Is it Safe? Glade plug ins? safe? - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**ortal** · #1 08-07-07, 10:04 am

I am really worried about the smell of my piggies. When I had my ferret, it came to a point where noone wanted to go into our basement cause he smelled so bad, although I couldnt tell the smell, since I was used to it. I dont want that to be the case for my guinea pigs, since they are in my living room especially.

Is it safe to use a glade-plug in right around where their cage is?

**Percy's Mom** · #2 08-07-07, 04:28 pm

I wouldn't do it. Ferrets have scent glands, pigs do not. If they are smelling like anything other than shavings, hay, veggies, and pellets, you probably need to clean the cage more often or look into a different configuration of bedding. You don't want to put anything chemical like that too close to your pigs.

**Ash Liz** · #3 08-07-07, 04:52 pm

It's not safe to use it near the cage, anywhere near it really. Air purifiers are a different story. If you think it smells bad, then clean it more. Just think of how more intense the odor is when you are as close to it as your piggies. The respiratory system in the smaller critters is too fragile to mess around with.

**Jenni_Feathers** · #4 08-07-07, 08:08 pm

I've heard that plugin type things cause a lot of fires. I got an email id show it to you all but I dont have it anymore, did anyone else get it, it was a chain like thing warning people about them.

**envisionary333** · #5 08-08-07, 02:04 am

Uh-oh! I'm out of town for three weeks and I set up scented oil plug-ins in every room so my pet sitter isn't overwhelmed by the smells. There is one in the piggy room too, but the room gets really good air circulation because of the window AC unit. Should I be worried? Should I ask my pet sitter to take them down? I don't want them to hurt the piggies or cause a fire or anything.

**MuPiggy** · #6 08-08-07, 07:28 am

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Glade PlugIns Fire Hazard

This link shows that the glade plug in fire chain letter is false. I always check out those chain letters before I'll believe them!

**daftscotslass** · #7 08-08-07, 08:06 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuPiggy

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Glade PlugIns Fire Hazard

This link shows that the glade plug in fire chain letter is false. I always check out those chain letters before I'll believe them!

My friend's husband is a fire fighter and at least once a week he sees or hears from his colleagues about an incident with one of these.

**ortal** · #8 08-08-07, 08:45 am

i have never had an incident with the plug ins. I dont notice a smell around the GPs i am just a bit paranoid, so I will move them far away from the cage. However, dont believe half the chain letters you hear.

**envisionary333** · #9 08-08-07, 07:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by daftscotslass

My friend's husband is a fire fighter and at least once a week he sees or hears from his colleagues about an incident with one of these.

Are the fires started when the scented oils run out of oil but continue to burn? I could see how that would be dangerous. I put brand new ones in the house just before I left and will be gone for three weeks. Do you think they will run out? I'm paranoid, please let me know if you think I need to take them out. I would have to have my pet sitter go room to room to find them and remove them. I already have a sick and very contagious piggy at home, I don't need anything else going wrong.

**jilovecavies** · #10 08-08-07, 08:54 pm

I suppose anything that deals with electricity is a fire hazard to a certain extent.

I use one of those "Renuzit" little gel twisty things that are like a buck and it seems to work ok...near the cage but not too close.

As other members have stated, your best bet will be to keep the cage fresh and clean.

**aqh88** · #11 08-09-07, 07:26 pm

I decided to try various glade scent things because my basement kept flooding and spreading this gross dirty mold smell through the house. I would never place any of these things too close to a cage. I ended up taking 1 down and the one with the pieces that slide in I only put in 1 instead of 2 because it was so strong. I could taste the stuff in my mouth and the puppy kept moving away from it. Very strong.

I think your better off solving why your pigs smell. They shouldn't have a noticeable smell. In fact most people say the animal room smells better than the rest of the house because it's kept closed off from the basement. It just smells like fresh hay and shavings. Even with it being a 10x12 room with 3 pigs, 2 degus, and 2 gerbils there is no bad smell. If your pigs smell you either aren't cleaning the cage frequently enough or your cage is too small. 99% of the time that's the answer to bad smells. The rest is just that your pigs smell normal but you have a sensitivity or allergy to hay or bedding. Switching to a different type of hay or bedding is the answer in those cases.

**ortal** · #12 08-09-07, 08:45 pm

my cage doesnt smell, not yet anyhow, I am just trying to be 'preventative'. Especially when one can become 'immune' to a smell when they are around it so much. Regardless, thanks for the great advice.

**nws2002** · #13 08-12-07, 02:08 am

I use one of these, its just a small fan and carbon filter. They are not scented, and just have to be plugged into an outlet within 6 feet of the cage. It seems to help with what little odor the cage actually causes.

Amazon.com: Hamilton Beach 04271R TrueAir Plug-Mount Odor Eliminator: Home & Garden

**Ash Liz** · #14 08-12-07, 10:50 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by envisionary333

Uh-oh! I'm out of town for three weeks and I set up scented oil plug-ins in every room so my pet sitter isn't overwhelmed by the smells. There is one in the piggy room too, but the room gets really good air circulation because of the window AC unit. Should I be worried? Should I ask my pet sitter to take them down? I don't want them to hurt the piggies or cause a fire or anything.

I'd suggest switching to an electric purifier or something of the like, just to be safe.

**envisionary333** · #15 08-13-07, 01:59 am

Thanks, I think I'll ask my pet sitter to take the one in the piggy room out. I've never used the scented oils before, I just did it because I'm out of town for three weeks and my pet sitter won't be cleaning the whole cage. She'll be changing the Carefresh in the 2x4 kitchen once a week still, and there are eight layers of mattress pads under the fleece so I'm hoping it won't smell too badly. Washing all of the bedding is an overwhelming task so I didn't want to put her through it!

Last night I had a bad dream about a fire in the house and I was madly trying to rescue all the piggies. Apparently I've been worrying about this without realizing it!

**jilovecavies** · #16 08-13-07, 10:46 am

...I had that same dream. Not fun to wake up to!

I didn't even know electric purifiers existed! I wonder how much the filters cost, though. Hrm, that's something to look into. Thanks!

**Ash Liz** · #17 08-13-07, 12:00 pm

Beware of the ionizers in air purifiers
Consumer Reports says about ionic cleaners "... people with asthma or respiratory allergies are especially sensitive to indoor ozone, an irritant that can worsen asthma, deaden sense of smell, raise sensitivity to pollen and mold, and may cause permanent lung damage." High ozone is created by the ionic action and, in this area, high ozone days get air quality warnings.

**Ash Liz** · #18 08-13-07, 12:03 pm

I learned alot about air purifiers from this thread over at chins-n-quills...

Air purifiers in chin room? - Chins & Quills

**Ash Liz** · #19 08-13-07, 12:14 pm

If anyone is looking at Purifiers and sees them as too expensive, try orwick because they have a no-interest payment plan on some of their models. Buy Oreck products with easy Oreck payment plans

okay, I promise I'm done posting.

**aqh88** · #20 08-13-07, 04:50 pm

I don't think having a payment plan option is a good thing. That means their products are rather expensive and either far larger than most people need or way overpriced. You can get a good hepa filter for a few $100 that would be more than enough for a room or 2 that the pigs are in or probably my entire little house. Shouldn't need a payment plan for that.

I actually love my ionic breeze even after 5years of owning it. For every person that says it made them feel worse there's 1 that found their health improved. I place it under controversial but not the avoid completely category.