Can Cleaning Chemicals Harm Your Cat After I Mopped?

[jessicah]

Hello, I have two cats. One male, Houdini and the other, female, Savannah. I've always wondered this, but it could be paranoia. After you have mopped the floor, your cats decided to step on it, and then lick their paws. Has anyone experienced their cat getting ill from this? I know they kind of hide when they are sick, so I don't know. I've rinsed their paws before afterwards, but they like to mess with me. They watch me when I mop and then try to step all over the floor.

 

[maggiedemi]

What do you use? I wouldn't use Lysol or Pine Sol around cats. I'm not sure about the others.

 

[tabbytom]

Cleaning chemicals will leave residue even after a thorough clean.

Best is not to use harsh toxic chemicals to to clean especially if your cats walk on it while it’s still wet and they may lick their paws or lick the floor.

We do not use any toxic chemicals to clean the house. We use a muixture of 50/50 water and vinegar to wipe off counter tops and and other surfaces. But if vinegar is too much or too strong, it is also not good for the cat to inhale or lick off.

For the floors and cushions, vacuum and steam clean.

No harsh chemicals will give you peace of mind and safety for your cats.

 

[LTS3]

Lysol and Pine Sol and any other cleaner that contains phenols are big no-nos to use around cats. They are toxic.

Generally all commerically available cleaning products are potentially harmful if ingested by a pet, even ones that claim to be environmentally friendly and safe to use around pets. One of my cats got a really upset stomach after licking residue from Simple Green cleaner, which claims to be safe to use around pets. Even if you do several rinses with fresh water, there will still be some residue left on the surface. The residue will be pretty dilute by the time you are done rinsing but it can still potentially be harmful.

A baking soda and vinegar solution is safe for all sorts of cleaning around the home.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I second the reccomendation for vinegar as an excellent floor and house cleaner - especially if you have hardwood floors. I asked the guy who restored the floors in my old rental what is best to use to keep them nice and shiny, and he said 1 c vinegar to 1 gallon warm water is better than anything else you can use - even Murphys oil soap! The more dilute mixture should be safer for regular cleaning, although your cat might not want to lick their paws after smelling it.
Some great household staples are baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and castile soap. Here is a list of some combinations to clean various things:
27 Non-Toxic Recipes for DIY Spring Cleaning
I also use borax occasionally in cleaning / laundry, but it is NOT safe for pets (despite it's inclusion in this list.)

 

[Neo_23]

Swiffer is supposed to be safe.

 

[Antonio65]

One I was told that after you have washed your floor with chemicals, you should do a second round of mop and just water to clean the chemicals off the floor.
Because the chemicals stay on the floor even when it's dry, as a dry infinitely thin layer.
Cat pads are the only areas of their body where they can sweat, hence they're always slightly humid. This slight humidity of their pads is able to "soften" the dry layer of chemicals on the floor and they stick to those pads and the cats lick their pads and ingest the chemicals, tiny parts of them, but still chemicals.
That's the reason why a second rinse with fresh water could be advisable.

 

[artiemom]

A few years ago, I noticed that Artie seemed "off" each time I used the Swiffer Wet.
I ditched those floor wipes, buying a steam cleaner. I am very satisfied with it.

I also generally use a white vinegar, water solution to clean with.. It is very occasionally that I will use a "Method" cleaner in the bathroom.

Last time I washed the windows I used a combo of water, white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. This solution cleaned much better than Windex.

 

[jessicah]

Thank you all for the feed back! This is very helpful. I usually steam clean, but I also have a dog that tracks dirt, so I like to use mop n water n soap to clean it better. I do use pine sol, but I dilute it with a lot of hot water, then mop the floor again with just hot water. Anyway, I'm going to use safer products (like your suggestions).