Zorb bedding

[AidaB]

Hi!
We are using fleece bedding, with zorb. Our pigs favorite spot to pee…. is if course the hidy right next to the water bottle, and I am finding the fleece pad inside it is going quite hard at one end, no matter how I wash it. I have tried soaking too.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Also any suggestions for trying to rescue the pee pad? Or should I just give in and make a new one?

 

[Siikibam]

How often are you changing the pee pad? I’m not sure why it’s going hard though. I would make new ones perhaps.

 

[AidaB]

That particular pee pad gets changed every day. I have 3 the same, all are going hard in the same spot.

 

[Free Ranger]

I can't imagine why they're going hard! Is the pad made of layers of (top to bottom) fleece-zorb-fleece, or maybe fleece - zorb - something else?
There are different zorbs - I use the one called 'zorb original'... there are others made with bamboo or alternative mixes - do you know which one you have?
I know cotton goes hard if you hot wash it at 60+ but not fleece. I've never washed my zorb higher than 40... could it be that there is a high proportion of cotton in the zorb blend?
I get a calcium scum in the bottom of my plastic cage tray from pees and from dripping bottles - I remove that with white vinegar. You think there would have to be a lot of calcium to make a pee pad hard with calcium, but I guess you could try a white vinegar soak on one pad to see if it makes any difference and then compare with the other two? I use white vinegar in the rinse of my piggy fleece wash and I've had no problems there with things going hard - but my liners are only a few months old. Good luck - and let us know if you find a solution!

 

[AidaB]

I can't imagine why they're going hard! Is the pad made of layers of (top to bottom) fleece-zorb-fleece, or maybe fleece - zorb - something else?
There are different zorbs - I use the one called 'zorb original'... there are others made with bamboo or alternative mixes - do you know which one you have?
I know cotton goes hard if you hot wash it at 60+ but not fleece. I've never washed my zorb higher than 40... could it be that there is a high proportion of cotton in the zorb blend?
I get a calcium scum in the bottom of my plastic cage tray from pees and from dripping bottles - I remove that with white vinegar. You think there would have to be a lot of calcium to make a pee pad hard with calcium, but I guess you could try a white vinegar soak on one pad to see if it makes any difference and then compare with the other two? I use white vinegar in the rinse of my piggy fleece wash and I've had no problems there with things going hard - but my liners are only a few months old. Good luck - and let us know if you find a solution!

Thank you for your reply, the fleece pads are fleece top then original zorb and a fleece layer at the bottom. Same as yours. The highest I have washed ours is 40C too. They are approx 7mths old, so a little annoyed they have hard bits, was not expecting that, and its only the ones that get the most pee!
I use white vinegar in the washing machine too, soaking them in it is a good idea. We live in a hard water area, and trying to be careful to feed piggies low calcium veg, and have a filter jug….. just for the pigs. Lucky things, although I am using the filtered water in the kettle too, makes a huge difference.

Thought it was worth seeing if ayone else had, had the same problem.

 

[Free Ranger]

I'll let you know in 5 months time if mine go that way too!