Hello Fleece! Goodbye... Fleece :/

Status
Not open for further replies.
hayleyface

hayleyface

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 7, 2013
Messages
126
Reaction score
53
Points
245
Location
Basingstoke, UK
Last weekend after over a YEAR of pining for fleece I FINALLY got my butt in gear and made a beautiful cage liner (although the sizing was terrible and it ended up slightly too small..) I have already had to get rid of it as it stunk the living room out something awful and my boyfriend was getting seriously miffed [emoji17]

I dont understand what happened. Maybe I used the wrong type of fleece or bed lounger or what. All I know is I'm never trying that again.

Its really sad that I was so excited about it and it looked nice, I spent so much time on it for nothing.

Ah well..

zu4a9a4e.jpg
 
I attempted to make a cage liner and it went a bit wonky too.
Now I just use it to cut my fleece to size.
How long did you have it before it started to smell?
 
A week. I only had the one liner. I was planning on keeping it in the cage for a week, waking, drying ams replacing it until I could make more. My boyfriend complained so much about the smell though that I had to chuck it :/
 
It can get a bit smelly. I change mine every three days and add disinfectant to the wash to make sure the smell is totally gone...I'm always paranoid about smells!
The heat doesn't help.
Have another bash with it, wash it after about 3 days and just cut fleece to size rather than make cage liners (I find it works out easier). Seems a shame to throw it away after all your hard work.
 
I change my fleece after 3 days because otherwise it gets really nasty, my parents hate smell as well so I have to be careful, my fleece did not work right away either but after a while I got the hang of it
 
I use fleece and I have to change it every 3 days. It never smells as quick as yours did.. i have 2 boars..What inner did you use I know ones I buy from certain places use a bamboo wadding for the core. CandE cosies do *ZORB* and hammocky hammocks use bamboo wadding too. This is antibacterial amd snuffs out smells. :)also the more fleece is washed the more absorbant it becomes hence less smell as it it is wicked away quicker. I use in the wash " paragon" flea and tick wash formerly known as HALO pet wash it is anti fungicidal and anti bacterial as well as anti germ everything it really washes the fleece well and removes all odour x
 
Your liner looks lovely it would be a shame to throw it away. I just use puppy pads under my fleece. And I change mine every 3 days. I haven't noticed any smell yet. Been using fleece for nearly 3 weeks now. I have 2 different fleeces that I alternate between. ( the fleece itself is quite a thin kind of fleece so this may help with the wicking away of the urine) I also use litter trays (shallow cat litter trays) where their hay is as this is where they do most of the peeing. I wash the fleece at 60 degrees and use non bio washing liquid and half a cup of white vinegar. (It's supposed to clean the fleece better, I think. Lol) good luck with whatever you decide to do. But your liner looks lovely. :tu:
 
You lasted longer than me, I tried for one day! and the smell was dreadful plus it looked awful after one night. I don't have the time to clear it up every five minutes and was almost happy to have the wood chip back!
 
I too struggled with fleece so ended up using shredded paper for my piggies.

I went through so much fleece, buying it constantly and it was just too costly.
 
What kind of absorbent material did you use in your liner? Was your fleece wicking (letting pee pass through)?
 
I love the look of fleece but also don't have the time to maintain it all day :(
 
I hate fleece its too much work to keep looking good, clogs the machine and the washing costs make it for me cost more than bedding. I do use a reusable bedding though, I have a home made liner made from suedecloth upper, zorb inner and cotton backed that works well and lasts a full week, for me anything that doesnt last a week isnt cost effective. It is a 2 second job to hoover 2x daily as its heavy enough that it doesnt get sucked up the machine.
 
I always wanted to ask but just reading this thread my questions have been answered! I was considering fleece initially but it did seem like too much work. When I looked online or on videos it seemed it was always women encouraging that fleece was the best bedding..I imagine they were also housewives with all the time in the world to be cleaning up the droppings and washing 3 x a week lol. All the pictures I saw of the fleece bedding were always very clean but then I saw a YouTube video once and realised the reality and that it didn't look great with all those droppings on it and wondered how quickly it became stinky! It takes me about 3-4hrs to properly clean and disinfect the cages in the bath and a real effort, so to have to do this every 3 days would be too much and I would just give up the piggies!

I use Megazorb which costs about £9 for a huge bag that can last me over a month for 4 cages. Coming up to a week you start to smell the ammonia and realise it is nearly time for a clean. Also, with the critters darting around and kicking bits of it and poo out, it can get a little messy after a few days but is not hard to just sweep up with a brush.

I cannot understand how you lot with fleece justify the waste of water to clean it all the time when you can just throw naturally degradable bedding away or use it as compost. Surely also, the cost of the water, gas/electric to heat the water and detergent etc makes it more expensive than bedding?
 
