How to clean a parakeets food and water dish?

I have had both of my parakeets for about 5 years and I have had the same food and water dish for that long. )I can not currently afford new water dishes at the moment but I will be buying some soon.) But in the water dish it has a dark brown stain in the corners all the way across. I give my birds fresh food and water everyday, maybe bird food 2 or 3 days a week depending on how much they eat and water everyday that I can. Would you know any tips on how to clean them and disinfect them?|||The best thing that you can do is use hot water and (clean) steel wool. Never use soap or dish detergent, that could make your birds sick. If the stain doesn't come out, line the food/water dishes with paper towel until you can buy them new ones. The paper towel should stick to the water dish when you put water in, that way, the two parakeets can still drink from it. Replace the paper towel whenever you give them new water.|||Well, what I do is just wash it out with hot water and cotton balls and a little bit of dish soap or some soap (just a little, and make sure its washed out well) For the stuff in the corners cotton buds work well :) ave fun cleaning your birds will feel better and so will you!|||well with my parrot's food and water dish i use bleach to clean it . but then again my parrot is dead.|||Vinegar %26amp; Hydrogen Peroxide - It disinfects and it's safe!





www.avianweb.com has a lot of useful info. Check it out!





"Sanitizing / Disinfectant:





A combination of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide make a cheap, effective and non-toxic disinfectant agent and is said to be more effective at killing pathogens than bleach. . As it is non-toxic, you can use it to disinfect fruits and vegetables, as well as pet toys, equipment and cages. In tests run at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide mists, kills virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces.





Directions:





* You need TWO spray bottles. DO NOT MIX the solutions together. Put straight vinegar in one and straight hydrogen peroxide in the other spray bottle. NOTE: Light destroys peroxide rather quickly. It's best to leave it in its original bottle and screw in a spray head.


* DO NOT DILUTE THEM.


* Remember for any sanitizer to work properly, the surface has to be clean before you use it.


* When you want to sanitize a surface (vegetables, cutting board, counters, sink, cages, toys. toilets, floors, etc.), spray one (it doesn't matter which one you use first) on the surface, then you spray on the other. When they mix, for a brief time the chemical action of the two make a very powerful sanitizer. You can rinse off the surface afterwards, if you want, but the result is non-toxic.


* Fortunately it is cheap. BTW, we use it in the bathroom to sanitize the counters, toilets, floors, etc. "


- http://www.avianweb.com/nontoxiccleaningproducts.html