Stinky Fleece Rehabilitation

Featheryfriend

Featheryfriend

Junior Guinea Pig
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I've inherited some fleece, including some nice Guineadad stuff, and I'm just now getting around to sorting through the bulk of it and running it all through the wash.

For whatever reason, maybe just because I wash often, my fleece has never stank. It comes out of the dryer smelling like warm guinea pig fur, but nothing unpleasant. I only ever use plain powder detergent.

But some of this secondhand fleece has quite the eau de piggy. How would you suggest I get rid of the smell without damaging the fleece? A regular wash does not seem to cut it.

Currently I'm trying a second wash with baking soda and an extra rinse but I don't know if it'll be enough... would vinegar help? Would one round of bleach do terrible damage?

If I don't succeed in entirely cleansing the stink, but get it acceptable to my nose, will it hurt my piggies in any way to use it?
 
I use white vinegar in my rinse water anyway so it won't hurt! I'm not sure chlorine bleach will help anyway - you might just end up with chlorine pong you can't get rid of.

I use non-biological washing liquid (with no enzymes) for most things but I do have a bottle of bio and I sometimes use this on my people towels (and smelly sports socks :eek: ) but I will then do a 'normal' non-bio wash straight after or my humans complain of itching because they have sensitive skin. I suppose you could try a bio wash on the fleece as the enzymes are pretty good at attacking biological things... it's just that I would normal wash immediately after to make sure all the bio has been washed out. I worry about my piggies feet!
 
Dettol laundry cleanser removes all trace of eau de pig and all bacteria but if you use a lot then it needs a couple of extra rinses and drying on the line to remove the eau de scented cleaning product or the piggies will rebel by peeing and scent marking excessively to remove the artificial clean smell :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Dettol laundry cleanser removes all trace of eau de pig and all bacteria but if you use a lot then it needs a couple of extra rinses and drying on the line to remove the eau de scented cleaning product or the piggies will rebel by peeing and scent marking excessively to remove the artificial clean smell :)
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Oh piggies. 😂
 
PigglePuggle said:
Dettol laundry cleanser removes all trace of eau de pig and all bacteria but if you use a lot then it needs a couple of extra rinses and drying on the line to remove the eau de scented cleaning product or the piggies will rebel by peeing and scent marking excessively to remove the artificial clean smell :)
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I agree this is what I use and never notice it smelling badly!
 
Surprisingly I seem to be having good success with the baking soda, at least with this guineadad liner, so perhaps I won't have to resort to a laundry sanitizer after all. We'll see if anything comes out of this bag that refuses to be cleansed via ordinary means. We don't appear to have Dettol available here but we do have something similar by Lysol.

It was so kind of the lady who gave me her 6 piggies to also give me so much nice piggie stuff, I didn't fully realize how much there was until I started going through this last bag. 😭 She made an extra trip to bring the rest of it to me when it wouldn't all fit in the car. She only asked for a nominal $40 rehoming fee and that I take good care of her babies. I insisted on cleaning stuff myself since she was just out of the hospital and also has a newborn. Didn't quite know what I was signing up for, haha.

The guineadad liners have these cute pockets, I guess for pigs that like to burrow! 😄
 

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Featheryfriend said:
I've inherited some fleece, including some nice Guineadad stuff, and I'm just now getting around to sorting through the bulk of it and running it all through the wash.

For whatever reason, maybe just because I wash often, my fleece has never stank. It comes out of the dryer smelling like warm guinea pig fur, but nothing unpleasant. I only ever use plain powder detergent.

But some of this secondhand fleece has quite the eau de piggy. How would you suggest I get rid of the smell without damaging the fleece? A regular wash does not seem to cut it.

Currently I'm trying a second wash with baking soda and an extra rinse but I don't know if it'll be enough... would vinegar help? Would one round of bleach do terrible damage?

If I don't succeed in entirely cleansing the stink, but get it acceptable to my nose, will it hurt my piggies in any way to use it?
Click to expand...

Hi!

I would recommend to wash it at a higher temperature of 60 C / 140 F and to not overfill the load.
Fleece can get very stinky if too much water is absorbed by the fleece during the washing process so it the rinsing cannot work. Bio (instead of non-bio) washing powder/soap can also make the fleece stinky over the longer term. You may want to give it 2-3 washes before use.
 
Our boys love their burrowing pocket, it’s good to put a log bridge or a tunnel in it to hold it open!

