I was wondering if anyone has any advice on cleaning supplies for basenjis…Tosca is crate trained, and has a nice big crate she uses at home, and a smaller one we use only for traveling. Since we got her I had been borrowing one from my uncle, but he needed it back because he got his own dog 
I went on Freecycle looking to get one without paying, since we use it SO little (not more than once every couple of months) and someone was kind enough to give me one. Its in good shape, however it is DIRTY. I think they had been keeping it in their basement/garage for a few years. Its not poop/pee mess, just general old dirt from sitting around. I am not sure what kind of cleaner to use...my mom suggested bleach, but I worry about it hurting Tosca. What kind of cleaner can I use that won't hurt her? I want to get it all cleaned up today so we can use it when we go to Chicago this weekend for a birthday party.
Thanks for any advice!
If it were me, I'd use a Lysol all purpose cleaner. scrub it really well, outside in the yard, hose it down well, and let it air dry in the sun.
The important thing to keep in mind about bleach is that if whatever you are using it on is left out somewhere with a good amount of sunshine and good ventilation, all the chlorine will volatilize off in about 30 minutes to an hour and it is no problem. That is why you can use bleach when camping to add to water to kill off all the nasty stuff. You just need to be sure that you then leave the water uncapped so the chlorine can volatilize off.
Thank you for the advice, I actually don't even have any bleach, but as long as an all purpose cleaner is ok, I think I will try that. The only other thing I am worried about is the rust on the metal front (its a plastic pet porter with metal doors). The metal is not weak, so I am not worried about it being rusted through, but I didn't know if the rust would hurt Tosca as well…if she were to lick it, or something, I don'tknow. Do you think this is something I have to worry about?
I would recommend when you have the time, take some steel wool and strip off all the rust and then spray paint it to prevent more rust from forming.