I use fleece with my 3 piggies, and puppy pads underneath in the corners where they do most of their wees. I sweep up the poos every evening, which takes 5 mins and wash fleece once a week with vinegar instead of fab conditioner as it helps get rid of the smell. They have a separate hay box which I change every 2/3 days as they do most of their toilets in there! The only thing I find irritating is that the hay sticks to the fleece making it difficult to sweep and a bit messy looking!
 
PiggyOinkOink said:
I cannot understand how you lot with fleece justify the waste of water to clean it all the time when you can just throw naturally degradable bedding away or use it as compost. Surely also, the cost of the water, gas/electric to heat the water and detergent etc makes it more expensive than bedding?
Click to expand...

Washed once a week in my area fleece and towels using a tumble dryer to dry costs the same as bedding bought in bulk like finacard or fitch :-) 20kg bales of shavings work out cheaper and megazorb works out dearer but theres not much in it. Washed 2x a week washables cost more or the same as any bedding for me. What does save me money is not going to the dump with bedding which would add £7 per week in cost which is the main reason I use a washable bedding I imagine thats also true of many folk in areas where bins are emptied fortnightly and animal waste isnt allowed in the garden waste bin (or there arent any), suedecloth is much less work than fleece as nothing sticks to it. I use washable bedding any week I know I'm going to be very busy or any week I'm not home as its easier for the OH or parents/in laws to deal with for me. My suedecloth liner dries basically instantly as its core is a quick drying material in total washing and drying takes 1.5 hours so it probably does work out cheaper than most beddings for that one but I havent worked it out :-)
 
PiggyOinkOink said:
I always wanted to ask but just reading this thread my questions have been answered! I was considering fleece initially but it did seem like too much work. When I looked online or on videos it seemed it was always women encouraging that fleece was the best bedding..I imagine they were also housewives with all the time in the world to be cleaning up the droppings and washing 3 x a week lol. All the pictures I saw of the fleece bedding were always very clean but then I saw a YouTube video once and realised the reality and that it didn't look great with all those droppings on it and wondered how quickly it became stinky! It takes me about 3-4hrs to properly clean and disinfect the cages in the bath and a real effort, so to have to do this every 3 days would be too much and I would just give up the piggies!

I use Megazorb which costs about £9 for a huge bag that can last me over a month for 4 cages. Coming up to a week you start to smell the ammonia and realise it is nearly time for a clean. Also, with the critters darting around and kicking bits of it and poo out, it can get a little messy after a few days but is not hard to just sweep up with a brush.

I cannot understand how you lot with fleece justify the waste of water to clean it all the time when you can just throw naturally degradable bedding away or use it as compost. Surely also, the cost of the water, gas/electric to heat the water and detergent etc makes it more expensive than bedding?
Click to expand...

I have yet to use my fleece, but I really do think it will save me a lot of money and mess in the long run. I get what your saying about the washing, elec etc but I'm paying out £9 for a large bag of wood shavings which is lasting me max of two weeks as they need to be cleaned out every day (due to treatment) there is also the petrol money to go and fetch it or the delivery charge if you buy it on line. At the moment I save up all my piggy towels and put them in a black bag in the garage and then I wash them every 10-14 days I have a large Eco washer so I can do all the washing at once twice a month I'm going to buy a wash bag so the washer does not get clogged up. If fleece is changed every every 3 and poop picked during the day I think it can makes a good cage liner. My boys are long haired and they scratch and sneeze due to the dust in the wood shavings plus it gets stuck in their fur, fleece would be easier for them to walk on too I feel.
Every one to there own :) it's just a case of finding what works best for each owner and their piggies :)
 
Hi I love the fleece pattern, I would suggest using an extra bit of fleece in their main toilet areas which gets washed more often. I'm lucky in that my boys only really go toilet under their ramp and so I have an extra piece of fleece here which I will swap and wash every 3 days or so, and just wash the main fleece once a week. I also work full time so just pick up their poops in the morning and again in the evening, I don't think it looks messy really.
 
I love my fleece.My cages are 15 and 20 square foot and one is an odd shape.Don't have cortex either.Mine are just about litter trained .The hideys are on extra fleece that gets washed when wet and main fleece every week.I couldn't cope with substrate.My rats are on finacard cos fleece didn't work for them
 
I have always loved the idea of fleece but it is simply too much work, I can't bear the mess at least the hay/wood chip looks better for longer. Plus I like the fact they burrow in the hay.

Where can you get the sudo cloth stuff? that sound a lot better.
 
Lol, just noticed you were across the pond the p&p may be a little high :)
Just googled it, I thought it might be expensive to do a layer of my hutch but it's not to bad.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top