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Not sure if this is normal for new fleece?

4boipigs

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I got a new fleece liner from an Etsy seller. First time with brand new fleece, as the fleece I have bought used and already doing its job properly. I washed this new fleece twice - once in hot water w/ 7th Generation detergent. No results, water still pooled on top. Then I read that fleece can be wicked faster if I used a combo of detergent, Dawn dish soap, and vinegar. I did this, and the water no longer pools on top. It immediately sinks into the fabric, but the fleece is still saying wet like it isn't sucking the water to the uhaul pad below. One of my boys immediately peed on the new liner, and when I run my fingers across the wet spot, my fingers are damp. I decided to go ahead and put it in my pigs' cage to see how it does. Is this normal for new fleece, or should I wash it more? Is it better to give it some use in the pigs' cage or wait til it dries faster?
 
I had a fleece like this. It was a nightmare. I usually buy from ziggyspiggies but she had closed so I got one from another highly rated shop. The fleece was wicking but the urine wasn’t dispersing. We washed and dried it almost 20 times, no over exaggeration. The person I bought it from kept insisting it needing more washes to wick. We tried three different detergents too. The fleece was wicked but it just wasn’t dispersing meaning there was no pooling, it soaked straight through the absorbent layer and the fleece underneath. But it wasn’t dispersing, just staying wet in one area. It was the weirdest thing and I’d never experienced it. Not with Ziggy’s liners or my home-made ones. We tried it in the cage but ended up with some wet piggy bums, no idea what was going on with it to be honest. Thankfully, we were able to send it back. The seller said the problem was that it wasn’t wicked, but I’m not sure I entirely believe that given how many times we washed it and the fact that water wasn’t sitting on top.
 
I kept the fleece in the cage for a couple days and it ended up working well. The fleece eventually dried maybe after half an hour. I changed it today and will keep an eye on it during the next use.
 
I had a fleece like this. It was a nightmare. I usually buy from ziggyspiggies but she had closed so I got one from another highly rated shop. The fleece was wicking but the urine wasn’t dispersing. We washed and dried it almost 20 times, no over exaggeration. The person I bought it from kept insisting it needing more washes to wick. We tried three different detergents too. The fleece was wicked but it just wasn’t dispersing meaning there was no pooling, it soaked straight through the absorbent layer and the fleece underneath. But it wasn’t dispersing, just staying wet in one area. It was the weirdest thing and I’d never experienced it. Not with Ziggy’s liners or my home-made ones. We tried it in the cage but ended up with some wet piggy bums, no idea what was going on with it to be honest. Thankfully, we were able to send it back. The seller said the problem was that it wasn’t wicked, but I’m not sure I entirely believe that given how many times we washed it and the fact that water wasn’t sitting on top.
Just to inform you, Ziggy's has openned her store again. 👍 Too bad that I can't order coz I don't really need it. I have 4 sets of cage liners and loads of cosy beds, tunnels and pee pads for the piggies, and I've already ran out of storage for it. 🤣🤣
 
Just to inform you, Ziggy's has openned her store again. 👍 Too bad that I can't order coz I don't really need it. I have 4 sets of cage liners and loads of cosy beds, tunnels and pee pads for the piggies, and I've already ran out of storage for it. 🤣🤣
I know, we have a delivery coming today or tomorrow! I’m so excited :D
She closed in July 2019 and we were ONE DAY late to the website so missed out on final orders. After trying a different one and not getting on with it, we decided to wait. We waited from July 2019 to I believe it was October 2020! I had the date she was officially opening in my calendar, lol. Same for when she just opened again after Christmas 🤣.
I do love her liners and now that we have four piggies instead of two, we needed some more! I’m glad to see she’s back working, it must have been hard for her to step away from the store given that she’s self-employed. I hope she’s still getting a lot of custom!
 
