Fleece The Fleece Project: The Study

[Dee_E]

I use the angled attachment for my vacuum and reverse it. Doesn't suck up the fleece that way.

 

[partygirlha]

I use a cat grooming "glove" that has rubber nubbs on the palm to "brush" the hair, hay and eveything off the fleece before I wash it. My old washer did a great job, but when I "upgraded" to a high efficancy washer I started have problems. Now I always pre-soak the liners in hotwater with vinigar and soap (in a bucket/bin) for a little while before putting them in the washer. Then I do a "rinse and spin" cycle before a heavy duty wash. It takes some time, so I have a spare set of liners. Using the cat grooming glove has taken care of all the hair and hay problems I used to have (a rubber dish glove aslso works, but not as well)

 

[gisele]

Thanks for putting so much into the big fleece question. We (hubby and I) have been using fleece/towel combo for about 4 months now. We have discovered that rolling up the fleece and towels and putting into a garbabge bag to carry outside for shaking works well. We skip the first step and go straight to shaking. We do use the "dustbuster" to clean up loose poops and hay before wiping down the cage. The other thing we do differently is to put extra towels ontop of the fleece where the feeding area is and pull those out daily to clean and replace - again we bag them and shake them outside. Our fleece came from a Jobs Lot - fleece blankets for $7.00 each. No fancy prints or colors but they work well and can't beat the price. Towels for under layers are extra large bath size and top layers are the large hand towels. We have stacks of towels for back-up (piggie towels are used only for the piggies). Intersted in working on the feeding area, maybe putting in a bucket of some sort for hay. Our hay tin now is a cook stove burner cover, but it's too low and hay goes all over the feeding area.
Thanks again for all the info - always enjoy hearing what others are doing and helps me make changes to keep my piggies happy.
P.S. My piggies love house cleaning day - they popcorn the most when they have fresh fleece.

 

[CrazyMom]

So at the risk of reposting something that has already been said (call me lazy but 22 pages is a lot to read) I do have some helpful advice. Again if this has already been said I am sorry. I used cloth diapers on my daughter for almost two years and using fleece bedding is pretty much the same concept. One thing I learned about fleece is that the type of detergent you use can make a world of difference, in my opinion. Regular detergents can build up on the fabric and stop wicking and cause stink to build up easier. With is being said if you notice this is becoming an issue, consider switching detergents. If you google "cloth diaper detergents you will find a lot of great options. Some of them are pricy and hard to find but some are not. I use Charlie's soap on mine. Also once every two months I do a deep clean. Basically this consists of washing in hot water, then letting them soak in baking soda, then setting it through the rinse cycle several times. So just an idea for any one that have been having stinking issues. It can all be in the detergent.

 

[brigita]

Hi, thank you very much for explaining everything about fleece.
I made one set of fleece too. Used bed pads, sewn with 2 layers of fleece on top. Also made small spot liners to place under hey, water bottle and beds. Easy spot cleanup with brush found in hot tips thread, no problem vacuuming. I hope it's going to wash easy. (pre washed 3 times before sewing ).
Placed it in the cage Sunday night. Today still no smell. I want to see how long it takes for the smell ..

 

[brigita]

Does anyone add oxiclean along with detergent ?

 

[JadeRenee]

I started using fleece this weekend when I ran out of carefresh. So far, it's been 4 days, and the smell is minimal. I'm using one layer of fleece with one layer of UHaul pad underneath. I sweep up poos about twice a day, and have found it looks a lot cleaner and doesn't stink after a few days. Once I get some money saved up, I'm probably going to order some liner sets on Etsy, so it'll be easier to change out and wash with everything sewn together.

Thanks again to everyone for this great thread and all the amazing info!

 

[brigita]

Day 4. One cage fleece need washing, another is fine.
Washed today. Used detergent + oxiclean+ vinegar on rinse cycle. Fleece came out soft and smell free

 

[acemartini]

So, when I first tried the fleece I used a blanket-one of those cheapie ones from Walmart. I washed & dried numerous times but it still would not wick. BUT, I was tired of hunting for poops every day..lol so, I decided to just go for it. I put the blanket down on a few layers of microfiber clothes. Although the blanket didnt really wick, it did seem to absorb after some time. Surprisingly, the cage did not smell for almost a week. After a week I switched out to blizzard fleece (wicked right away) from Joanne's with the same cloths underneath. After about 2 days it SMELLS!! Needless to say, I don't get it! I love the fact that poops are so easy to deal with, but the smell - yuck! Oh, and the smell is not like ammonia like others say. It is really just a zoo type smell & there seems to be a huge amount of wetness for just 2 pigs & 3 days. Any ideas on why one would smell but not the other? And, do they really pee THAT much?

