So I usually scrub my suggies' cage once a week(ish) with a vinegar/water mixture. Lately though, I've been thinking of buying a handheld steam cleaner and using that instead.

I've been browsing back through old threads on here, and from what I've read most everyone agrees that both methods work well in terms of how clean they get the cage.

What I want to know, though, is which method is *easier* and less time consuming?

Because let's be honest here, I am SO lazy lol. I want my girls to have a clean cage, of course, but if I could put in as little effort as possible making that happen? That'd be real great.

So if anyone who has tried both steaming and scrubbing wants to share their opinion on each, I'd be really grateful =)

I use both, a steam cleaner & v/w wipe down, using double-sided sponge (from Dollar Tree), has foam on one side that fits into grooves and between bars and the other has a scrubbie that is good to use when needed. I keep my v/w solution in a spray bottle, spray onto the sponge and wipe down, then sometimes take a paper towel and wipe off, but not always (I'm kind-a lazy too). I do the v/w wipe downs weekly to biweekly, sometimes some spot cleaning on weeks I don't wipe down the entire cage (empty or mostly empty). In my spray bottle, I mix 1 part v/2 parts w (hot) before cleaning the cage.

The steam cleaning I've done at different variables, now I pretty much use it about 3 times a year, maybe an extra time if I feel like it really needs it. Sometimes I wipe down with v/w solution first, then steam clean, sometimes just direct steam cleaning, depends on how long it's been in between (1 or 2 weeks of v/w wipe down). After using the steamer (a hand-held), you still need to wipe it down, I use paper towels. If you don't wipe it down, you won't really remove any grime or stuff on the bars.

I can't really say which is easier, personally I would love to be in a situation where I could take the cage outdoors at least 2x a year and hose, scrub with dish detergent, and hose down again. I was only able to do that one time with a previous cage, because I was moving and taking it outside to place in U-Haul trailer. So far, all of my living arrangements make it very difficult to nearly impossible to take the cage outdoors. That's why I love to add the steam clean a few times a year.

Hope this helps.

Yeahh, I'm in the same boat where taking the cage outside to hose down isn't really feasible. The cage is big and I am small and there are wayyyyy too many stairs involved. I wish hosing was more of an option, though! While I am mostly happy with how clean the v/w gets my cage, I feel like there is always just that tiny bit of ick remaining.

I was kind of hoping the steam cleaner would get the cage just that little bit cleaner without adding tons of extra effort (like attempting to cart the cage up/down a zillion flights of stairs ha). Like I said lol, I am lazy and I was kind of hoping steam cleaning would be an easy fix. Wishful thinking, I guess!

Thanks for the reply and the info! =)

If you have a hand-held steam cleaner, you can still use it. It will help to sanitize the cage even better than V/W solution. You still just need to wipe it down to remove the grime. Give it a try and see what works better for you. If you find the steam cleaning is easier, do that mostly and give an occasional additional wipe down with V/W solution. Or, try the opposite if it's not.

Try looking for those two-sided sponges at Dollar Tree or other dollar stores, they are really good for wiping down, making pretty easy. They last a while and are cheap when need to be replaced. I also use a toilet scrubbing brush for getting into the grooves around the floor of the cage. Use it dry, and just brush the debris out of there.

I go over my current cleaning methods and schedule in my YouTube video "Gliders Can Be Messy Part 2". I don't know if they allow links to vids here on this forum, I never checked, but I know that some don't (have to be embedded). Anyway, if interested you can try just a search for that on YouTube.

I don't have a steam cleaner actually, which is kind of why I posted. I wanted more feedback before actually taking the plunge and buying one. I know they're not super pricey but I hate spending money on things I don't actually need lol.

I'll definitely check out your video, thanks =)