Bedding Layers of bedding and fleece question

[MNGuinea]

First off I would like to ask what the preferred layers of bedding are. Is having fleece on top and something to soak it up underneath good enough? I heard you can use newspaper or 'uhaul pads'?

My mother doesnt want pee-stained fleece going through the wash with other clothes, so you do have any ideas?

How hard is it to handwash fleece, and how would one go about doing that?

Thank you!

 

[RandomCavy]

You should have 1-2 layers of fleece on top, and towels, newspaper and/or u-haul pads under it I also think some people make fleece flippers, but I have never used them...

 

[rutro]

I usually use just one layer of fleece and some newspaper underneath. I change it daily with clean fleece or occasionally an old clean towel. Once I have a large amount of dirty fleece I wash it in hot water with detergent drizzled on the fleece as well as where you put it normally in your washer, and then proceed with putting it in the dryer. After I've ran the dirty fleece/towel load, I run the washer machine with hot water with nothing in it but put bleach where the detergent goes so it cleans the washer. That may help your mom with allowing you to wash them in the washer. I haven't had any issues doing it, and it only takes me about 5 minutes a day to change and clean there cage.

 

[MNGuinea]

So could I just have a layer of the uhaul pad and fleece on top, then wash it by hand in a tub with warm/hot water and scentless detergent once a week?

 

[Demiba]

I find it works best with fleece on top, then Uhaul pad then 2-3 folded towels. You can use 4 layers of thin towels and they won't take so long to dry.

 

[MNGuinea]

I find it works best with fleece on top, then Uhaul pad then 2-3 folded towels. You can use 4 layers of thin towels and they won't take so long to dry.

Since i'll be washing it by hand, i would rather not have to wash more things. Are the extra towels necessary?

 

[Demiba]

It depends on the pigs, the size of your cage and how often you change the fleece. I have 2 girls in a 2x5 and the Uhaul blanket is always a little damp when I change the cage, so I like to have towels under it to protect the Coroplast floor. Other members do it differently, not all use towels under the Uhaul.

 

[Sunny]

My girls have two layers of towels and two layers of fleece. I only use double fleece because I have to for the size of the cage.

My boys each have two layers of towels and one layer of fleece.

I change once a week and the towels are normally only slightly damp in places.

 

[rutro]

I have two boys and using one layer of fleece with old newspaper underneath is enough for them, you just HAVE to change it every single day otherwise use more layers if you can't. I've never washed by hand, but ask your mom if shaking the fleece out, soaking them in water for a while with detergent and then putting them in the washer is okay. And also to run a load with just bleach and nothing else afterwards to clean out the washer.

 

[chip123]

handwashing stuff isn't that bad i do it for my hamster and i will keep doing it also for my soon to be piggies lol all you need to do is put hot water in a bath with some detergent and viniger if u have it also what ill be doing for my piggies is 1 layer of fleece on the bottom then 1 layer of uhaul then 1 layer of towels then 1 layer of fleece on top (ill be making liners but this is the order it will go in ) lol

 

[piggypuppylove]

I do a layer of u-haul pads a towel under the kitchen and under where the hidies are and a layer of fleece with a fleece blanket under the hidies for easy spot cleaning. I have 3 boys in a 3x6 and have found that this is the best set up for me. I have done just a layer of towels under the fleece, puppy pads under the fleece, and matress pad under the fleece... none of it worked as well as the uhaul towel configuration for me though. I spot clean (sweep up poop and change hay box) daily and change everything weekly.

As far as washing goes, I figure my mom used to wash the sheet in the washing machine when I wet the bed when I was little, so my washing machinecan probably handle a little piggy pee lol I make sure all of the hay and as much hair as possible is off and then wash then run the machine on hot with just bleach afterword. The bleach cleans the machine and makes my house smell really good.

 

[MNGuinea]

If I do

Fleece
Uhaul
Towels

and change it weekly, will that be good?


Also i'm wondering if you have to sew the uhaul to the fleece? cant you just lay them on top of eachother and tuck the fleece around the edges so the pigs cant get under it?

Would this fleece be fine to use after washing it a few times? https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/living-solutions-print-fleece-throw/ID=prod6109520-product

 

[MNGuinea]

I would really appreciate it if someone could answer my last post ^^

 

[rutro]

That fleece would work fine, I've gotten mine from JoAnn fabrics when it was on sale or you can go to Walmart and buy it by the yard. Also you can try weekly and just sweep out the poop daily, but I have a feeling you may need to change it more often than once a week. Fleece/towels are great to use but when they are dirty they can really stink. You also probably don't have to sew the uhaul and fleece together, try it out and if you feel you need to then go from there. But make sure they don't nibble on the uhaul, so as you mentioned tuck the fleece around the edges.

 

[Razzle]

JoAnn's has some great deals on fleece often. I use towels and then fleece over with it tucked in all around. And I have never had an odor problem.

 

[Razzle]

Towels work great for my herd of five and never, ever had an odor problem. I do hope your mother comes around and allows you to use the washer. I use bleach with each load. I also use the Fur-Be-Gone to get the hair off as spy9doc suggests and sometimes use masking tape to pick up hair.

 

[Lasinalia]

Also i'm wondering if you have to sew the uhaul to the fleece? cant you just lay them on top of eachother and tuck the fleece around the edges so the pigs cant get under it?

You can tuck or you can just make sure all the corners of the cage have something on them to prevent the fleece from flipping over and the piggies digging/burrowing under. I lay mine in and they do just fine. (broken link removed)

I have heavy things on the corners and they leave everything alone. Benefit I would see to NOT tucking is that poops would NOT fall along the edge and possibly get underneath the fleece/uhaul. You could actually leave the fleece as long as your total coro n tuck it up over the edge...

 

[Traysea]

Fleece flippers are the easiest for hand washing, especially if you have a big cage because once you soak the liners they get pretty heavy. Smaller ones are much easier to thoroughly hand wash and wring out the extra water. Also makes it easier and faster to air dry. If they are sewn together and you are hanging them inside they will be hanging in the house for probably 2-3 days to air dry depending on humidity and room temperature. It's a lot faster to dry outside in the sun. Plus the sun makes biological stains fade or disappear.

As for hand washing... Most of the time since it's nice out, I take it outside and blast it with the hose to get the pee out. The hose set on "stream" works really great to clean all the bits off the fleece. Then I will either wash it outside in a basin or bring it in the bathroom to finish washing it:

First, I fill up the sink (or you could do this outside in a big tub) and let it soak a few minutes. Then if it's really dirty looking I drain it out once possibly twice till it's less nasty looking. Then I fill it up again and put soap and vinegar and squeeze/smush/kneed it a bunch of times until it is super clean. Then I drain the sink and wring out as much soapy water as I can. Then I fill up the sink with clean water and continue to drain and fill the sink a few times until it's totally clean. If I am washing it outside I just blast it with the hose until all the soap comes out. Every 3rd to 4th cleaning I do wash it in the washing machine in a laundry washing bag because I want to use hotter water and the dryer to kill any bacteria.

Maybe ask your mom if you could use the machine if you pre-washed by hand to get the pee out and offer to put it in a laundry wash bag if she is worried about hair and hay.