Mattress Pads?

[FoolOnTheHill]

Okay, I'm going to sound totally stupid here but hey what's new lol
I don't really understand what exactly they are? From the internet it sounds like they are made of foam but envisionary333 uses cotton ones. So I'm confused!

I found some in the Ikea magazine. It says "Polyurethane foam/polyester wadding, 4.5cm thick" Is this the wrong type? There is a cotton wadding & horsehair one but it's £130 (And I don't think horsehair would be very good).

Does anyone have a picture of the right kind of pad? Also, where would I get one for a reasonable price? And while I'm here, how does one go about washing the darn things?

 

[Ly&Pigs]

They are a pad for protecting your mattress made out of many types of materials. The ones you are looking for are made out of cotton and they are quilted on top and bottom with a layer of cotton batting in between.

To wash them, you'd just toss them in the washer and follow the washing instructions on the tags. Most can be easily dried in the drier as well. Some are polyester/cotton blends and they are pretty good to use too but if they have a polyester/rayon bottom lining, you don't want to put them in the dryer as it will melt.

I've attached a couple photos as reference to what you are looking for.

 

[5piglover1542]

Where do you put the mattress pads?
I use towels and fleece right now and wanted to give the pads a try, but dont know the order to put the things in.

 

[envisionary333]

Just put the mattress pads underneath the fleece and you're all set! You can cut them to the size of the cage and use as many layer as you want. I bought queen size mattress pads, folded them in half and cut off the extra so they fit into the cage folded and make two layers. Once you've washed them they will flatten down a bit and you can stack several of them. I'm up to eight layers now and it is so soft and comfy! I have 11 piggies so I need a lot, but you can start with just one or two and figure out what works best for you.

 

[envisionary333]

Also, where would I get one for a reasonable price? And while I'm here, how does one go about washing the darn things?

I don't know what options are available to you out in the UK, but I got mine at Walmart for a very reasonable cost. The best way to go would be to find some at thrift stores or garage sales if at all possible, that way you aren't buying a brand new mattress pad just to ruin it and they will be very cheap! I needed so many of them that I couldn't get enough from thrift stores alone. I have around 40 now, I'm using four mattress pads layered in my cage and it takes me about 25 of them to fill it once!!! But, thankfully it's just a one-time cost and having so many of them allows me to go almost a full month before washing them. I love it.

 

[crazywiggy]

Fool on the hill, I'm so glad you asked this, I've been wondering the same thing. On that note, if anyone knows of where we can get mattress pads here in the UK that would be really helpful... all the protectors I've seen have been the waterproof type.

Also, would you say the mattress pads were better than normal towells? Does the cage smell less? (My cage was fine until a couple of weeks ago, now it seems to smell really quickly!?)

 

[JarBax]

I have seen mattress pads/protectors (non waterproof) in a couple of places over here; I certainly remember them in TK Maxx, and I know our local independant department store had them too. Might be worth a quick internet search, but the prices in both were between £15 and £30 for a double cover. I had a bit of a nosey of them, and they are exactly as Ly picture looks. I did consider trying them, but am actually quite happy with my present arrangement, and washing day is already humungous!!

 

[envisionary333]

I don't have any problems with smell since I switched to the mattress pads. They are extremely absorbent, and you can use more layers if you want them to last longer between cleanings. The only thing that smells in my cage is the kitchen, which is filled with Carefresh and tends to get messy with hay very quickly.