Making My Own: Questions?

[HappyHopperz]

Hi guys! Once I get my new C&C set up, I will be making a few liners to alternate it. I will be taking the liners to the laundromat every two weeks.
A few questions I have:

1. How many liners should last me two weeks and be changed enough to stay odor free?

2. Is it possible to handsew liners? If so, have any of you?

3. What cleaning method should I use at the laundromat?

4. Should I make liners that cover the coroplast, or ones that lie in the base?

I appreciate any answers you contribute. Thank you!

[HappyHopperz]

I am going to bump this because I need a few suggestions. Thanks

[madelineelaine]

Depending how big your cage is, I would say three liners. You'll probably want to change it every 5 or 6 days. It also depends how many piggies and the gender. As for liners, I would say they should go up and over the coro. That's a preference for me, because then no poop goes down onto any towels and it's a million times easier to sweep. In maintance, I just sweep it every day or two. Now I have a 2x7 with a 2x3 loft so sweeping poop every day or everyother day is just fine for me. If you have a 2x4 or something then it should be swept at the very minimum once a day.

[madelineelaine]

as for a cleaning method? Before you go I would beat as much hay and hair off the liners as possible and prep everything. For laundering I like to add in a cup of or so of vinegar. I don't know if you're allowed to do that. I also use very little soap, and absolutely NO FABRIC SOFTENER.

I guess you can handsew liners, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a strong sewer.
I don't even make liners. I cut a piece of fleece to go up and over the sides and just tuck it all in. I don't have fancy corners or anything, because my last 2x7 liner fell apart and it was done under the machine even.

[jacqueline]

1. How many liners should last me two weeks and be changed enough to stay odor free?


i change the liners in my cage once a week. i have 3 cages: 2x3; 2x4; and 3x5. when i do change the liners i clean everything out good with vinegar.



2. Is it possible to handsew liners? If so, have any of you?

i don't have a sewing machine, and i find sewing very soothing, so yes, i have hand sewn all my liners. i have at least 2, sometimes 3 for every cage. i sew the fleece onto one layer of u-haul pad. it hasn't always been easy or fun, and some days i almost buckled and went to buy a sewing machine. but, i'd never use it for anything else, so it would be a waste, and i didn't know of anyone i could borrow a machine from. i wouldn't really recommend sewing by hand -it's so labor intensive and takes too much time.

3. What cleaning method should I use at the laundromat?

in addition to vinegar, i use a 1/2 cup of borax. then i try to hang my liners and towels outside in the sun to dry - i think that helps with the odor - i've not had an odor problem yet. if you're worried about the laundromat letting you use vinegar, maybe just pour some in a jar and take it along. it looks similar to bleach, no?

4. Should I make liners that cover the coroplast, or ones that lie in the base?

i've tried both ways, and hands down the liners that go over the coro sides are soooo much better. the ones that fit smoothly inside the coro get poos stuck underneath.


if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. good luck!!

[piggi_zone]

I got another good question for her who makes the best liners with the most reasonable price. I am also interested in liners but for a very big cage

[HappyHopperz]

My cage is a 2 x 6 and I have two female guinea pigs. Thank you for all of the suggestions.

[HappyHopperz]

One more question, most people usually put a waterproof layer between the uhaul pad and coro. I heard most people use vinyl.... Should I add a layer of that after the uhaul pad is is the uhaul pad on the coro fine?

[piggi_zone]

what is the point of the other layer if it is the vinyl the coro will do that job.

[jacqueline]

when i adopted elaine, her mother gave me her cage supplies as well, which were 2 fitted liners that had a backing of vinyl. sure, they're really easy to pull in and out when changing and cleaning the cage, but i don't like how they wash and dry.

i like just the 2 layers, fleece and uhaul pad sewn together. the coro makes the cage "water" proof enough.

[Zuidy]

1: I would say you should make three liners for two weeks. For one week I use 1 liner. But by the end of the week it has a slight odor. And you said you don't want any odor.

2: Eh, I guess it would be possible. No promises it would look super neat, and no promises it would hold up in the wash though.

3: No experience with laundromats, sorry!

4: I personally don't care for ones that fold over. They look nice and all, but if you can get by with it just laying in the base, then just lay it in the base. The only advantages I can think of for folding it over the Coroplast would be that the walls won't get stained by anything in the cage, and if you have a chewing pig that they wouldn't be as interested in it. And of course it may look a smidge snazzier, but if it doesn't matter to you, it is another step of work I wouldn't worry about.

