I might hate Vetbed

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poggle

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So, we switched to Vetbed earlier this year in a bid to save money and bin space, mostly successfully. We went back to disposable bedding after we moved house and now after a bit of a break we're back on the Vetbed.

Only, the house stank as soon as they came back out, even without any "input" from the pigs. I've washed them with no luck (60 wash with detergent, then a 30 to rinse them through). I've switched to disposable puppy pads, also no luck. I've tried white vinegar unsuccessfully in the past as well but not this time. They are currently on the line outside after a wash in a last attempt to air the smell out.

Are they just doomed to stink? My suspicion is that it's the small bits of hay stuck in the tufts causing at least half the issue, but I'm not sure. Is there anything else I can do? Our pigs live in the living room and the smell is making the Vetbed pretty much unusable!
 
Odoff... it's industrial grade scent neutralizer. i wouldn't say its safe for guinea pigs tho. it literally says nothing about being safe for animals on their product page. so after you let it do its thing to neutralize all the smells and dry off you'll want to wash it several times. i give this advice because it sounds as tho you're ready to throw it out. if you got other pets it can be reused for or w/e or wash it throughly enough to feel safe using it. its at least not a waste of money then. Odoff will work, you could hide a rotting pig in your closet with that stuff...
 
have you tried the Dettol laundry additive? Or whatever generic store brand equivalent there is. I've found it indispensable with the fleece liners.
 
When our vet bed gets rough and is holding smells, we wash it on cold (like a super rinse) then let it air outside, get rained on, then dry out again, then wash as normal and air dry again. Sounds a lot but does seem to work. Also using less powder too helps and pressing the soak option on the machine if you have one.
 
Lorcan said:
have you tried the Dettol laundry additive? Or whatever generic store brand equivalent there is. I've found it indispensable with the fleece liners.
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I have previously but it might be worth a revisit then. Perhaps I wasn't using enough, given how fluffy Vetbed is - do you find yourself using more than the bottle suggests for fleece?

Spaniel said:
When our vet bed gets rough and is holding smells, we wash it on cold (like a super rinse) then let it air outside, get rained on, then dry out again, then wash as normal and air dry again. Sounds a lot but does seem to work. Also using less powder too helps and pressing the soak option on the machine if you have one.
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Thank you, I may just leave the stinky one outside at the moment to fend for itself over the weekend, rewash it on Monday and see where we're at! I don't have a soak setting but I'll try giving them an old-fashioned soak next time if I can find something big enough 🙂
 
Lorcan said:
Honestly I use less - half a capful per wash.
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Hmmm. I have been looking at this as a "more is better" situation with regards to detergent etc., but maybe I'm approaching it the wrong way. I'll try adding less next time 👍

Honestly it's more straightforward keeping the small human's reusable nappies clean, fresh and unstained!
 
I haven’t found any issues with vet bed and odours. I wash in non bio powder, and use detox laundry sanitiser in the rinse (half a cap full)
 
I’m just thinking out loud here and I’ve never had to think about this topic before, but …… do vets actually use vet bed, and if so - I wonder would it be worth asking them how they keep theirs clean. …. These are my thoughts! 🤔
 
I've never had a problem with vetbed smelling. I wash it at 40 and use laundry sanitiser, line dry. The only time I had a faint wiff sometimes was when I had the rubber backed one, if you got to close to the back it smelt very rubbery!
 
Trouble with vet bed for me is that the urine just goes straight through it so you need something under it. I find fleece liners with zorb in the middle much much better. Not had a problem with smell.
 
poggle said:
That post took a dark turn 😂 Thank you for the recommendation, I've not seen it in the UK but I'll have a look around any alternatives for a pet safe equivalent 🙂
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yeah That's probably best. But if you're out of idea's and have tried everything. it will work. then maybe just use them outside the cage to catch all the lose poops that get flung out or use it as a pad outside the cage to put their hides ect when taking things out instead of putting it right on your floor.
Also you wont "see" it. its undustrial. they dont sell that at walmarts... the chemicals aren't restricted in anyways so should be able to get it off their site. A lot of cleaners are small one or two person companies anyways so its not as tho its unusual..

Its not "this is what you do for your piggies" advice so much as "this is how you stop your self from HAVING to throw stuff out and get no other purpose."
 
Sorry for the delayed reply - I don't know where the time goes at the moment! Thanks for all your responses 🙂

VickiA said:
I haven’t found any issues with vet bed and odours. I wash in non bio powder, and use detox laundry sanitiser in the rinse (half a cap full)
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piggieminder said:
I've never had a problem with vetbed smelling. I wash it at 40 and use laundry sanitiser, line dry. The only time I had a faint wiff sometimes was when I had the rubber backed one, if you got to close to the back it smelt very rubbery!
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I've wondered whether I've done something wrong, as it's not a guinea pig bad smell, exactly. It's reassuring to hear success stories though!

Ruth1 said:
I’m just thinking out loud here and I’ve never had to think about this topic before, but …… do vets actually use vet bed, and if so - I wonder would it be worth asking them how they keep theirs clean. …. These are my thoughts! 🤔
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I'd thought they did, but I've never asked - I wonder who does the washing :)) Our dog is in and out of the vets lately for her skin/allergies so I might ask next time we're there 😊

flowerfairy said:
Trouble with vet bed for me is that the urine just goes straight through it so you need something under it. I find fleece liners with zorb in the middle much much better. Not had a problem with smell.
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You do need a good bottom layer, and change it regularly! In our new house I have room to upgrade their cage and I must say I'm eyeing up fleece (now that I've found some chilled out colours that'll match the sofas) once I've saved up...

superka said:
yeah That's probably best. But if you're out of idea's and have tried everything. it will work. then maybe just use them outside the cage to catch all the lose poops that get flung out or use it as a pad outside the cage to put their hides ect when taking things out instead of putting it right on your floor.
Also you wont "see" it. its undustrial. they dont sell that at walmarts... the chemicals aren't restricted in anyways so should be able to get it off their site. A lot of cleaners are small one or two person companies anyways so its not as tho its unusual..

Its not "this is what you do for your piggies" advice so much as "this is how you stop your self from HAVING to throw stuff out and get no other purpose."
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I hate waste (both landfill and money varieties) so it's much appreciated! Definitely a question for Google to start with, by the sounds of it. 😊
 
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