Fleece Sorry another fleece won’t wick topic but I’ve literally tried everything, pleasehelp

[Beaverking]

Hello I just bought a royal pig spread and a royal pig liner from Piggy Bed Spreads. So I’m on my 5th wash so far and for the life of me and the fleece can not get it to wick and I’ve tried everything I can find online and the instructions included. The 1st 3 washes was with All free and clear detergent and white vinegar on heavy duty cycle with presoak, warm water and medium dry cycle, no softeners or sheets. After reading why it wouldn’t work everyone said use bleach and Dawn blue dish soap and that should definitely work and everyone that was having troubles said it was a miracle and it worked. So my next 2 cycles have been warm water heavy duty cycle with presoak with All free and clear detergent, some dawn dish soap and about a cup of bleach with a medium dry cycle. Got them out tested for wicking and water is just pooling on top and rolling off still. I have no clue what to do and why this isn’t working for me, what should I do next? The miracle cure isn’t working for me and I know it can’t be the fleece since I’m buying from one of the better companies out there that make these. I’m at my wits end.

 

[bpatters]

Why aren't you using hot water?

And if they still don't work after all that, I'd contact Piggy Bed Spreads and tell them there's a problem. It's possible they used a different kind of fleece -- some fleeces will wick and others won't.

 

[Beaverking]

Why aren't you using hot water?

And if they still don't work after all that, I'd contact Piggy Bed Spreads and tell them there's a problem. It's possible they used a different kind of fleece -- some fleeces will wick and others won't.

I wasn’t using hot because the included instructions said warm and some online sources said temp doesn’t matter even cold would work and hot could shrink too much. I didn’t want to ruin by washing in hot. To be fair my washer has 5 settings for temp and I had mine on 4 which essentially is hot.

I’ll try hot water and report back. Should I use vinegar or bleach though. I contacted them already through email, just waiting for a response.

 

[Beaverking]

Update. Tried another wash. Used hot water, presoak, all free and clear, Dawn soap and bleach. Dried on hot. Water still not wicking and pooling and running down fleece. I’ve got them in washer right now with a little all free and clear, Dawn heavy duty I just bought at Lowe’s and a cup of bleach and I’m going to let it sit and soak in there for a few hours or possibly even until morning. If this doesn’t work I give up as I can’t find any other tips I haven’t tried. The website I bought from hasn’t responded yet so I don’t know anything else I can try until then. I think I’ve tried every tip and trick in the book. My washer is a new whirlpool top load with no agitator, I don’t know if that’s an issue or not. I’ve never had an issue with it before and it’s been awesome for the last couple years we’ve had it.

 

[bpatters]

It's not the washer.

I suspect the problem is the fleece itself, but you've have to verify that with whoever made the bedding.

 

[Beaverking]

It's not the washer.

I suspect the problem is the fleece itself, but you've have to verify that with whoever made the bedding.

have you or anyone else had any experience with the company Piggy Bed Spreads? I can’t find any bad reviews about bad fleece. I’ve got it soaking now. Any recommendations on how long to let it sit in Dawn and Bleach?

 

[ItsaZoo]

This almost sounds like the high-end plush, luxe or micro fleece. It has a thick, luxurious texture and doesn’t pill or fade, but it doesn’t wick moisture well. I have some small pieces that I got as remnants. I used it for potty pads but it takes a while before the moisture soaks in. The advantage is hay doesn’t stick in it so I use the pads under my hay pile.

 

[Smileandnod]

I have bought many things from piggy bedspreads (LOVE them!) and use only fleece pads that I have made or bought (also from guinea pig market). Sometimes getting things to wick can be frustrating.

It sounds like you may have a soap build up at this point. Too much soap causes the fleece to stop wicking as well. I would use hot water, no soap, just bleach (less than a quarter cup) with vinegar (3/4 to 1 cup) in the rinse with a double rinse.

Once you get it rinsed and dried, just use it. I promise you it will only get better with time.

When I first started using fleece I stressed about it wicking perfectly before putting it in the cage, but I now know it will be ok if it doesn't wick perfectly, it will after a couple uses. For this reason I wash and use fleece after about 2 wash cycles because I know that as I use it with the pigs the wicking will improve each time. I just may have to change it out sooner the first couple times.

Good luck to you!

 

[Beaverking]

These are the 2 products I bought in case anybody can see something in the description that could help.

https://piggybedspreads.com/product/piggy-bedspreads/

https://piggybedspreads.com/product/cage-mates/

 

[Beaverking]

I have bought many things from piggy bedspreads (LOVE them!) and use only fleece pads that I have made or bought (also from guinea pig market). Sometimes getting things to wick can be frustrating.

It sounds like you may have a soap build up at this point. Too much soap causes the fleece to stop wicking as well. I would use hot water, no soap, just bleach with vinegar in the rinse with a double rinse.

Once you get it rinsed and dried, just use it. I promise you it will only get better with time.

