Fleece How can you tell if your fleece is wicking?

I can't tell from that picture -- it looks like a guinea pig.

The best way to test it is to pour a little water on it. It should disappear very quickly.

What do you have under the fleece?

The water beaded on top. I have a three-layer bedspread type thing with ab absorbent layer in the middle.

if the water beads on top you should wash the fleece again, and be sure not to use any type of dryer sheet or fabric softener.

Three layer bedspread type thing? You mean two layers of fleece with an absorbent layer in between?

Wash it several times in hot water, with strong detergent and bleach. It won't hurt the fleece. What you're trying to do is strip the waterproof layer off the fleece so the liquid can seep through.

Yep, that's what I mean. I'll give that a shot, but I've already washed it 3 times prior to this, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. This is kind of discouraging. The one thing I will say is that it does take me several tries to get the bedspread dry, our dryer isn't the strongest thing ever, so maybe that's affecting it negatively?

@Sakano, I find that mine dry really well just by air drying. Either inside or outside that house. When i was using the dryer I found I'd have to put it on for nearly two hours - it was ridiculous. It dries completely overnight when I set it on the clothes airer.

The length of time it takes it to dry has nothing to do with whether it wicks.

Some types of fleece just don't wick well, if at all. Did you make these pads yourself, or buy them from someone?

grace&piggies said:

@Sakano, I find that mine dry really well just by air drying. Either inside or outside that house. When i was using the dryer I found I'd have to put it on for nearly two hours - it was ridiculous. It dries completely overnight when I set it on the clothes airer.

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Maybe I'll switch to that to save on electric!

bpatters said:

The length of time it takes it to dry has nothing to do with whether it wicks.

Some types of fleece just don't wick well, if at all. Did you make these pads yourself, or buy them from someone?

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I bought it from someone. It's especially for guinea pigs. So hopefully they wouldn't make it out of bad fleece!

What kind of detergent are you using to wash the fleece? You can't use Tide!

Tam Piggy love said:

What kind of detergent are you using to wash the fleece? You can't use Tide!

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I use Seventh Generation Ultra, though I did use Clorox for one wash.

You most certainly can use Tide. I use it all the time.

hmm, the instructions that came with my fleece said the oils in Tide would hinder the wicking, so I had to get separate detergent to wash my fleece, because I use Tide for all my laundry. I wash my fleece 3 or 4 times before I use it the first time. I get all my fleece from the guinea pig market, or piggy bedspreads.com. Maybe some work differently?

The oils in Tide? I think someone doesn't know what they're talking about.

What are you using to wash the fleece?

You're all speaking American! I had to google what Tide is lol

I have always used my normal detergents on the pig blankets with no issue (Earth laundry liquid) though like the bath towels, I sometimes do a hot wash with bicarb soda for a freshen up.

Then I wash my boyfriend's clothes to rinse the machine out..

Ok, so several washes later and the water isn't beading on the surface anymore like it was before. But it's also not absorbing in all that quick. And then after it absorbs the fleece surface is still damp. I'm not sure if it's ready to go or not?

For reference, https://youtu.be/sIPCciLDU2U?t=3m40s

It WAS doing the thing that happens when she pours water on the first piece of fleece at 3:40. Now it's not doing that anymore, but it's also not doing what the second piece of fleece is doing. It's like at some kind of point in between.