Fleece Trouble getting odor out of fleece

[codoggydr]

I have been using fleece for 6 weeks and have both fleece flippers and fleece liners with double layer U-Haul pads for absorption. I also use pee pads under hideys, corner curtains and water bottles. We spot clean twice daily, change out the pee pads when they get odiferous or wet, do a full cage change every 3-4 days if using liners and every 7 days if using flippers. I use litterboxes with care fresh under both hay bags so they don't oversoil the fleece in those areas.

We launder the fleece in a front loader with unscented detergent and vinegar. The problem is that after 3 full wash cycles on hot, we still cannot eliminate the piggy and urine odors!!

I don't know what else to try. Any ideas??

Thanks in advance!

 

[cheshirekris]

For the litter box I would use wood pellets they are recommended a bunch on her I do use aspen though. They are cheaper and both have better odor control

For the fleece I usually air a fleece out before washing it (I have to do it by hand) then afterwards to dry hang it back outside I don't know if it does much for odor control but it is worth a try.

 

[codoggydr]

Do you air the fleece outdoors? We really don't have the set up for doing that at our current house. I used to line dry the kids' cloth diapers in good weather and it helped with any staining. I am thinking I might have to try alternate detergent brands (currently using Tide). Are there particular brands that people find most effective?

 

[cheshirekris]

Yes definitely outside the sun dries it and the wind blows any odor out.I actually all kind of detergent mainly though odorless detergent they sells some at walmart.

 

[QusieQ]

I have never had a problem with odor, I do exactly what you do. Hot water, vinegar, and free detergent. However, I add 1/2 cup Borax or 1/2 cup baking soda to the wash and let soak in washer for a half hour before washing cycle.

Before I went to a litter box their pee pads were drenched and I changed them twice I day -- still no left over odor after drying and I've been using fleece flippers etc. for 3 months.

 

[MrWhistles]

For 1 thing, their urine shouldn't be having a smell at all. Usually, if their urine has a smell, that means there is bacteria growing and they may have an infection of some sort. The only smells you should be smelling is really their poo and body order.
I recommend trying to soak in hot water and white vinegar, or just soak in straight vinegar and reuse the vinegar only for the pig fleece.
You can also add vinegar straight to your wash or into your softener cup(for front loaders)

 

[arod18007]

Yeah, you shouldn't really be smelling urine. However, depending on what pee pads you're using you might smell something similar to urine. When I first starting using fleece I had puppy pads under the fleece for absorption but the smell was awful, smelled like strange urine. I thought the piggies were sick, UTI or something, but as it turned out they weren't. I decided to try just using towels under the fleece and I no longer smell what I thought was the smell of urine! It was very odd. However, the fleece starts stinking of piggie smell and poo after the 5th day (I do spot clean minimum once a day, often twice) so that's when it's time to change out the fleece and towels. I am still trying out different methods of washing to get the odor out. So far hot water and tide detergent works decently, but I'm going to try the baking soda or vinegar as well to see what happens. You might have better luck with old towels than pee pads, depending on the kind you're using, for helping with odor.

 

[Traysea]

This is a common problem with people who cloth diaper their babies as well. If you are not getting them thoroughly clean and thoroughly dry the odor is because all the biological stuff (mostly pee) hasn't come out in the wash. It is also why washing machines sometimes get stinky. There is a bacterial reaction to biological matter. You might need to clean out your washing machine to make sure it is working properly. And also I would add a pre-soak cycle to your laundry routine. And you can strip your bedding using dish soap and vinegar and super hot water. Some folks in the cloth diapering world boil their diapers to deep clean and kill any remaining bacteria. I was told that 2 layers of uhaul don't always work well in sewn liners because they don't dry fully. So it's possible that the double layer of uhaul in the liner pads is what's causing more of the stinky. I found the flippers the easiest to wash and dry since the separate layers clean and dry super fast. So if those are not getting clean enough its possible it's your detergent, or you have hard water, or your machine needs to be checked over.

You can also try running them thru the drier twice to see if that helps the liners to get more thoroughly dry. Or putting them out in the sun really helps too. The sun is great for biological cleaning and bleaching stains too.

I also find regular tide does a much better job cleaning than some of the other brands. I alternate between regular tide and method free and clear. Tide does a much better job. My piggies have not had any problems with the scent or chemicals.