When I first started using fleece I stressed about it wicking perfectly before putting it in the cage, but I now know it will be ok if it doesn't wick perfectly, it will after a couple uses. For this reason I wash and use fleece after about 2 wash cycles because I know that as I use it with the pigs the wicking will improve each time. I just may have to change it out sooner the first couple times.

Good luck to you!

i thought about that but with how bad water is just sitting on top, I didn’t want her to get sick and wet sitting in puddles of pee so I wanted it to be ok. She’s just a tiny baby right now. I’m not sure how old she is but she is definitely younger.
The load has been soaking for 4 hours as of now in the bleach and dish soap. I’ll finish this wash cycle and see what happens and then try a load with no soap in case that’s the issue. I’ve been really careful not to overdue the soap and only have used a little of the All, like to the 2 or less in the cap. With the dishsoap id say 1-2 tablespoons. I’ve also got my machine set to deep water to help with ratios and mixing. So no detergent just bleach, how much? And how much vinegar on rinse? Also can I soak in vinegar overnight? Would that do anything or would that have the opposite effect? Thanks

 

[Smileandnod]

Generally the bleach will intensify the soap, and since the fleece isn't dirty it will just create soap residue when used with soap repeatedly. The vinegar will strip away the soap. I would use just a 1/4 cup of bleach, no soap in wash cycle. Then about 3/4 to 1 cup vinegar in rinse cycle and do a double rinse (the second doesn't need vinegar). Get any extra soap out and give it a dry. Take a peak as it's washing...you shouldn't see any soap bubbling during the last rinse.

I have those exact products you provided links to. As far as shrinking is concerned, use low heat drying especially for the water proof backed bedspread.

Your little piggy is going to love living on fleece.

 

[bpatters]

I wouldn't put bleach and vinegar in the same cycle. One is an acid, the other is a bleach, and they'll just neutralize each other. You could use one or the other, or one after the other (and after a rinse), but you'll be reducing the effectiveness of both if you put them in the same cycle.

 

[Beaverking]

I wouldn't put bleach and vinegar in the same cycle. One is an acid, the other is a bleach, and they'll just neutralize each other. You could use one or the other, or one after the other (and after a rinse), but you'll be reducing the effectiveness of both if you put them in the same cycle.

yeah I didn’t mean same cycle. I wouldn’t want to fumigate my whole house with chlorine gas. Im doing a wash now with just hot water and about a cup of vinegar to really try and rinse everything out now. Seems there’s quite a few suds so far, I imagine the dish soap is probably the culprit for that. Once all the rinses show no suds I’ll dry on hot and try to wick. Once it wicks does the fleece stay and become dry very quickly or are the fibers still wet and damp to the touch for a while?

 

[Beaverking]

Update again. I think I’ve made progress but I’m not sure if this is how it’s supposed to be now or if it’s not quite there yet. Now when I put water on fleece it doesn’t roll around and puddle on top, it goes into fleece. It seems like it’s not going through fleece though, seems like the fleece soaks it up and doesn’t wick it. Maybe that’s what it’s supposed to do but seems the fleece feels wet/damp after a while still. It’s like the fleece is absorbing and not going to absorbent layer. I assume the fleece would be dry very soon after the liquid passes through. Are my expectations wrong and this is what’s it’s designed to do?

 

[bpatters]

It won't wick unless there's an absorbent layer underneath. If you're just pouring water on fleece with nothing underneath, there's nowhere for the water to go.

What are you using for the absorbent layer?

 

[Beaverking]

It won't wick unless there's an absorbent layer underneath. If you're just pouring water on fleece with nothing underneath, there's nowhere for the water to go.

What are you using for the absorbent layer?

there’s an absorbent layer sewn in between the fleece sides. I’m not sure what the manufacturer uses but their website says this:
[h=3]LAYER 2:[/h]A super-absorbent textile which absorbs 10 x it’s weight. We do not use cheap U-haul pads as do other copy cat systems. U-haul pads disintegrate in the washer and dryer. Our exclusive textile is durable and far more absorbent than any other product on the market such as flippers.

 

[Smileandnod]

Update again. I think I’ve made progress but I’m not sure if this is how it’s supposed to be now or if it’s not quite there yet. Now when I put water on fleece it doesn’t roll around and puddle on top, it goes into fleece. It seems like it’s not going through fleece though, seems like the fleece soaks it up and doesn’t wick it. Maybe that’s what it’s supposed to do but seems the fleece feels wet/damp after a while still. It’s like the fleece is absorbing and not going to absorbent layer. I assume the fleece would be dry very soon after the liquid passes through. Are my expectations wrong and this is what’s it’s designed to do?

You are doing well and this is ready to use. As the fleece gets more use, the better it will wick the moisture from the top to the absorbent layer underneath so that the fleece feels dry.

If you like the piggy bedspreads products, you can make your own pads using the absorbent material called "zorb" and sewing it between 2 layers of fleece. I personally prefer the blizzard fleece because it has a higher pile which means it feels dryer longer when it is wicking properly (thicker fleece between the pig and the absorbent layer to reduce compression wetness).

Having smaller potty pads in high usage areas are easier to change out between full cage cleanings as well.