 

[brigita]

So, when I first tried the fleece I used a blanket-one of those cheapie ones from Walmart. I washed & dried numerous times but it still would not wick. BUT, I was tired of hunting for poops every day..lol so, I decided to just go for it. I put the blanket down on a few layers of microfiber clothes. Although the blanket didnt really wick, it did seem to absorb after some time. Surprisingly, the cage did not smell for almost a week. After a week I switched out to blizzard fleece (wicked right away) from Joanne's with the same cloths underneath. After about 2 days it SMELLS!! Needless to say, I don't get it! I love the fact that poops are so easy to deal with, but the smell - yuck! Oh, and the smell is not like ammonia like others say. It is really just a zoo type smell & there seems to be a huge amount of wetness for just 2 pigs & 3 days. Any ideas on why one would smell but not the other? And, do they really pee THAT much?

I also get that "zoo" smell, but in 4 days. So I just change it every 4 days. There is one piggie in 2x3 cage, I have 2 piggies and 2 cages. Both smells after 4 days.
Now I began experiment with waterproof pads in the places they pee the most. Just wash them every day. I'll see if it helps to get 6-7 days with no smell. (I scoop poppies every day)

My liners are made out of 2 layers of fleece and 1 bed pad. It keeps dry, but that smell ... any way, smell or not, I like it better then care fresh and aspen.
Next liners I'll do with zorb between doggie pee pad and fleece.

 

[robbo]

Hi there is a thread on here for a brush called fur be gone, looks like it get all fur off fleece etc ;-)

 

[Mishkapop]

Switching to fleece today. I love everything about the idea. As we have four guinea pigs, the idea of being able to clean a cage in ten minutes instead of a couple of hours was a big winner to me. Also my bf has allergies, so doing away with the sawdust will not only benefit the girls' chests but his as well. And they won't be able to kick it up and expose cold plastic cage flooring. More comfort for everyone generally.

For those of you in the UK by the way, Primark is selling 100% polyester fleece blankets for 3 pounds. They're a good size too, about 1.5m by 1m. And they come is some pretty colours, though not many patterns. I did manage to find some in baby blue with white polka dots though

 

[abyssinianpiggy]

How do you wash the fleece?

 

[kananaka]

How do you wash the fleece?

I wash mine in hot water in the washing machine (towel setting). Do not use any fabric softener or dryer sheet. So wash & dry, wash & dry, wash & dry at least 3 times (I do 4).

 

[cibrown]

Another good place to get fleece is at thrift stores. Some times they will have discounts on certain color of tags. You can look in the blanket section for fleece that is marked with that color tag. You can often get a 4' x 6' piece for under 2 bucks. I have rats too and they chew so this is an especially good deal for me.

 

[YoPiggies]

I just switched my girls over to fleece today. Just a single layer of fleece with a layer of towels underneath - I'll see how it goes and adjust accordingly. At this point, I don't even care about cleanup, because I am just so happy to see them happy. These two are popcorning like I have never seen before. In fact, one of them literally has never popcorned until today. They clearly love something about the fleece bedding, and I am just thrilled that they are comfortable. So glad that there is a thread with so much helpful information in one place!

 

[New To Cavies]

I just adopted our first piggie and have fleece bedding. She was used to Carefresh with her previous owner but seems to like the fleece just as well. She's eating and drinking just fine and we've already held her so for being in a new home the fleece has thrown her for a loop. I got mine at Walmart but need to trim it down better. I have old towels underneath so we'll see how this goes! I'm hoping cleanup will be easy with little smell.

 

[Jacksthemouse]

For those of you in the UK by the way, Primark is selling 100% polyester fleece blankets for 3 pounds. They're a good size too, about 1.5m by 1m.

....

If only I looked at Primark before going to myfabrics.co.uk.. :sad: oh well! Got anti-pilling.

I'm a little confused about the combinations you have to do for the underbedding. So you generally mix puppy pads with towels instead of newspaper and towels? And which way around?
I just wasn't sure if it was outright stated (other than the individual qualities of said pieces..)

 

[Catherine Spark]

Just a quick and easy suggestion I happen to know for getting hay strands (or animal hairs) off really any fabric. Find some packing tape, or even ordinary tape will do. Wrap it loosely in a closed loop around all the fingers of one hand, with the sticky side out. Pat the hay-stranded surface with the tape. The strands stick to the tape, which can then be thrown away.

 

[cibrown]

I have been putting the u-haul pads and fleece in smaller sections because my skinnies are really messy. I have area that still has corn cob bedding under their water bottle and food. I put sections of the fleece and u-haul pads in the rest. This way I can pick them up and shake them off everyday. I don't know if any of you have skinnies but they really go a lot. The 3 girls cage is like 4' x 6' and they can just move to another part while I clean their cage.