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Fleece Fleece not wicking...tried everything.

Abbyp137

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I've been trying to wick blizzard fleece I got from Joanne's without any luck. It's not just one stubborn piece; it's about 20 yards that I'm having a problem with. I've tried washing with just free and clear laundry detergent and vinegar, I've tried with bleach, I've tried dawn dishwashing soap, I've tried soaking first overnight and then washing. I tried hot water, warm water, high heat dry, low heat dry. I've tried each of these methods and combinations of these methods several times. I've probably washed each piece of fleece at least 20 times and there is no sign of progress. Never used dryer sheets and never used fabric softener. When testing, I always had an absorbent layer underneath.
I've read many posts about this and many say basically just put the fleece in the cage even if it's not completely wicked yet because as you change it and continue washing it'll get there eventually. So I tried that after probably the 15th wash but I saw urine pooling on top and just staying there for an hour which isn't really safe so I had to change it back to their old cage liners.
I've made liners before and went through the wicking process about 3 years ago with antipill fleece from yourfleece. Then it only took about 3-4 washes.
I just don't want to have to throw out a hundred dollars worth of material and spend another few hundred on more fleece and another 3 months of sewing. Especially if I don't have any guarantee of being able to wick new fleece.
Any advice or tips on what I can try that hasn't already been done would be greatly appreciated.
 

bpatters

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All I can suggest is to soak it in hot water and bleach, then wash it in hot water with strong detergent. Forget the Free and Clear stuff -- it won't work.

But I always had the best results with thin fleece blankets I got from places like Walgreens and Walmart -- they cost about $3 each.
 

LittleSqueakers

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I've had a similar experience with some anti-pill fleece I got from JoAnn's; it was this really cute pattern that I really wanted... but it just NEVER wicked. I bought 2 other anti-pill fleeces along with it that were just solid colors and they both wicked fine after 3-4 washes/treatments. I eventually had to take the patterned fleece back to the store; I couldn't use it. I've concluded that some fleece for whatever reason just will not wick. Since then I've always just stuck with solid colors because they seem to wick pretty consistently after treatment, and I also will only buy 1 fleece at a time to test it out and make sure that it will actually work before going back to the store to get more.
 

Smileandnod

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Don't give up. I understand your frustration.

I personally use Tide Sport, Bleach, warm-hot water, and set my machine to do a second rinse cycle. I also use low-medium heat in the dryer.

Just make sure you don't overdo with the detergents. Sometimes if you overdo with soaps & detergents it will prevent wicking as well. Same goes with too high of drying. But even then it can be saved and get it wicking.

I just bought some blizzard fleece and anti-pill plush (my new favorite!) from JoAnn's and made some new pads. For the absorbent layer I use either Zorb or u-haul. I wash the material with very little detergent & bleach before sewing. Sew it together. Wash again. They are wicking after 4 washes.

Good luck!
 

Abbyp137

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I tried again and soaked again in water and bleach before washing and I think I overdid it with the bleach because it actually faded the fabric significantly. I didn't think bleach would do that to fleece but it did. I bought some of the cheap fleece at walmart, even though I don't love the choice of patterns but figured I could use it for potty pads at least. I tested it before I washed and it was already mostly wicking. I soaked in water with vinegar mixed in (didn't want to make the bleach mistake again), washed it, and it stopped wicking! Washed again (without soaking first this time), using regular detergent and color safe bleach, and it is wicking great now. So moral of the story is that there is a such thing as too much vinegar and too much bleach when it comes to wicking fleece. Too much vinegar actually reverses the process and bleach can in fact fade the material.
I haven't tried again on the ruined fleece from Joanne's.
 

bpatters

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Bleach won't fade fleece that is woven of colored threads. They're the same color all the way through. It will bleach out fleece that is printed.
 

Abbyp137

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Bleach won't fade fleece that is woven of colored threads. They're the same color all the way through. It will bleach out fleece that is printed.

Maybe fleece from Joanne's had the pattern printed on them then instead of woven through? Or maybe it wasn't true fleece, just falsely described as such. The pattern was on both sides, but there was definitely a right side and a wrong side. I should have taken a picture because it faded tremendously.
 

bpatters

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If there's a definite right and wrong side, it's almost certainly printed. Fleece with the color IN the threads is so much the same on both sides it's hard to determine which is the right side and which is not.
 

ItsaZoo

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Here is a trick to find the right side of fleece. First, fleece stretches more across the width than on the selvage edge. So hold the stretchy edge and give it a good stretch. The edge will curl, and it curls away from the right side.

If you try this on the selvage edge where the border and Joann is printed, that edge doesn't stretch as much but it will curl toward the right side.
 
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