Fleece How can I convince my parents that towels/fleece bedding is NOT disgusting? - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

**sdpiggylvr** · #1 10-25-09, 12:12 pm

I am building a C&C cage for my guinea pigs, and I am going to use fleece/towel bedding, which I think is a great idea. My parents refuse to let me wash the fleece and towels in the washing machine because they think it is disgusting to wash urine soaked towels and fleece in the machine and will damage the machine, as well as make it stinky and unsanitary. How can I convince them that it's NOT disgusting? I offered to hand wash the towels, but that sounds hard. How would I hand wash the towels/fleece? Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

**Dichotomy83** · #2 10-25-09, 12:15 pm

Well, you could offer to run a wash cycle AFTER washing the bedding with nothing in the washer besides bleach, to clean it out.

Worst case scenario, you could handwash them in a tub with something like Woolite to use as detergent, but youre right...that would be extra work.

They are their machines though, so if they still wont budge, maybe you could convince them to take you to a laundromat?

**trump_cinnamon** · #3 10-25-09, 12:22 pm

You may want to remind them that they wash their dirty clothes in the washer, so it's not like it's spotless to begin with. If you use vinegar in the wash too, it reduces the smell. Running a cycle with nothing in it after you wash is also a great idea.

**JD In Van** · #4 10-25-09, 12:28 pm

You can also either get 5 sets of fleece / towels and then you can change it daily so that they aren't so dirty or get a weeks worth + 1 and take them to the laundrymat.

I have to pay for my laundry in the apartment building so so I have a special laundry bin out on the balcony for piggy laundry (including their floor blankets and hand towels for their towel huts) and then I take it to the coin laundry when ever its full (which is about every 6 days for me).

**blackarrow** · #5 10-25-09, 12:36 pm

Heck, people wash cloth baby diapers in washing machines all the time. It's new water every time, so it's not a problem.

As someone mentioned already you can volunteer to sanitize the machine afterward by running a bleach cycle if that will help.

Honestly, it's so much less icky to me to run the stuff through the washer than it was to try to deal with shavings full of pee that ended up falling on the floor no matter how careful I was that it isn't even funny.

I can't even feature how they think it would damage the machine.

**javim121** · #6 10-25-09, 01:08 pm

Would they let you do a minor handwash before putting them in the machine.

**Buddy4** · #7 10-25-09, 01:19 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by javim121

Would they let you do a minor handwash before putting them in the machine.

I shake the fleece and towels out in the back yard under a tree area. I really try and get all of the hay off before they go in the machine. I am picky about what goes in my machine as well, and add vinegar or oxiclean to the load before washing. I do a bleach wash every few days just to be sure. I dry them on high in the dryer, and I honestly can smell no urine after they are washed.

"Thank you, Dichotomy83, for this useful post," says:
sdpiggylvr (10-25-09)

"Thank you, trump_cinnamon, for this useful post," says:
sdpiggylvr (10-25-09)

"Thank you, JD In Van, for this useful post," says:
sdpiggylvr (10-25-09)

"Thank you, blackarrow, for this useful post," say these 3 members:
JD In Van (10-25-09), princesspoppy (10-25-09), sdpiggylvr (10-25-09)