Fleece and Spot Cleaning

[TheClone]

I'm just curious as to what people use to spot clean the little cavy poop off fleece?

I've was using a small dry measuring cup (like the kind you would use for measuring off 1/3 a cup). It's okay, but it's a little hard to get some of the poop if it gets under the fleece and on to the newspaper?

Has anyone tried using spider vacuums (I saw them on a television show once)? I was just trying to think of a way to do it better.

 

[pennick]

a hand held vacuum is great.

 

[TheClone]

Like a dust buster? My mother and I discussed that, does anyone have any personal experiencing using one of those? We weren't sure if their poop could have detrimental effects on the vacuum.

For the time being, it seems easiest to just use my hands to pick it up.

 

[John4216]

I just pick the fleece up and shake it off out back I put new fleece down every other day and shake it off every day.

 

[pennick]

I cant stand seeing the poop everywhere so I hand vac every day and empty it in my garbage. No harm yet. Dustbuster is good. Any kind of hand vacuum with power enough to suck up those beans is good. For those of you who shake it off out back, doesnt it bother you that you have poop all over your back yard. Dont you step on it?.

 

[coolcavies]

I've only been using fleece for a couple of my pigs for about four days, but I've been doing a lot of spot cleaning...every time I go in the room really, I just can't leave it. I've just been picking up the poop with a piece of tissue paper and sticking it in the bin.

 

[John4216]

Well shaking it in the yard is only a problem for when snow is there, other than that it settles into the grass and dissolves into the soil over time. and since my dog is in the back yard...well she is a german sheppard and makes a much larger mess than the tiny piggies so its not really a problem for me.

 

[pennick]

I only have material for my upper level. I use shavings for the bottom. I tried fleece and I didnt like it. Too much poop.

 

[Stereophobia]

I use a Dustbuster style vaccum made by hoover, its bagless o theres a large filter between the collection area and the fans, and after 3 months of constant use its still going strong. the great news is that its a wet and dry one so even any undried urine is sucked up without any detrimental effects. Not a bad buy for £10

 

[Ly&Pigs]

Right now, I am just using a small paper sack and slipping a latex glove on my hand and pick up the poos and toss them in the bag. Takes me 5 minutes at the most to spot clean a 3x4 with a 1x3 loft. I am going to get a small hand vaccuum soon to try that out.

When I clean the hay box out, I take it outside and dump it in the backyard. The poos make good fertilizer for the lawn and the hay will gradually decompose.

 

[GPDaisy]

I bought a Scorpion hand held vac (Dirt Devil) to use for fleece spot cleaning, but it's too powerful and sucks the fleece up with the poo. I've gone back to just using the hand broom and dustpan.

 

[dagwellismypigy]

gpdaisy that happened to me too! im returnin it for a less powerful hand vac

 

[Stereophobia]

If it helps, mine is a 900 watt vac and works perfectly. Although admittedly I still hold it down a litle out of habbit.

 

[Poohbear]

I use a dirt devil. It works really well.

 

[Trixie]

I also use a dirt devil and don't have a problem with it.. at least not yet. I also have a small hand broom with a dust pan for the top level. Both seem to work great. The small broom I like best. The piggies will come out and check it out everytime. Its so funny having them chase the broom around the cage. I got it at Family Dollar for $1.

 

[DaCourt]

We tried many different hand vacs and found most of them clogged. We finally went with the Dirt Devil bagless upright. I use two different kinds of fleece. One set, is sewn together...a layer of fleece, a towel, and another layer of fleece. It does not lift up when we use the vac. The other is just the fleece, and towel put down in layers. I have not had a chance to sew them. These will pull up with the vac. What we do, sweep as much of it as we can to the center, and then hold the fleece as we use the vac.

 

[Piglet]

I use a good ol' dust pan and brush. I brush up the poops twice a day

 

[Love_my_piggies]

I use a hand-held vacuum. I just wait until the poopies are dry so they won't mess the vacuum up at all. The piggies think its fun too. They like the vacuum monster

 

[Piglet]

My pigs get scared of the dust pan and brush, so I don't know if they could cope with a vacuum!

 

[JEcklar]

I only have material for my upper level. I use shavings for the bottom. I tried fleece and I didnt like it. Too much poop.

Same here. The cavies seemed to like the fleece very much, but it made me nuts to find 700 beans just sitting in there staring at me 5 minutes after I cleaned the fleece! So I've gone to fabric on the upper decks, and aspen below.

However, I also found that if I build coroplast "inner boxes" for the corners where they poop the most, I could line those with fleece to make beds. Those are easier for me to pull out and change every day, and it keeps the poops confined, also making the aspen cleaner.

If nothing else, housing pigs does inspire one to be inventive.