Fleece Tips for getting hay and fur off fleece

A large enough kitchen area with disposable bedding, seriously a life saver when using fleece.
After I added mine I can go 2 weeks between fleece cleanings, and there's no hay on it what so ever anymore & way less poop & pee.
Hay bags can also help reduce the dusty bits. When it comes to hair I brush it off thoroughly, and roll it with a lint roller.

Good post! I have been dealing with the same thing. I have two kitchens with hay bags so hay isn't a huge problem but the hair!!! I use a hand vac but it doesn't do a great job on the hair.

HannibalLecter said:

A large enough kitchen area with disposable bedding, seriously a life saver when using fleece.
After I added mine I can go 2 weeks between fleece cleanings, and there's no hay on it what so ever anymore & way less poop & pee.
Hay bags can also help reduce the dusty bits. When it comes to hair I brush it off thoroughly, and roll it with a lint roller.

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I have fleece in my separate kitchen area, also, but am considering switching to disposable bedding. Which kind do you find works the best but won't cost me a fortune? I am using Carefresh natural in their litter box (which they actually do use most of the time for pee, but poops are still in random places). I do notice that they do pee on the fleece in the kitchen area, though, so I'm thinking a change is needed there. Would bedding be better than just using hay?

Sorry to hijack your thread, @new_raven!! As for getting the hay and hair off of fleece, I just use a stiff brush and brush into a dustpan. For the messiest area (kitchen...which is separate from the main area), I take it outside and brush it again.

two words : lint roller.

even after lots of brushing (i use a harder brush used for washing dishes, i find it gets the hair out better!)and shaking there will still be some hair left over, but a lint roller helps pull out some stubborn strands although i never manage to get ALL the fur off ever.:crazy:

Amy262 said:

I have fleece in my separate kitchen area, also, but am considering switching to disposable bedding. Which kind do you find works the best but won't cost me a fortune? I am using Carefresh natural in their litter box (which they actually do use most of the time for pee, but poops are still in random places). I do notice that they do pee on the fleece in the kitchen area, though, so I'm thinking a change is needed there. Would bedding be better than just using hay?

Sorry to hijack your thread, @new_raven !! As for getting the hay and hair off of fleece, I just use a stiff brush and brush into a dustpan. For the messiest area (kitchen...which is separate from the main area), I take it outside and brush it again.

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I use wood pellets for stove burning. It's really cheap, absorbent, non dusty with great odor control.
They are heavy which is both a pro & con, it stays put & doesn't spread all over the fleece area, but if it's a large area like a full cage then it's heavy to deal with during cleanings, and hard to carry if you're shopping on your own. I also put a thin layer of paper pellets on top for comfort as it's softer, they work just as well but it's more expensive.

Hay wouldn't work as it's not absorbent, it would just encourage mold & bacteria which can be a risk to the pigs.

HannibalLecter said:

I use wood pellets for stove burning. It's really cheap, absorbent, non dusty with great odor control.
They are heavy which is both a pro & con, it stays put & doesn't spread all over the fleece area, but if it's a large area like a full cage then it's heavy to deal with during cleanings, and hard to carry if you're shopping on your own. I also put a thin layer of paper pellets on top for comfort as it's softer, they work just as well but it's more expensive.

Hay wouldn't work as it's not absorbent, it would just encourage mold & bacteria which can be a risk to the pigs.

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Where do you buy the wood pellets? And would it be necessary to put the paper pellets on top? I would just be using this for the kitchen area which is a 1x2 section. They have to go through a little doorway entrance to get to it, and climb a slight ramp. How often does it need to be changed out? Spot cleaned daily?

Amy262 said:

Where do you buy the wood pellets? And would it be necessary to put the paper pellets on top? I would just be using this for the kitchen area which is a 1x2 section. They have to go through a little doorway entrance to get to it, and climb a slight ramp. How often does it need to be changed out? Spot cleaned daily?

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I just buy it at my local DIY store.
Paper pellets are not necessary unless your pigs have sensitive feet, mine are just fussy with their bedding & walked like Bambi on just wood pellets.
When I had a 1x2 hay loft I changed it once or twice weekly, no daily spot cleaning as the poop would get mixed in when they walked so there was no obvious pile.

Thanks all you guys! I'll definitely try the kitchen thing. Just curious: how big are your kitchen areas? And I don't know if this is just me, but I think my pigs pee a lot under the hidey houses.

