Towels Fleece newbie: Odor questions

[Airin]

Hey everyone! I've had piggies in the past and I've used wood shavings which kept the smell down to a minimum but it was extremely expensive, I want two get two new piggies and been researching a lot about fleece but I have some concerns:

1. The cage will be in my room next to my bed, so I need to keep the odor down. I know that cage size and the absorbent layers are crucial here I will try my best to get the needed cage size for that

2. I live in Mexico and I cannot get U-Haul to place as an absorbent layer (ordering online would be too expensive), which seems to be the best choice to minimize the odor. Will fleece, 2-3 layers of towels and then a puppy pad keep the odor to a minimum if i change the whole bedding once a week and do spot cleaning twice a day?

3. I find it hard to believe that fleece bedding can keep the smell down I just cannot get how a layer of urine soaked towels bellow the fleece does not smell awful after a few hours, can someone that uses towels confirm that it really doesn't smell bad if I keep it clean? Or how long does the cage lasts without smelling bad?

Thanks a lot !

 

[bpatters]

Towels are pretty smelly, even under the fleece.

How long you can go before the cage starts to smell depends a lot on how large the cage is, how many pigs you've got, and whether or not your pigs will use a corner litter box or a kitchen area for most of their peeing and pooping. A larger cage is much easier to keep clean, and will go much longer between changes, than a small one. In fact, fleece just flat doesn't work well in a small cage.

You can make small fleece pads (squares of fleece sewed to an absorbent layer) and put them where the pigs potty the most. Those can be changed more frequently, and the larger pieces of fleece will last longer between cleanings.

 

[kairi26]

I use paper bedding in 1/3 of the cage, where I keep the hay and food. I use fleece sewn with uhaul for the rest, but towels would probably be just fine too since they mostly pee where they eat.

If I had to use towels, I'd probably think more carefully about how I designed the cage so it was as easy to clean as possible. Changing fleece and tossing it in the washing machine isn't so bad and I could do it a few times a week, but it's a pain cleaning under their loft and fleece forest.

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[Airin]

Thanks for the answer What do these fleece pads have inside? In my case would I use a towel and sew the fleece on it?

 

[bpatters]

Yes, you could use a towel. Just wrap the edges of the fleece over the edges of the towel so they can't get to the towel itself. Those threads can ravel, and if the swallows them, can cause a fatal intestinal blockage.

 

[peachyteen]

I use wood pellets in the kitchen area (where the hay and pellets are) and one layer of towel under fleece. There is no smell, and our bedroom is pretty small (about 12ft by 12ft).

Our pigs go potty mostly in the kitchen, on the pellets, which is probably why it doesn't smell.

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[Airin]

Thanks everyone! Sadly I cannot get wood pellets in my area, they seem like a great option tho regarding the incontinence pads I haven't seen any of that kind yet, hard to find things here D: I was looking for the options you guys suggested and I managed to get very thick fabric that is used to fill up mattresses they are actually used for spring air's mattresses, I know someone there and they gave me some (pic bellow), I do not know what it is made of but i was told it is very absorbent I also saw cheap puppy pads.



So I thought from bottom to top: Puppy pad, this cloth, towel, fleece. What do you guys think? Or should I remove the towel since it seems they do smell a lot?

Thanks again!

 

[bpatters]

That's WAY overkill. You need a layer of fleece, and ONE kind of absorbent material underneath. That's all. Putting more stuff in there just means more laundry, and more hassle when changing the cage.

 

[Airin]

That's WAY overkill. You need a layer of fleece, and ONE kind of absorbent material underneath. That's all. Putting more stuff in there just means more laundry, and more hassle when changing the cage.

Oh i thought more layers meant less smell?

 

[bpatters]

Nope. The number of layers has nothing at all to do with the smell.

 

[Airin]

Nope. The number of layers has nothing at all to do with the smell.

Ohh I didn't know, so the key is a good absorbent layer right? What do you think of the cloth i got?

 

[bpatters]

I don't know what that cloth is. If you pour water on it, does it soak it up?

It does look like something you absolutely need to keep away from the pigs, though. If they can pull pieces of it off and eat it, it's dangerous.

 

[pirategyal]

Sprinkling vinegar over the absorbent layer does wonders for the smell

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[Airin]

It does but if it is that dangerous I won't use it, I will try and stick with pee pads made out of towels and fleece and see how it goes, thank you for answering to my thread I don't wanna be too troublesome, but my fleece is not wicking, I washed it 5 times with mild detergant, no fabric softener, hot water. I tested it on top of a towel and the water just pools on top, any advice?

 

[madelineelaine]

I have had tricky fleece before that doesn't want to wick. I ended up having to wash in extra hot water with a cup of vinegar a couple of times. For some reason vinegar always does the trick for me to get the bedding to wick right. I normally do one wash with detergent just to get it clean from the store then proceed with vinegar until it wicks. If you want to use that pad I'd say go for it, but I would consider cutting your fleece larger than you need it and folding right up and over the edges of the choroplast. You can use binder clips to secure it to the sides. This way the pigs have no way of getting to it and eating it.

 

[bpatters]

Wash it in hot water with strong detergent and bleach. You can't hurt the stuff, and as long as it is rinsed well, none of that will hurt it.

You can also try turning it over and see if it wicks from the other side.

 

[Airin]

Thank you both I tried adding bleach, the water does go through now but the fleece doesn't remain dry, it remains damp like in the picture I will place here, does it need more washes? I was planning on leaving it in water and vinegar all night if that's the case, since I am not allowed to put vinegar in the washing machine.

 

[bpatters]

You can soak it in vinegar overnight.

Also, if you're pouring a lot of water on it, that's not a fair test of it wicking. Pigs usually pee small amounts, so that usually goes through pretty quickly. Try testing it with just a tablespoon at a time and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Airin]

Well the fleece seems to be wicking better now the layer stays damp but dries out quickly, I am sewing the pee pads and will switch my guinea pigs to fleece soon, I'll tell you how it goes!

 

[lisa325]

Good luck Looking forward to seeing the finished product. There's a great sense of achievement when you make your piggy accessories yourself, plus it's fun to learn new skills.