Microfiber towel for bedding?

[PiggieSushi]

Hi there, I'm new to using fabric as guinea pig's bedding. I'm getting my piggies soon and want to get more info on the bedding before they arrive My plan is to use fleece on top and some absorbent layers below it. I'm considering 2 layers of cotton towels as the absorbent material, and some chenille bath mats as pee pads around the cage. For the hay/litter tray, I'm thinking to put a pee pad or wood shavings, whichever would be easier to clean.

I've read some people said that cotton towels may not be the best odor control and will stink fast. So I'm thinking of some other alternatives..

-- Has anyone ever used microfiber towel as a bedding? What are the pros and cons of it?
-- Is it safe to use just towels or bath mats as cage liners without fleece?

I would appreciate some insights from the pros Thank you!

 

[piggl]

As bedding do you mean instead of fleece? Or are you making your own liners?

If you are thinking of using it as an absorbent layer than I would recommend using puppy pads instead, you ‘can’ use it, but it is much less absorbent/clean than puppy pads.

In terms of wether you should use just towels I would say no. The good thing about fleece and bath mats are that they drag the liquid down from the surface meaning your pigs aren’t constantly walking on damp.
With towels it will become a swamp very fast, causing issues with your piggies health.

Bath mats are great, I use them and so do many people on this forum.
Mine is set up with newspaper, an absorbent layer and then the bath mats. With such you have to remember to wick them (you will find more about this in the links attached)

You may find these guides helpful -
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
A Detailed Guide For Fleece Bedding

 

[T&A]

You could use microfibre, it’s good for absorbing, but i would out a layer of fleece over the top so they’re not walking on wet all the time

 

[Princess Dustmop]

My girls are on fleece with cotton towels undeneath ...
In a pinch, I've used just towels, but only for few hours to a day maximum. (Translation: I miscounted and ran out of clean fleece; the pigs make do on towels for a bit, so I can wash all the fleeces.)
I haven't had much issue with anything getting particularly stinky. Occasionally Lexa marks, but the cages do not get excriment/urine stinky. I can't speak to microfiber ... I hate handling the stuff (that's a me problem), so it's not something I use.

Depending on the piggies, just towels won't last much past a day, if that. Even with fleece it's still piggy dependent: Lexa drinks considerably more water, so her cage soils much more quickly; Latte could go twice as long and still have dry paper under her towel (I use a layer of unprinted newsprint under the towel layer.)

If the bedding is getting stinky, generally:

A. you have piggies that are marking (try leaving something in the cage at each cleaning to keep things smelling like home ... though if you have teenagers ... hope they grow out of their hormonal phase) - generally musky​

B. you need to remove the soiled hay better - barn smell​

C. you need to clean more often ... soggy has a more volatile odor than dry.​