• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here

Veronica092

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Messages
36
Reaction score
14
Points
95
Location
The Netherlands
So I know that this question has been asked a lot before but still need to ask it again. On what temperature can I wash the fleece? I live in The Netherlands so we use Celsius temperature. Hope that someone can help me out!
 
I wash the pee pads at 40 or 60 degrees Celsius and I also put white vinegar in the final rinse and this stops the machine from smelling.
 
The final rinse is what should take out the very last bits of detergent. If you also wash your fleeces in a horse bag then it prevents your washing machine getting clogged up with hay and piggie fur.
 
@Betsy Thank you! I still need to order a horse bag. Do you think that one horse bag is enough? An other question, what did you use for the absorbent layer for the liners?
 
I also wash everything at 40 degrees Celsius, and do the occasional (2-3 times a year) 60 degree wash.

My liners area mix of home made and bought, and the inners are towling (think old beach towels) and zorb (which a friend brings back from the US for me).
I followed a You Tube tutorial when I was making mine.
 
@Betsy Haha I liked it when you said that you cheated. I can sew though it's a long time that I used the sewing machine. I looked around for some fleece stuff for my piggies but it's the shippingcost to The Netherlands that makes me hesitate to order. And I'm trying to make low costs :)

@Swissgreys Thank you for the info! Did you prewash your home made liners on 40 or 60 degrees celcius? I want to prewar mine so they won't shrink later on
 
@Swissgreys Thank you for the info! Did you prewash your home made liners on 40 or 60 degrees celcius? I want to prewar mine so they won't shrink later on[/QUOTE]

For big stuff like liners I always prewash everything before sewing.
One time I didn't and the liner shrank, and although it still works, there is a highly annoying small gap between the liner and correx.
For smaller items like piddle pads and beds, etc. I try to prewash, but it seems to matter less if I don't.
And like you I also started sewing my own things to keep costs down as shipping to Switzerland is always expensive, and you just can't buy fleece guinea pig items here.
 
@Swissgreys I've got some more questions about prewashing. Did you prewash on 60 degrees celcius? The size of the uhaul I've bought is off. It's not 150x300 cm but 160x288 cm so I have to do some math for the fleece that I'm going to buy
 
Hi Veronica! I washed my fleece 60°C only the first time, now I wash it with other laundry with a normal program 40°C, but without any softener Only today I ahve found a cheap bag which should keep the hair far from the washing machine and the other landry. So far I have washed the fleece without any bag but now I need to clean uo the filtre.
As for the absorbent layer there are different solutions: I use a simple piece of fleece fabric put on a layer of papers (leaflets from supermarkets). Once a day, during floor time, I remove the fleece, I shake it on the floor and I remove also the wet papers. Then I put new leaflets (you can use newspapers with you don't get tons of leaflets like me) and the fleece which had been hung out to dry. It is a practical method and I have no cost and no smell at all in the living room where the cage is. Of course you can also sew an absorbent layer with the fleece itself, but you need to wash it more often (maybe... I wash mine once a week) and it needs more time for being dry.
The pre-wash depends on the fleece and its quality; sometimes you need to wash it multiple times, sometimes only one time.
This is my cage... a very simple one, but the bedding works amazingly (with no cost at all... and my neighbours thank me for removing all the supermarkets leaflets from the communal mail box :)))
100_6974.JPG
100_6944 (2).JPG
100_6943 (2).JPG
100_6948 (2).JPG
 
@rome_italy Thank you for the information! Your piggy mansion looks great!

I washed my uhaul ones on 40°C. I also will wash it on 60°C to see how much it will shrink before I wash the other one and start making my liners. I also have a bag that I can wash the fleece in which keep the hair from the washing machine.

I've been thinking of other solutions for the absorbent layer but it's hard to get some options here. My piggies are chewers so they would chew on the paper if I would use that. They already chew on the wallpaper. I'm happy that this is working for you though! Less laundry and almost no extra costs!
 
@rome_italy Thank you for the information! Your piggy mansion looks great!

I washed my uhaul ones on 40°C. I also will wash it on 60°C to see how much it will shrink before I wash the other one and start making my liners. I also have a bag that I can wash the fleece in which keep the hair from the washing machine.

I've been thinking of other solutions for the absorbent layer but it's hard to get some options here. My piggies are chewers so they would chew on the paper if I would use that. They already chew on the wallpaper. I'm happy that this is working for you though! Less laundry and almost no extra costs!
of course everyone need to know his/her own piggies! my former piggie chew the wallpaper and nibbled a chair! Sometimes piggies love digging... My piggies prefer eating important documents and books :mal: rather than the paper underneath the fleece :)). Anyway, my fleece is not put on the paper only; I use the fleece as a bedlinen with a matress (under the papers I put other layers of towels for making a sort of matress and the fleece wrap all the layers). You need to invent some good solution and your piggies will suggest the better one :)
Of course mine was only an idea and it cannot be suitable for all the piggies...
But the fleece is great!
 
of course everyone need to know his/her own piggies! my former piggie chew the wallpaper and nibbled a chair! Sometimes piggies love digging... My piggies prefer eating important documents and books :mal: rather than the paper underneath the fleece :)). Anyway, my fleece is not put on the paper only; I use the fleece as a bedlinen with a matress (under the papers I put other layers of towels for making a sort of matress and the fleece wrap all the layers). You need to invent some good solution and your piggies will suggest the better one :)
Of course mine was only an idea and it cannot be suitable for all the piggies...
But the fleece is great!

Haha yes that's true! My piggies love the wallpaper and to dig in their hay. That's why I have to make a kitchen for them :). I saw some towelling underneath the paper like you said.
I really need to invent a good solution! I'm curious what my piggies would like though
 
The final rinse is what should take out the very last bits of detergent. If you also wash your fleeces in a horse bag then it prevents your washing machine getting clogged up with hay and piggie fur.
I got a great wash bag from Vetfleece especially for my fleeces. Great size and I love the blue colour! Simple pleasures eh?
 
I wash my fleece at 60 degrees Celsius every time. That way it kills the bacteria and fungal spores, and stops it smelling. I use disposable incontinence pads underneath. I use a delicate washing liquid and no fabric conditioner. I wash the fleece in a horse bag and use an extra rinse cycle.
 
Back
Top