Fleece Fleece still not wicking correctly after 10+ washes

@Kelly9, yes it is! I am on the Wayne/Monroe county line between Telegraph and I-275--closer to I-275.

I use Spartan brand Free and Clear-- less than $4 a bottle (I get it at Busch's). with Borax and Vinegar.

I have Dreft, It prevents wicking and seems to have a softner in it. I would think Ivory Snow would too.

I had similar wicking problems with all the fleece I tried, no matter how many times I washed it-- part of why I gave it up in the first place. I just got a cage big enough that anything but fleece would be waaay too expensive, though, and after the usual frustrating routine of washing and drying and rewashing I lost all my patience and tried using straight-up Dawn on a scrap of it to see if that would finally kill the water barrier. ...It worked well enough that I went through the effort of handwashing the entire fleece in the sink with hot water enough Dawn to make sure everything had been scrubbed, and no more problems! Thankfully, you shouldn't have to do that more than once unless you accidentally use fabric softener.

Aertyn said:

No, you need 100% Polyester Fleece. The Anti-Pill is a mix of Polyester and Cotton, that's probably your issue right there.

Also, try soaking the fleece in water for 24 hours. I've had one very stubborn fleece throw and after 4 or 5 washes I just soaked it for a day and it worked fine. I also line dry all my fleece, I never tumble dry it. Can you do a cold wash cycle too? I never (and I really do mean never, I don't even have the hot water hose connected) use hot water and my fleece wicks fine after a handful of washes.

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I don't think that's correct about anti pill having cotton in it unless it's a specific brand that you found that manufactures a blended fabric. All the anti pill I've bought from Joann Fabrics has been 100% polyester. I googled anti pill fleece fabric content and everything I read said 100% polyester. I use anti pill in my cages and it worked great.

I've never used Anti-Pill myself, but the blanket she linked too (zebra striped) was a Poly-Cotton mix, and the others I checked were the same, I assumed she was using that fleece already.

pinky said:

I don't think that's correct about anti pill having cotton in it unless it's a specific brand that you found that manufactures a blended fabric. All the anti pill I've bought from Joann Fabrics has been 100% polyester. I googled anti pill fleece fabric content and everything I read said 100% polyester. I use anti pill in my cages and it worked great.

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She posted a link to BLIZZARD fleece, not the anti-pill fleece. That might be why it had cotton in it. I did see a Zebra Print under the Anti-Pill Fleece which was 100% polyester.