was cleaning in the kitchen, with the bleach. He asked me not to use it around his children and said I ought to opt for an antibacterial spray, which I did use, on a daily basis in between bleach (admittedly, I was using the bleach a lot more whilst his children were living with me because they didn't have the cleanest habits (toothpaste all over the sink, toilet not being flushed - for a few examples). I NEVER used the bleach when the children were in my flat, it was always during school hours or when they were out for whatever reason). The bleach habit has stuck however, and yesterday he said to me "Think about the hamsters, think about how bleach could be affecting them".

I almost want this to be a scare tactic, because he REALLY disagrees with bleach, but having such an issue with germs and bacteria in the kitchen and bathroom I struggle to believe anything else is appropriate in killing the bad bacteria and germs.

Also, I don't use such chemicals in the bedroom or front room, the hamsters are in the front room, I have never and would never use chemicals on their cages, or around them. The bookshelves they are on get cleaned with a hot dampened towel, with just plain hot tap water. Their cages only get a wipe down with a different but hot damp towel, no chemicals are sprayed around them or on their cages.

When I do bleach, I wear gloves that once dried by myself, are stored in sealed zip locked bags in the appropriate room, I have a kitchen and bathroom set of marigolds) my hands are washed before and after using the gloves to ensure good cleanliness, and it's never when they are awake and active. The kitchen and bathroom windows are opened when I am bleaching to avoid myself breathing fumes in (learned that lesson the hard way about a year or so ago). Both doors are closed until I am positive the fumes have gone, again hours before either of the hamsters wake up. This is to ensure they are not put at risk.

What I'm asking is, am I putting the hamsters at risk using bleach?

[Rads]

Gemma,
There are plenty of proprietary anti bacterial cleaning products on the market that are safe around humans at the very least. We humans can smell bleach quite easily a Hamster nose would be far more sensitive than ours. If you use a lot of bleach it could be bad for the hamsters no matter how careful you are..

[Gemma_xo]

I was afraid of that answer, but I know it's very true.
I just need to get my head to agree & get over the need of bleach =/
Thank you. x

[AlfredHam]

Would using something like dettol help with the germ anxiety? It's probably more effective than bleach in germ blasting x

[Lala Noma]

I worked as a cleaner for a while, and I was told that bleach is not as effective against germs as peroxide, which is inocuous for humans and pets. We used a spanish brand, "Estrella oxígeno activo", but I am sure it has an english equivalent. Hope this helps!
P.S., by the way, bleach is the same effective in a 5% dissolution as pure

[Pebbles82]

This is what I use! Much better than bleach - doesn't smell of anything and is just as good - the benzalkonium chloride in it is what they use in hospital operating theatres and you can't get much more clean and bug free than that They are also much easier to use.

Dettol Antibacterial Surface cleanser wipes - Waitrose

I gave up using bleach a long time ago as these are so effective. Plus bleach gets into the water system and can poison fish and other creatures so it's nasty stuff really and not really necessary (not to mention bleaching your clothes if you splash any).

The other big danger with bleach is if it gets mixed in with any other cleaning products it can give off deadly fumes. And that can happen accidentally sometimes, if you used wipes and then bleach or if you had one of those flush toilet cleaners hanging in the toilet bowl and then put bleach down the loo. I found that out the hard way when I was first married many years ago and had white Marley tiles on the floor in a house we rented. We were moving out and you got charged if everything wasn't spotlessly clean, I scrubbed and scrubbed and nothing would shift the marks off that floor, so I chucked ammonia and bleach in a bucket of water thinking if that doesn't do it, nothing will - a few seconds later I was out for the count on the floor! Very dangerous!

I don't even use bleach in the toilet any more, it's not really necessary. I use those same dettol wipes on the toilet seat and lid, and round the rim of the toilet basin - then these to give it a clean with every flush

Bloo Rim Block Fresh Aqua - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

About once a month I'll squirt some Toilet Duck down the loo - it kills 99.9% of bacteria so it's just as effective as bleach and people don't usually put their hands inside the toilet

Duck 5In1 Liquid Marine 750Ml - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

I also thought it was risky having bleach around in the house when my partner and his little boy moved in. It isn't just the smell but children can play with things or drink them which would be fatal. We used to keep all our cleaning stuff on top of the wardrobe when little boy was little. There are good alternatives now.

The dettol wipes are great - they work out cheaper if you buy a bumper pack. You can use them on kitchen work surfaces as well.

It must be hard to have that kind of fear, and words maybe won't help with reassurance - but I stopped worrying about bugs - especially in the kitchen - many years ago when I found out that disinfecting everything too much can actually make you sick as you kill all the healthy bacteria as well as the bad bacteria. Really you just need warm soapy water most of the time

I got a bit over zealous with cleaning myself at one time, after having been a nurse and working in operating theatres. Then one day I thought - this isn't an operating theatre, it's a home - it's different. One tip I did pick up from operating theatres though was damp dusting - works much better than normal dusting as the dust doesn't jump straight back on - you just dust with a warm damp cloth and no need for stinky aerosol furniture polish I can't use aerosol cleaners or air fresheners as they trigger my asthma.

One thing that helps keep things in perspective as well is men - lol! Bachelor environments can often go years without the toilet ever being cleaned and they never get sick

That was very nice of you having your partner's ex to stay with you along with his children - you deserve a medal! And it's hard when people tell you what you are doing isn't the right thing lol! Everything changes when there are children around - I won't even have a sharp knife in the house now - which might sound excessive, but my one blunt knife works perfectly well and I have a potato peeler

[souffle]

Bleach and the smell is not good for hamsters.
Here is something I recommend that is gentle yet far more effective at killing viruses and bacteria than any products you buy over the counter. It seems expensive but then that makes 25l as there are 50 tablets and 1 makes 500ml in the box. It does keep quite well and has virtually no smell and is safe to use around humans and animals. You can make it up in a spray bottle and use around the house too.
I always recommend this as you can feel safe in the knowledge that you are keeping clean but in a hamster safe way.
That said it has been proven that we and our animal friend need a certain amount of exposure to bacteria etc or else we are not building up our immunity systems properly for the furure so bear that in mind. Hamsters also need to keep their scent around for their mental health which is equally important so don't overclean in that respect.
It must be hard I know if you have a thing about cleanliness so wishing you luck. Try the Virkon as you won't be disappointed
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Virkon-Tabl...n+disinfectant

[Jasmine2016]

I understand about germ phobia, I have it myself.
I use Dettol surface wipes to clean kitchen and bathroom and that is good enough for me.
I have never used bleach nor ever considered it, I know how hard it is, but you really do need to try and stop using the bleach, it's bad for you and it's bad for the hamsters.
Good luck.

[Gemma_xo]

I got the Dettol spray and wipes today, my friend took pride in getting rid of the bleach bottles. Thank you everyone, I'm never going to use bleach again.
x

[Jasmine2016]

Originally Posted by Gemma_xo

I got the Dettol spray and wipes today, my friend took pride in getting rid of the bleach bottles. Thank you everyone, I'm never going to use bleach again.
x

Well Done, I know how hard that must of been.