Bath mats - Stubborn to wick

piggl

piggl

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I’ve bought 4 new bobble bath mats in anticipation for my new hutch arriving later this week and they’re being really stubborn about wicking, any tips?

1st wash - 40 degrees, 1:59 run time. dash of vinegar in the drum and a small cup of some non fragrant washing liquid we had left over. (What is washing liquid, as recommended in the wicking guide, we only have washing powder and fabric conditioner), (aside from that leftover blue washing liquid i found)

2nd wash - Exact same as before

3rd wash - 60 degrees, 1:39 runtime. No vinegar and some fairy no scent washing powder.

4th wash - 60 degrees, 1:39 runtime. Small vinegar in drum and some vinegar in fabric conditioner section and a small amount of washing powder.

They’ve been dried and tested two times. The first two washes were done right after one another and the other two I allowed them to dry inbetween just incase they had already wicked.
 
I've never wicked my bobble mats. I wash them once before use, the fabric doesn't hold fluid on top like fleece does it just drains through between the bobbles.
I use non bio washing powder to wash all my piggy stuff. It's personal preference I don't get on with liquid.
 
I’ve just started my boys on fleece and bobble mats. I just washed them twice with non bio washing powder and vinegar before using them and I’ve had no problems.
 
Bath mats are designed to get wet , fleece of course isn’t, so bath mats are easier to use and don’t take the pre washing/wicking that fleece does.
 
I must have defective bath mats, the water just slides off like it’s been covered in vaseline.

I’m not sure what else to do.
 
piggl said:
I must have defective bath mats, the water just slides off like it’s been covered in vaseline.

I’m not sure what else to do.
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Where are they from? I’m having this problem with some from Asda at the moment. The IKEA and Dunelm ones are the best I’ve found.
 
Spaniel said:
Where are they from? I’m having this problem with some from Asda at the moment. The IKEA and Dunelm ones are the best I’ve found.
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Yep, they’re from asda 😂

You didn’t happen to find a solution did you?
 
piggl said:
Yep, they’re from asda 😂

You didn’t happen to find a solution did you?
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Not yet I’m afraid! I put one in the cage hoping it’d wick the urine better than just water but nope! Not sure what it is about them. It seems sort of shiny and slick.
 
Spaniel said:
Not yet I’m afraid! I put one in the cage hoping it’d wick the urine better than just water but nope! Not sure what it is about them. It seems sort of shiny and slick.
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It’s strange really, even if they weren’t used to wick pee through them, surely bath mats are meant to take water in anyway. That’s like the whole point of them!

I’m going to give them another wash or two and cross my fingers. I’ll let you know if I make a breakthrough.
 
We don't have an IKEA or Dunelm near us. I always liked the Wilko ones! Good job I've got more mats than I'm likely to wear out!
 
Bought 2 Dunelm noodle bath mats this morning. Just have to wash them. Then see what the girlies think of them when they come back from Aunty Lilli's in 2 and a half weeks.
 
why are you wicking them? are you planning to use another layer of something underneath?

Ive had some of my mats for years now and water has never soaked through so i doudt you would ever be abke to wick them anyway

All mine are from wilko but I doudt you would find any now
 
breakawayfromme said:
why are you wicking them? are you planning to use another layer of something underneath?

Ive had some of my mats for years now and water has never soaked through so i doudt you would ever be abke to wick them anyway

All mine are from wilko but I doudt you would find any now
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They’re to go into my guinea pigs cage as bedding. Wicking the mats as you would with fleece, with puppy pads underneath it takes the pee away from the surface leaving a comfy, clean mat to lie on.
 
piggl said:
They’re to go into my guinea pigs cage as bedding. Wicking the mats as you would with fleece, with puppy pads underneath it takes the pee away from the surface leaving a comfy, clean mat to lie on.
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You might be better off using some fleece to be honest, that will wick no problem
 
breakawayfromme said:
You might be better off using some fleece to be honest, that will wick no problem
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Maybe, but i’ve used bath mats for almost a year now with no issue. They’re cheaper and easier to come by, although asda hasn’t made it easy for me recently 😂
 
My dunelm ones have came, they didn’t even need wicked the water just went straight through!

I did give them one wash with some vinegar and a little bit of washing powder to “break them in”. They are a bit smaller than the ones i’m used to but i’m hoping they still fit okay, especially since the asda ones cost me £26, let alone the £36 for the dunelm ones!
 
Be aware that the dunelm ones are smaller!

We’ve bought 6 but I need atleast 4 to cover the bottom of the hutch, and my mum accidentally double ordered so we need to keep that 6 aswell just to cover the hutch once. Now we’re going to have to buy 12 more to create a double set, which comes to a grand total of £144….

Costs more than the hutch itself :(
 
Next have got some larger bath mats for £14 each. They are 90 x 60cm and so we have got 4 sets of 2 (in different colours) for our 180 x 60cm cage. I washed them once before first use (as I pre-wash everything for us and piggies anyway) and they work really well on top of washable puppy pads. I change them twice a week (wash at 60 with Fairy pods and vinegar) and then have smaller fleece pads for high traffic areas which are changed one or twice a day as needed.
Buy Bobble Bath Mat from the Next UK online shop
 
Aldi have got bobble mats in the middle isle this week, £4.99 each. They looked and felt good but I've not tried them as I've got enough.
 
Just to support what @piggl said in the beginning of this thread. I bought my daughter a new ASDA bath mat while I was staying with her this week. It definitely does not wick, it's a very odd material compared to the ones they used to sell. Water does not soak into it at all, if you pick it up the water runs off. These are not at all suitable for piggy use. Sorry to everyone who normally uses ASDA mats, they have changed!
 
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