Cat Safe floor cleaner?

xcourtney3

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What kind of floor cleaner do you guys use? My cats are too curious to not walk all over freshly cleaned floor sniffing and I don't want them ingesting harmful chemicals by licking their paws.
 

GoldyCat

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What kind of flooring do you have?  I use a steam cleaner with plain water on my tile.  I think it would not work well on wood floors, though.
 
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xcourtney3

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I have tile floors
 

jcat

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Ditto the steam cleaner and plain water. We have tile, laminate and parquet, and I use it on all three.
 

jennyr

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It is best not to use bleach-based cleaners, as th ey can be harmful to cats, and also act as attractants for peeing. I find apple vinegar very good on tiles and it leaves a nice smell.
 

ducman69

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Quote:
I use a steam cleaner with plain water on my tile.
Ah, but note the clever marketing, they say that it can "sanitize" a floor with steam in seconds.   Oh cool, so it kills the bacteria right?  NOPE

Sanitizing legally means only that it can help pull up dirt and a little bit of bacteria, just like any mop and bucket.   Unlike a mop and bucket, a steam cleaner is much more convenient as you get a very even coat of water on the surface that is warm so it evaporates very quickly, the mop cleans itself for the most part since its subjected to constant steam, and there is no bucket to haul around or mop to squeegee out.  Very convenient, but NOT doing anything to germs and bacteria but moving them around.  This is why even the best dishwashers that use powerful water streams, high temperature steam, and high temp driers still have to use chemicals to kill the bacteria on the plates and make them safe to use.

Reading the instruction manual for mine (my mom recommended my steam cleaner to me assuming it was working and never actually READ the manual, lol), it states you have to hold the mops tiny surface area on a surface for at least six seconds for it to even be considered "sanitized" though, and so I checked online manuals and found this was the case with four other competitors.    To hold the mop for at least six seconds on a surface before moving it would take all day to mop a decent sized floor.  So yes, it does "sanitize in seconds", but divide the surface area of your floor by the surface area of the mop and multiply it by 6-15 seconds, and you'll see how many hours it would take.  So misleading! 


BUT, even that is unlikely killing most of the bacteria.   An autoclave uses much higher temperatures and pressures than a floor steam cleaner is capable of even on lower settings.  However, even at those higher steam temperatures and pressures it takes 20-30 MINUTES, not seconds, to consider the equipment sterilized.   Note that is "sterile" (bacteria is destroyed), and not "sanitized" (which still takes hours and leaves plenty of bacteria behind). 

So if you really want to kill the bacteria on the floor, and not just mop up loose dirt, you have to spray your cloth with an antibacterial cleaner, or use a swiffer with such a cleaner in advance of steam cleaning.    As long as the cats are locked in a room and not allowed out until the floor is completely dry, I don't think it matters what you use.   I use a generic bleach cleaner, as it is safe when dry, economical, and proven effective.  My cats do love the smell of bleach, but have not tinkled anywhere, and my house is almost all textured non-sealed ceramic tile. 
 
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ducman69

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Oh and cliffs notes, I do highly recommend a steam cleaner over a mop and bucket, as its just so much more convenient.   That is why I did not return mine. 


And really unless you have someone immune compromised living with you, you don't NEED a sanitized yet alone sterilized floor, and so getting up loose dirt is enough.    But if you have spilled things here and there over time and really want it sanitized, use chemicals, there is no way around it as the steam does nothing (and if it were hot enough to do anything at all, it would certainly damage vinyl, wood floors, and even some ceramics that would crack from a rapid temperature change). 
 
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tarasgirl06

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Just putting my 2c worth in -- if you wish to use a cleaner in addition to steam, I've always relied on Murphy Oil Soap, which is a mild vegetable-based cleaner recommended for hardwood but also works on tile and lamiinate.  It's widely available in the US, at least, at supermarkets, for a reasonable price.  Use a little and mix with hot water; mop and you're done.  
 

ducman69

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The carpet is harder. Not many products that are pet safe even if they say so on the bottle.
Most are pet safe once dried and vacuumed.   Febreze is basically just a starch (its safe don't believe the online rumors), so you can lock the room, spray the carpet liberally, allow it to dry, and then use a HEPA vacuum and that does a great job.

