Fleece Stinky fleece

[ashoak]

I love the fleece blanket I have for my piggies, but washing it does not get the urine smell out. Any suggestions? I use non-toxic laundry detergent w/o fabric softener.

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

Have you tried adding vinegar to the wash?

 

[ashoak]

I have not, but that's a wonderful idea. How much do you recommend?

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

I normally put around a 1/2 cup in with the soap and then a bit more in the rinse, I also use a Bounce sheet in the dryer. Guinea pig fleece will smell guinea pig-gy but they shouldn't smell bad. I have been using some of my fleece for 3 years(with males) and they have very little smell.

 

[Tsikita]

You can change it more offen too. I've got 2 boars and I change their fleece every 2 days, I don't use towels under the fleece.

 

[Ash-Ro060708]

You can change it more offen too. I've got 2 boars and I change their fleece every 2 days, I don't use towels under the fleece.

Fleece doesn't really work if you don't have something absorbent underneath. I do a total cage clean once a week and my cages rarely smell, I have 3 males in 2 cages and 2 females in 1 cage, and use mattress pads and towels(where they pee the most) under the fleece.

 

[Duffinvt]

Fleece doesn't really work if you don't have something absorbent underneath. I do a total cage clean once a week and my cages rarely smell, I have 3 males in 2 cages and 2 females in 1 cage, and use mattress pads and towels(where they pee the most) under the fleece.

I agree that there should be something absorbent under the fleece. Also, I'd not recommend the dryer sheets. I think no softeners of any kind should be used.

 

[CavyMama]

Agreed! If prepped correctly, the fleece will wick the urine through to the absorbant layer (towels?) underneath. If there aren't any towels there to absorb it, the urine has nowhere to go.

 

[Onetwo]

I dont put soap in EVERY load. Some days I put in just vinegar and some I put soap AND vinegar in. I usually put about a cup in. NO dryer sheets (Hehe I know that one is hard as we have VERY dry weather here so I do put a dryer sheet in maybe 2-3 times a year to keep it from getting too staticky otherwise it zaps me tons when I am trying to fold and unfold it...) or fabric softener. Dont use very much soap either because if there are bubbles in the water when its washing that means you put too much soap in. The soap needs to be rinsed thoughrly otherwise the soap residue makes the poop and pee smell worse. It keeps the smell in instead of being washed out... I usually use for all my laundry 1/2 of the recommended amount of soap and it does a great job!!!

 

[Tsikita]

Sorry I forgot to explain...they have been trained to use the kitchen area for ther "businesses"... They pee and poo just a little bit outside of the kitchen area. :tearsofjo

Agreed! If prepped correctly, the fleece will wick the urine through to the absorbant layer (towels?) underneath. If there aren't any towels there to absorb it, the urine has nowhere to go.

The towels (or any absorbent underneati) will absorve all the pees and they woll stay wet too!! I really really want my boys to be as clened as posible! lol

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

I put Nature's Miracle in with the soap and when I'm out I use vinegar.

 

[KateandOscar]

Sorry I forgot to explain...they have been trained to use the kitchen area for ther "businesses"... They pee and poo just a little bit outside of the kitchen area. :tearsofjo

The towels (or any absorbent underneati) will absorve all the pees and they woll stay wet too!! I really really want my boys to be as clened as posible! lol

Thats actually wrong...when the towels absorb the pee, it leaves the surface nice and dry and you only have to clean it once a week not every two days...even if they are using a litter box, havinf just fleece makes it gross and wet on the top.

 

[PrttyChngaderas]

With each cage change I usually have two fleece blankets and 6 towels to wash. This is how I handle the gifts my cavies bestow upon me weekly *laughs*:

Prior to actually taking the towels and fleece out of the cage I take out all the houses, toys and hay bins and feeders. I grab the dustbuster and suck up all the poops and stray hay as good as I am able. I then get an old dog brush and brush off the fleece to get really stuck on hay and fur. I then put it all in a laundry basket and take it outside for a good shaking on the fire escape and beat the fleece and towels on the ledge within an inch of their lives.

Then it's time to wash.

I set the washer to extra large load. Water temp is hot and I flip the switch to add a second rinse. I add 1/2 cup bleach, 1/2 cup vinegar and about 1/3 of the recommended amount of SOFTENER FREE detergent. I let the machine fill 1/2 way and then start adding the towels and blankets.

When the load is done, I put it all in the dryer on high heat for an hour and it's all done. The sheets and towels don't smell like anything. They don't smell like detergent of any kind or animal smell. With the exception of the few white towels I use under the fleece, there is little evidence of the towels or fleece being used for anyone's personal toilet.

Of course, this is only the way I do it and others may think I over-bleach or over-beat... but their (my pigs) laundry is always fresh and clean looking and no one seems to be any worse for the wear.

 

[CavyMama]

Tsikita,

If you prepare the fleece correctly the first time (wash/dry 3-4 times without fabric softener). The urine will be pulled away from the surface of the fleece and to the absorbant layer of towels. The fleece itself will stay dry.

The reason yours hasn't stayed dry could be that it wasn't prepped properly or more likely, because there was no absorbant layer underneath for the urine to go to.

 

[Onetwo]

Yes you MUST use something absorbant under the fleece where they do their business. I have piggies that are somewhat trained as well. They go in their beds and their kitchen. I have towels that get changed every 2 days in their beds and kitchens. Then in the rest of the cage it is JUST fleece as they so very very rarely pee out in the open. Every where they pee is a towel and a piece of fleece. Not everyone has towels on their ramps and open spaces. But if they go EVERYWHERE like most guinea pigs do then you need towels under everywhere they pee. After having week after week after week for months with no pee on the towels under the fleece in the open I stopped putting towels there and changed the towels in their kitchen/bed area more often...

You can alternate baking soda and vinegar with 1/2 the amount of laundry soap and see how that helps. Also the higher your dryer setting the more the piggy smell will be perminantly set into your fleece. Try to air dry if possible if not put the dryer on the lowest setting for your fleece...

I miss being ablr to air dry my fleece on my deck. Now I dont have a deck and there is no place to hang my fleece outside. Bummer