Oh, maybe I should elaborate more on how "big" the kitchen area should be. My main concern is height. How high is it so that it can contain (at least most) of the bedding, yet the pigs can still jump easily in and out of it.

I use a big cloth bag to wash my fleece. That helps to keep hay and fur out of the washer/dryer.


If you have pigs willing to jump, use a cage bottom for your kitchen. That's what we use, the gpigs jump in and out. I did try a ramp, but Layla made it clear that it didn't belong there and kept knocking it down.

much as I like fleece I dont use it, apart from piggy-sized pieces in their hideyd. Honestly, I find foam mats & grip-it liners work very well. My girls poo & pee in their sleep & hay area only doing the occasional small 'gifts' in the kitchen area, so the foam mats there of course always look clean&tidy. I was until yesterday using just newspaper which do well becos all they needed was a roll&dispose when stained with food stains. I just sweep up the poos 2-3x day, the mats stay dry & hay is easily brushed off. I soak,rinse & hang to dry when absolutely needed - they have been down 2 days so far. Im currently trying furniture blankets as the underlayer but the one I got is much too thin. The other fleece-users have great ideas to help the hay&hair issue.
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flippers!! but the kitchen omg a must.

new_raven said:

Oh, maybe I should elaborate more on how "big" the kitchen area should be. My main concern is height. How high is it so that it can contain (at least most) of the bedding, yet the pigs can still jump easily in and out of it.

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If you look at the kitchens here, you can make higher sides, with a cut out entrance. Coroplast Kitchen Areas
Though the best option for us was an entirely separate kitchen, which I attached to the side of the cage like a separate cage section, making the cage L shaped. I have a picture in my gallery. There's now a small "bridge" of folded coro & a tea towel in between the cages, which stops most hay from being carried over by my peruvian.

I cut the entrance just under 2 holes high. (measured on a grid).
The bedding on one side, and fleece on the other raises the floor enough for them to just walk over.

oldnewie said:

much as I like fleece I dont use it, apart from piggy-sized pieces in their hideyd. Honestly, I find foam mats & grip-it liners work very well. My girls poo & pee in their sleep & hay area only doing the occasional small 'gifts' in the kitchen area, so the foam mats there of course always look clean&tidy. I was until yesterday using just newspaper which do well becos all they needed was a roll&dispose when stained with food stains. I just sweep up the poos 2-3x day, the mats stay dry & hay is easily brushed off. I soak,rinse & hang to dry when absolutely needed - they have been down 2 days so far. Im currently trying furniture blankets as the underlayer but the one I got is much too thin. The other fleece-users have great ideas to help the hay&hair issue.
.

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Foam is not recommended, as it'll quickly become a great home for bacterial growth, as you can't wash it properly.
The other issue is the risk of potential choking hazard and intestinal blockage if your pigs ever choose to chew it.

Not sure if this has been said, but I love using a nail brush from the dollar store for my stuff.

I use Carefresh and a hay bag in the kitchen, so that keeps the mess down. For the fleeced area I'm with the lint roller idea. I went to Target the other day and found a lint roller that has a 10 inch width and a telescoping handle. And it was on clearance for $3.88! It's a dream come true! Between that and my whisk broom, we are pretty clean!

Thanks HannibalLecter - I just want to assure you Im not using foam as we know it. Its hard to describe, it may have some sort of foam inner, but its more like a soft rubbery type of PVC. Its nonslip, dirt,mould & mildew resistant, hygenic, washable & quick drying. Its comfortable on the feet; I use a couple of these mats in the kitchen & bathroom, have machine & handwashed them. I got the idea for using the mats in the cage from a thread on Theguineapigforum titled "trial thread for foam bedding"(pages 1-14) . There are pictures through the forum of what they look like. They are definitely not recommended for chewers & nibblers, as some of the GPForumers discovered, but they can be used under fleece. Ive used the shelf liners (grip-it mats etc) for nearly a year & they are good. My girls seem to like the liners & mats under their feeties, & only snuffled & sniffed (Holly snuffled,Tilly sniffed) them when first put in. The mats are still on trial. They can be hand washed in the bath with vinegar (a tip from one of the GPF). As we know, vinegar is excellent for many uses including as antiseptic. I assure you I want what works best for me & my girls & so far so good. Any problems, I try something else. I wish I could post pictures from my mobile which is also my computer. Anyway, I appreciate your post as it is a warning to anyone who could go get the wrong stuff. Regards to you