If you have organic food spills or vomit or urine and the like, then theres usually a great selection of enzyme cleaners at most pet stores.   Get up as much as you can by blotting, super duper saturate the affected area, let it work for a few hours, then blot it back up and vacuum.   Voila.   

 

The real trick with just about any cleaner to make it safe is just don't let them roll around in it while wet, gotta put those kitties on LOCK DOWN!  
 
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ilovemia

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I use regular Pinesol as I believe it cleans floors better. Luckily my cat stays away from the floors while they are drying. You could put your cat in a carrier until the floors are dry.
 

meuzettesmom

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Vinegar disinfects without any harsh fumes. Baking soda fizzes everything and the tile is clean with a rinse.

I use to shampoo the carpets with a Bissel shampooer before it died.. I was worried about the cats So I was glad it died.
 
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auntie crazy

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I have a steam cleaner that heats up to 200+ degrees (which is what is necessary to kill bacteria and such). I use that, without any cleaning solution, for my bathroom and kitchen.

AC
 

ducman69

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I have a steam cleaner that heats up to 200+ degrees (which is what is necessary to kill bacteria and such).
Do you recall the make/model?  I can look up the e-manual online, as mine is rated for 220oF but doesn't do anything if you don't hold it on a particular spot for an extended period per the manual. 


The reason is that the boiler temp doesn't translate into the temp transferred to the floor instantaneously.  You need a really big boiler with a lot of steam output to reach that quicker, but those are usually $1000-2000 and quite bulky.    As an example from a popular Eureka steam cleaner:
To disinfect a specific area, position the steamer over the area for a minimum of eight seconds.
 
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chromium blues

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I use vinegar, too. Some of the stuff in the commercial cleaners gives me a splitting headache so even if they are cat safe, I stay away from the majority of them. For the carpets, the plain old Nature's Miracle works wonders, and comes in a massive bottle which is good with Montgomery around...

As far as do we really need to disinfect your floors? Well, when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, I think so. Food gets spilled, water gets spilled, cats do sometimes make messes. I'm glad there are no men in the house (sorry, guys, but...) because the bathroom doesn't get very dirty, but that doesn't mean we don't clean it properly. Am I a neat freak? No way, but I'm not Pigpen either.
 

misty8723

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I found a recipe for vinegar, dawn, and hydrogen peroxide that is supposedly safe for pets and people. It works pretty good to clean too. 
 

chromium blues

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We use vinegar and Sunlight on the laminate floor at work and it works quite well. I don't like to use Dawn because Proctor and Gamble tests on animals.
 

poupon marks

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I would not use any cleaner that leaves a residue, especially Siffer.  If you use a cleaner, then you must use a plain water rinse.  The residue on the floor will redissolve onto your moist cat's paws, and they will lick it off.  I have been using the Hoover Hardwood Floor Cleaner machine (deluxe model, $140.00 on Amazon) and not only does it do deep cleaning with brushes, but the solution is a non-toxic aromatic type solution that needs no fresh water mix.  Weeks have gone by and my cats have no problems.  They never throw up or miss a meal. 

The Hoover machine, in addition to doing a much better job than a mop, is actually less work than a two time mopping.
 

Kat0121

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I would not use any cleaner that leaves a residue, especially Siffer.  If you use a cleaner, then you must use a plain water rinse.  The residue on the floor will redissolve onto your moist cat's paws, and they will lick it off.  I have been using the Hoover Hardwood Floor Cleaner machine (deluxe model, $140.00 on Amazon) and not only does it do deep cleaning with brushes, but the solution is a non-toxic aromatic type solution that needs no fresh water mix.  Weeks have gone by and my cats have no problems.  They never throw up or miss a meal. 

The Hoover machine, in addition to doing a much better job than a mop, is actually less work than a two time mopping.
I sometimes use the Swiffer Wetjet but follow it with the Shark steam cleaner with plain water so any residue left by the Swiffer is removed. No problems with the kitties so far. Sometimes I just use the steamer by itself. I did use it with vinegar instead of water and the fumes from the hot vinegar were not pleasant. I did have the windows and the back slider open but since I was standing right over it, it was not fun. 
 
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