This is something I've found works well for me (with my big cages) in the summer time especially.  Since I try to mist my gang often, and I can only let one out at a time, the one with the 4+ foot wingspan comes out of her cage and I spray a bit of water on the cage bars and any gunky food that may be stuck there.  The others don't mind getting their showers in their cages, so their bars/grates/perches get wet down too.  Less than an hour and a couple of towels later, and all birds have been showered and cages wiped down pretty well.  Keeps the dust down, too.  I have plastic picnic tablecloths (the kind with the fuzzy linings) on the floor so it keeps the drippy wet mess contained pretty well and spills wipe up easily.  I use vinegar/water solution on my grate paper towels since I can't stand the smell of poop off.  I think it works just as well for me without that yucchy smell.

I take my cages out to the driveway twice a year and wash them down with Tide detergent in hot water. I use a toilet mop, the fuzzy kind, that I have labeled "for birds only." I even keep it in the garage so no one accidentally uses it in a bathroom. Then I rinse and rinse and rinse with a high pressure nozzle. I tilt them on a board so they drain out easily, then let them sun dry for as long as it takes to stop the dripping. They sparkle. The Tide does a better job than anything I have ever tried. No metallic smell like they sometimes have if I use liquids like Dawn.

For indoor cleaning, I found some dishcloths at a grocery store that have a panel of nylon mesh sewn to the back of them. Works really well to remove stuck food. So flexible I can clean three or four bars in one stroke. I have never seen these rags in WalMart.

Annie

 

 

I don't have messy grate bottoms as I line mine with paper and then the tray with newspapers.....

I have a small broom and dustpan in their room and tip the tray resting the pull out handle end on the floor and sweep any pellets into the dustpan..

I go over the cages with the steamer every day as its easier for me, and have a bucket of water handy for rinsing. I do use a diluted mixture with bleach in the spray bottle to disenfect before turning the steamer on.....

I have two rooms full of birds, in the evenings only, so clean up for me can be a breeze since I don't have to worry about birds in the cages trying to escape..... 

I find I can't take the Poop Off smell any more, seems to overwhelm me and have tried the Orange sprays with the same results.... Diluted bleach mixture I'm afraid is all I can use.

Usually once a month the cages that can go outdoors. and only one can't. get wheeled to the patio and scrubbed, rinsed and left for the sun to take care of everything else.....

Mine aren't as sweet as Nan's birds leaving foods in the trays...... mine would rather throw unwanted foods onto the carpet...... Too2 

 

In cages that have pans under the cage AND under the playtop, I leave out the top one.  It's much more work cleaning the extra tray, than it is to clean off the little amount of poop that happens to hit a few bars on the cage top.  And those trays make it so dark inside, it must feel like being in a cave.

 

For deep cleaning, I have a pressure washer and it's great--nothing can  hide from one of those things.  I roll cages out the front door onto the porch and I can clean them out there at any time of year, out of the rain--although  Nov through February it's a bit cold