I know, we have a delivery coming today or tomorrow! I’m so excited :D
She closed in July 2019 and we were ONE DAY late to the website so missed out on final orders. After trying a different one and not getting on with it, we decided to wait. We waited from July 2019 to I believe it was October 2020! I had the date she was officially opening in my calendar, lol. Same for when she just opened again after Christmas 🤣.
I do love her liners and now that we have four piggies instead of two, we needed some more! I’m glad to see she’s back working, it must have been hard for her to step away from the store given that she’s self-employed. I hope she’s still getting a lot of custom!
I have 3 sets of liners from her and they are all amazing and well made. Not sure what absorbent layer she uses but it has always worked. 😁
 
I have 3 sets of liners from her and they are all amazing and well made. Not sure what absorbent layer she uses but it has always worked. 😁
I agree. I read on her site that someone had bought a liner posing as a customer when really they were a competitor and they essentially ripped off her design :( I suppose it shows that her absorbent layer is one of the best around, it’s really sad how someone could do that though.
 
I got a new fleece liner from an Etsy seller. First time with brand new fleece, as the fleece I have bought used and already doing its job properly. I washed this new fleece twice - once in hot water w/ 7th Generation detergent. No results, water still pooled on top. Then I read that fleece can be wicked faster if I used a combo of detergent, Dawn dish soap, and vinegar. I did this, and the water no longer pools on top. It immediately sinks into the fabric, but the fleece is still saying wet like it isn't sucking the water to the uhaul pad below. One of my boys immediately peed on the new liner, and when I run my fingers across the wet spot, my fingers are damp. I decided to go ahead and put it in my pigs' cage to see how it does. Is this normal for new fleece, or should I wash it more? Is it better to give it some use in the pigs' cage or wait til it dries faster?
Not sure if it’s just for the brand, but my fleece has to be washed on cold for it to work.
 
It’s going to be damp 🤷‍♀️
The fluid sinks through the fleece into the absorbent layer. It will then dry by evaporation. If you press down into any recently wetted patch you may squash the fluid out of the absorbent layer as it hasn’t had time to dry. I suppose some absorbent materials will need more of a squash to release the fluid but it will happen to a greater or lesser extent with them all.

The only time I’ve had a problem was when I put my absorbent layer upside down as it had a waterproof backing. This worked fine when the backing was on the bottom of the cage, repelled the pee straight back up through the fleece when it was the wrong way up 🤦‍♀️

(I use fleece for my cage but it is the same principle as the cloth nappies I used on my children for years and they got far wetter than anything a guinea pig can produce 😂).
 
Not sure if it’s just for the brand, but my fleece has to be washed on cold for it to work.

I usually wash on warm. Different people say different things on what temperature to wash on. Anyway I'm not having this problem much anymore, it seems to be normal for all my fleece. It sinks down into the fabric after a second. I don't wake up to standing puddles or wet piggies, so as far as I'm concerned, we're good.
 
The cold is less about it working and more to do with avoiding it shrinking.

Does the temp it is washed in really make it shrink? I know the dryer can shrink it...I did put my fleece in the dryer to start, but now I am letting it hang dry instead. It dries fairly fast anyway.
 
Does the temp it is washed in really make it shrink? I know the dryer can shrink it...I did put my fleece in the dryer to start, but now I am letting it hang dry instead. It dries fairly fast anyway.

Yes it can do, but sometimes a hot wash is essential such as when dealing with fungal infections to ensure all spores are killed
 
I've always washed my fleece at 60 degrees and it has never shrunk. I don't put it in the tumble dryer.
 
Does the temp it is washed in really make it shrink? I know the dryer can shrink it...I did put my fleece in the dryer to start, but now I am letting it hang dry instead. It dries fairly fast anyway.
Yes, I suspect that those that say cool wash only haven't prewashed it on hot. I've shrunk mine (unintentionally) after cutting to size. Giving it chance to shrink before you commit to size is a good way of avoiding disaster.
 
When I make my fleece liners I pre wash the fleece and wadding on hot to pre shrink them. I forgot once and not only did the fleece shrink the wadding did too and the liners went out of shape, the wadding shrank more than the fleece and it pulled up the fleece so it was pleated. A lesson learnt the hard way, I had to unpick all the stitching and remake them.
 
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