I haven't heard of most people using Vinyl. I don't and do not see what it would help with. I use have 2 liners made with 1 layer of Fleece and 2 of U-Haul pad, and they last me 1 week a piece. So at the end of one week I swap out the 1 for the other and we are set to go in about and hour to clean the whole cage and 1x2 loft.

Good luck, and remember: Measure twice, cut once! And be very accurate and careful with what you do. I had one heck of a time on the first liners I made, and they shrunk in the wash. So do wash on the hottest setting and dry them on the hottest setting 3 times each. And iron, if available. This will prevent as much shrinkage as possible. Sew an extra 5 or so inches on each side, that is how much mine have shrunk even when prepped properly.

Good luck!

[PrincessAngel]

I don't do a waterproof backing on my liners, I think it is useless since I have coroplast. I sew my liners with a machine and then do final details by hand if needed. I make 1x2 liners so I don't make them go over the coro. I use traditional methods for fleece in the cage, not a liner then put liners in high traffic areas.

Also for cleaning I use a small amount of detergent, some vinegar and some borax. Before washing I sweep all the hay and most hair off.

[jacqueline]

hate to interject a related question here, but. . .

i've been using (from bottom up): a double layer of towels, and then my uhaul pad sewn onto the fleece top.

can i replace the double layer of towels with another layer of uhaul padding? will it work as well and absorb just as much? i really CAN'T clean the cages more than 1x week. . .

[Owned by cavy]

@ Happy Hoppers, the premade ones that you buy from sites like piggie bed spreads have the vinyl backing because they use Zorb for the middle layer. Zorb absorbs the urine, but if you squeeze it, it will come out.
I ordered some Uhaul pads, but I don't have them yet, so I can't guarantee how badly they would smell, or not smell, but I prefer to change my fleece & towel and my piggie bed spreads out twice a week. So I would think that making four of them would be safer, that way if you don't go the laundrymat right away, you would be able to not have a smell problem anyway.

I haven't sewed them yet, but I'll be using a machine, so I don't know how they will turn out while hand sewing.

When I wash mine, I use the normal amount of detergent, 3/4 cup bleach and 1 cup of white vinegar. You can add the vinegar just during the rinse cycle if you like, but I add mine all at the beginning. Just make sure that the bleach is added to the water as the machine is filling so you don't ruin the colors of your fleece when you wash it.

Remember no fabric softner, no dryer sheets. You'll lose the ability of your fleece to absorb urine. It will pool on top and smell horrible. Also the website that sells the piggie bed spreads says that if you add extra detergent to try to get things extra clean, the left over detergent that doesn't rinse out all the way will combine with the urine and make it smell bad. Don't know if that's true with the fleece/uhaul blankets, but it's something to keep in mind.

I have the ones that go up and over the sides of the coroplast and I think they work well. I don't know if I will sew them that way or not, but I most likely will.

Hope this helps!

[Hhbean]

I just wanted to suggest making a few smaller pads that you can place in the corners and underneth their hideys. This makes it so much easier to keep it clean. I have my main layer that covers the whole cage then place the smaller pads around the cage. I only have to change out the large main layer every 2 weeks and it's not even peed on, so it doesn't stink. The only reason I change it is to get the hair and hay and any crumbs all out. I change the smaller pads out every other day. If your only able to do laundry every 2 weeks you would need a lot of smaller pads.

[HappyHopperz]

Thanks for the BIG response everyone! Very pleased and will put the information to good use. I may have someone else make it for me if I can find a reasonable price. I'll see what happens! Thanks again

[Zuidy]

hate to interject a related question here, but. . .

i've been using (from bottom up): a double layer of towels, and then my uhaul pad sewn onto the fleece top.

can i replace the double layer of towels with another layer of uhaul padding? will it work as well and absorb just as much? i really CAN'T clean the cages more than 1x week. . .

Nobody quite answered you so here I am.

In my opinion, 1 layer of pad works better than 2 towels for absorbency and odor in my opinion. But to make sure I use 2 layers of it. And you should only need to clean once a week.

And I must agree that smaller pads at high traffic areas of the cage keep odor to near zero and make it easy to clean. And you only need to change about 3 times a week from my experience. And if you want to be conservative you can soak them and use baking soda to eliminate odors halfway through the week and air dry them. Make sure the baking soda is rinsed off though. This method allows you to use the same pads multiple times.