 

[codoggydr]

For 1 thing, their urine shouldn't be having a smell at all. Usually, if their urine has a smell, that means there is bacteria growing and they may have an infection of some sort. The only smells you should be smelling is really their poo and body order.
I recommend trying to soak in hot water and white vinegar, or just soak in straight vinegar and reuse the vinegar only for the pig fleece.
You can also add vinegar straight to your wash or into your softener cup(for front loaders)

I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree with you. Urine contains ammonia, which has a distinct odor. This odor does not indicate infection, at all. In addition to the urine odor, there is a strong piggy odor that does not leave the fleece.

I am currently using vinegar in the softener cup of my front loading machine, and am using hot water. I will try a presoak with hot water and see if that makes a difference. Thank you for the tip. In a front loader, where do you put the baking soda??

Thanks for your help!

 

[TwoMissPiggies]

I spray my wash with NATURES MIRACLE everytime before it goes into the wash. NM is designed to break down the odor enzymes

 

[MrWhistles]

I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree with you. Urine contains ammonia, which has a distinct odor. This odor does not indicate infection, at all. In addition to the urine odor, there is a strong piggy odor that does not leave the fleece.

Smell your guinea pig's fresh pee. If you smell anything beyond hay or fresh foods, your guinea pig likely has an infection.

 

[codoggydr]

I am a practicing veterinarian and am well aware of normal versus infected urine odor.

 

[ShadeyPig]

I use normal liquid detergent when I wash my fleece in the front loader, I found adding vinegar made it smell bad so leave it out, normal detergent works for me.

 

[Razzle]

I have a top loader and I use Bleach. I used to use vinegar but switched to bleach and even though most of the fleece came with instructions not to use bleach, it has not faded or harmed it at all. Hot water, cheap detergent and bleach works for me. And being careful not to put too many towels in with each load. I used to run the loads twice but now with the bleach I do not need to run the load twice.

 

[korryn92]

I use vinegar, arm and hammer laundry soap (scent doesn't seem to bother the pigs otherwise I would switch) and hot water to clean mine. I noticed that the one time I used a front load washer at the laundry mat it didn't get the fleece completely clean. So now I use the older washers with the agitator in the center, but it might have just been the particular machine that caused it to not come out completely clean.

If they are extra dirty from me not being able to clean the cage on the regular cleaning day or if they sat before I cleaned them, then I let them soak with vinegar and soap for a bit in the washer (with water added in a pre-soak setting) and then was them. I have never really been able to dry mine outside because I did not have a clothes line or a porch railing tall enough but I bet if you had the option of hanging them out the air blowing through it would help with the piggy odor.

 

[dawnlynnae]

I have a son who uses cloth diapers made of fleece. The odor is a big problem, but I found a product called OdorXit. It works great and gets that awful ammonia smell out. You soak your material in a solution of the OdorXit and water overnight and wash as usual. You only need to do it whenever the odor comes back again. I hope this helps some. You can buy this at Amazon.com.

 

[martha58]

I used to have the same problem until I started using vinegar in the wash. Since then I have had no problem with odor. I also just bought fleece flippers for the first time..looking forward to using them

 

[Chd96]

I have been using fleece for 6 weeks and have both fleece flippers and fleece liners with double layer U-Haul pads for absorption. I also use pee pads under hideys, corner curtains and water bottles. We spot clean twice daily, change out the pee pads when they get odiferous or wet, do a full cage change every 3-4 days if using liners and every 7 days if using flippers. I use litterboxes with care fresh under both hay bags so they don't oversoil the fleece in those areas.

We launder the fleece in a front loader with unscented detergent and vinegar. The problem is that after 3 full wash cycles on hot, we still cannot eliminate the piggy and urine odors!!

I don't know what else to try. Any ideas??

Thanks in advance!

 

[Chd96]

When I wash my pigs fleece's I usually will use a detergent that has a bleach alternative. I also will use regular bleach and oxi clean powder. I also wash them in hot water and all my fleece's don't have any urine Oder when I clean them that way. I hope this helps you.

 

[EllaBellaMuffin]

For 1 thing, their urine shouldn't be having a smell at all. Usually, if their urine has a smell, that means there is bacteria growing and they may have an infection of some sort. The only smells you should be smelling is really their poo and body order.
I recommend trying to soak in hot water and white vinegar, or just soak in straight vinegar and reuse the vinegar only for the pig fleece.
You can also add vinegar straight to your wash or into your softener cup(for front loaders)

I didnt know bad smell was something bad, when I got the foster pigs their urine smelled so bad, I was really helpless, but I just thought it was because they had been fed crappy food, since they have been in my care about 2 months, smell is totally gone.