That’s so nice of her to give you all those things, they must have been well cared for with all those items! 9761C742-D4BC-4B98-89E8-82B90B5CA35B.webp
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

I would recommend to wash it at a higher temperature of 60 C / 140 F and to not overfill the load.
Fleece can get very stinky if too much water is absorbed by the fleece during the washing process so it the rinsing cannot work. Bio (instead of non-bio) washing powder/soap can also make the fleece stinky over the longer term. You may want to give it 2-3 washes before use.
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That makes a lot of sense. I've always washed my fleeces one at a time so that probably accounts for their longevity/freshness, lol. I will go ahead and crank up the temperature though, I've been washing on cold so far. Everything is definitely getting two or three goes!
 
rp1993 said:
Our boys love their burrowing pocket, it’s good to put a log bridge or a tunnel in it to hold it open!

That’s so nice of her to give you all those things, they must have been well cared for with all those items! View attachment 178897
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Aww so cute! Great idea, I'll prop it open with something.

She definitely cares for them deeply, it was very unselfish of her to find them a new home instead of letting them be neglected due to changes in her circumstances. Their main cage was too small for so many piggies, but I think they spent a lot of time in their run.

And I've yet to recieve a single pig that was eating an ideal hay-based, limited-pellet diet before I got them, argh! I think knowledge of proper diet is just not common around here so people are doing the best they know how to. I don't worry anymore if my new pigs lose a chunk of weight at first, as they always seem to slim down under my watch. I always get bags of muesli along with them that I either toss or use only as a special treat.
 
You can even wash a fleece at 90 C but it will shrink the more, the higher temperature you wash it at. But there is nothing like a hot wash to kill all the bugs in the fabric. Non-bio does help to get rid of the stink, too.
Featheryfriend said:
Aww so cute! Great idea, I'll prop it open with something.

She definitely cares for them deeply, it was very unselfish of her to find them a new home instead of letting them be neglected due to changes in her circumstances. Their main cage was too small for so many piggies, but I think they spent a lot of time in their run.

And I've yet to recieve a single pig that was eating an ideal hay-based, limited-pellet diet before I got them, argh! I think knowledge of proper diet is just not common around here so people are doing the best they know how to. I don't worry anymore if my new pigs lose a chunk of weight at first, as they always seem to slim down under my watch. I always get bags of muesli along with them that I either toss or use only as a special treat.
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If piggies slim on a good hay based diet, then they are overweight. I have had this happen with some of my new arrivals as well. Diet is a massive issue; too many people still think that veg and pellets are the main food and that pets are there for spoiling with naughty treats. :(
You may notice me constantly banging on about the health and life prolonging importance of proper diet on here...

It is however also heartening that a diet change even in adults can still make a difference in general health and longevity in my own experience. Thankfully the fast metabolism in guinea pigs is on your side in that respect. So continue to do what you are doing. :tu:

Welfare is a slow and tedious process because you need change one mind at a time...
 
Wiebke said:
You can even wash a fleece at 90 C but it will shrink the more, the higher temperature you wash it at. But there is nothing like a hot wash to kill all the bugs in the fabric. Non-bio does help to get rid of the stink, too.


If piggies slim on a good hay based diet, then they are overweight. I have had this happen with some of my new arrivals as well. Diet is a massive issue; too many people still think that veg and pellets are the main food and that pets are there for spoiling with naughty treats. :(
You may notice me constantly banging on about the health and life prolonging importance of proper diet on here...

It is however also heartening that a diet change even in adults can still make a difference in general health and longevity in my own experience. Thankfully the fast metabolism in guinea pigs is on your side in that respect. So continue to do what you are doing. :tu:

Welfare is a slow and tedious process because you need change one mind at a time...
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I have noticed you banging on about it, haha! 😉
Honestly diet is such a problem with all kinds of pets. Even my fish have like eight different types of food that I rotate to optimize their health, along with fast days. So many people just dump loads of cheap flakes in and feed their fish to death. Don't even get me started on birds.
 
Sticking it out on the line for a few days to blow in the breeze might help it too. Ours has been on the line days but we keep forgetting to bring it in! It got cool and damp again this evening so it needs to come in tomorrow!
 
I use All Clear with odor relief to wash my fleece. I also fill up the softener bin in the washer with white vinegar. The odor relief helps when my boar has decided that all in the house must smell his boarly scent. No thank you! Oreo may find that sexy, but not me! :td: I don't dry my fleece in the dryer; I just hang it up to dry in my laundry room or outside on a nice day.
 
I wish I had a good place to line dry stuff here! I'm sure the leasing office would have something not nice to say if I hung fleece out on my balcony. A friend of mine almost got evicted for line drying some of her kid's clothes out on her patio recently. 🙄

I could get an indoor rack and put it in the tub, but there's no window in the bathroom so I'd probably mostly just succeed in making the house very humid. 🤔

Maybe I'll see if I can make up something to hang it on that is below the level of the balcony railing so it's more discreet. I do enjoy skirting rules.
 
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