Fleece Fleece not wicking!

[Guinepig]

My fleece is not wicking I have washed it 4 times with my homemade laundry detergent and with vinegar. My laundry detergent is made with dr bronners soap, baking soda, and salt. The water will go through the fleece if I poke at it

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Did you use hot water? What type of fleece is it?

 

[Guinepig]

Yes I used hot water. And my fleece is from joanns It is 100% polyester anti-pill fleece

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Weird. Maybe it's the Dr. Bronners? Try again with no detergent and see what happens.

 

[Guinepig]

Should I still put in vinegar?

 

[pigger123]

Some fleece just needs to washed a lot, I had one that refused to wick until it had been washed at least 10 times. Try washing it with just hot water and vinegar if you're worried about the detergent causing problems.

 

[Guinepig]

Thanks everyone

 

[Guinepig]

washed 8 times still not wicking also just realized that the homemade laundry detergent I am using has water softener in it. I hope that it can still be used

 

[foggycreekcavy]

Try washing it without the detergent. Just hot water and vinegar.

 

[Guinepig]

Still not wicking. But my mom got Xtra with the power of oxyclean is that laundry detergent alright?

 

[Guinepig]

Bumping this post

 

[pigger123]

It should say on it whether it has fabric softener or not. If it says it has none, it's fine. I also wouldn't recommend using scented detergents because of the piggies' sensitive respiratory systems.

 

[Guinepig]

It doesn't have a scent. And it doesn't say if it has softener or not

 

[jinxie]

That sounds very frustrating. Give your washer a break and strip it by hand. You can soak it overnight in vinegar and hot water or use something similar to blue dawn dish soap and wash it with that and hot water in a bucket or even your bathtub. Let it soak with the dawn or vinegar in hot hot hot water (if you have a big long serving spoon use that to swirl the fabric around occasionally so you don't stick your hand in super hot water). You can even let it sit overnight to really strip the fibers of any residue. Rinse the fabric really well once its done soaking with some more hot water (to get any remaining soap or vinegar off). You can let it soak again with just hot water to be sure you got all the soap off. Then I would just throw it in the dryer on high heat. If this does not work, I am not sure what will. Either there is a huge buildup of fabric softener or the fabric just isn't good for wicking. Also make sure you are drying it completely between each wash.

When you test it put a towel or something absorbent under the fleece and pour some water on it. Try both sides, often one side will wick better than the other. I hope you find a solution to your problem soon.

 

[Guinepig]

This is the laundry detergent http://www.walmart.com/ip/XTRA-Crystal-Clean-Liquid-Laundry-Detergent-175-fl-oz/26691195

 

[LittleSqueakers]

[MENTION=32447]Guinepig[/MENTION]: I was wondering if you ever managed to get your fleece to wick? I bought the exact same 100% polyester anti-pill fleece from joanns, and I'm having trouble too! I've washed it probably near ten times in hot water, in different combinations of a store brand free-and-clear detergent (free of perfumes, clear of dyes, just good old-fashioned soap) and white distilled vinegar, and it still doesn't want to wick except for in a few dime-sized places on the fabric. I even tried stalling the washer through the agitate cycle to give the fleece about an hour to soak in the hot water, detergent, and vinegar. Nothing seems to be doing the trick.

 

[Guinepig]

I have given up for a few days.. But I going to try 4 or five times tomorrow

 

[Guinepig]

But I am getting close. It will go through when I poke it

 

[LittleSqueakers]

I figured it out! I bought two large lengths of fleece (so that I could switch them out) and I was washing them together on a med-high load. I think there was too much fleece and it wasn't able to soak and wash properly. So I chose the fleece that seemed like it was closer to wicking and put it in the washer by itself on a med-low load and a GIANT capful of detergent. I let it fill up with scalding hot water and then stalled the agitate cycle. I let the fleece soak for about 4 hours with the lid closed to keep in the heat. Occasionally, I started the washer up again and let it agitate for about 10 seconds or so. I used a plastic cooking spoon to push the fleece back down under water after the agitation; I tried to keep it completely covered in water at all times. After 4 hours or so (just as the water was starting to cool to a good "warm" temperature), I started up the washer again and let it finish washing the fleece. Did a second rinse with warm/hot water, dried on low heat. Finally wicked; fully and completely! I'm going to try the other piece of fleece tomorrow. Hope this helps!

 

[hatley1717]

how much vinegar should be used?
I'm having issues with my fleece too...i wash it with the uhaul....should i do separately?