Goopy Bottles

[3piggles]

At least once a wheek I totally clean the water bottles and food bowl. I thought I was getting the water bottles clean, but apparently I was only getting the goop out down as far as my finger would go into the bottle. I've washed them in the dishwasher and spent hours trying to soak/rinse the soapy taste out of the bottles afterward. Scared to use bleach that might not all wash out.

Does anyone have any suggestions, or even better, guaranteed ways to clean the goop out of the water bottles.

[Alix]

If you look for a brush that cleans out musical instrumments you may find it useful. We used to use a brush of this sort and it really gets all the grime out. You don't need to use soap either, as the brush does the job well with just a couple of rinse-outs.

[gogoplant2]

Well, you can probably use a toothbrush( Not one that's been in your mouth) and I've heard that putting some rice and some water in there and shaking it up works too. Also, you should probably be cleaning it out daily and not just a few times a week.

[Pigjes]

Rice grains and a good shake, a toothbrush and some bleach. If you rince it twice, the bleach is gone. I prefer Dettol myself: it doesn't have the pungeant smell like bleach, I hate that smell.

[mimi1987]

yeah i use dettol to clean everything, including the cage, it's really good and doesn't have a strong smell when diluted properly. You can get baby bottle cleaning brushes that I'm sure would work in a guinea pigs bottle. Boots (chemist in the UK and Ireland) would stock these as would most chemists/shops with a baby supply section

[fluffy323]

I work at Petco and we sell these awesome LONG brushes for exactly this situation. I bought one and I clean my piggys bottle and my mice water bottles with it. It works great. I think it is like 4.99 but well worth the money

[3piggles]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the rice trick, as I have a lot of rice on hand. I don't know if Dettol is available in the states. There's also a Petco not far from me. I'll check out that brush on-line and see if there's a pic I can give hub so he can stop and get the brush for me. Petco carries snakes, so I can't go inside or I totally freak out.

[fluffy323]

Petco carries snakes, so I can't go inside or I totally freak out.

I know alot of people are like that. I was until I started working there and now the reptile section is my favorite. If I had a big enough house I would own at leat one corn snake and one bearded dragon. I already have a leopard gecko. Her name is BamBam and she is so sweet.....she would never even attempt to bite. Here she is

[3piggles]

Okay, my heart skipped a few beats before I managed to get hub to look at the pic and tell me it was a gecko, lol. I'm really bad with snakes. I'm okay with lizards as long as I realize it's a lizard before I freak out.

Thanks, all, for the rice suggestion. My bottles are very clean and it was really easy. Again, thanks a lot. I'll still get the brush when I can, but i"m glad I have a way of cleaning the bottles without it.