Washing powder for bedding?

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Deleted member 139433

Hello,

I keep my piggies on layers of towels, with puppy pads on top, then bath mats on top of those. They also have fleece bedding and fleece pads.

I change and wash these every other day (at most every 3 days). I don’t use softener, just non-bio washing powder on a 60 degree wash.

I’ve had a couple of guinea pigs have a strep respiratory infection in the last few weeks (being treated with antibiotics). One completely cleared up already but still sneezes occasionally. Do you think I’m doing something wrong with the bedding?
Should I be washing it another way? Could the bedding or bedding powder cause respiratory problems?

many thanks for all the help!
 
I don’t know that the bedding can cause a respiratory infection. I may be wrong, but if their immunity is low they could then be susceptible to illnesses. Do you thoroughly clean the cage at least monthly as well? I’ll tag @Piggies&buns @PigglePuggle
 
:agr:

Fleece bedding isn’t going to cause bacterial infections not unless it is filthy, never being washed and harbouring all sorts...I don’t think that is the case here! You’re using a good hot wash so everything is being killed off from the fibres.
Some disposable beddings and hay can cause airway irritation if it is dusty (dust from hay or shavings for example). But again, that’s not bacterial so any such irritation wouldnt respond to antibiotics.
 
Siikibam said:
I don’t know that the bedding can cause a respiratory infection. I may be wrong, but if their immunity is low they could then be susceptible to illnesses. Do you thoroughly clean the cage at least monthly as well? I’ll tag @Piggies&buns @PigglePuggle
Click to expand...
I do. I clean it all once a week. Disinfect the bottom etc
 
Yes I very much doubt the bedding or cleaning is causing the issue here, the 60 degree was should kill any bacteria on fleece, do you have F10 disinfectant to clean the cage base? That would also kill any bacteria... I think if piggy is still sneezing persistently you should go back to the vet just in case the infection is lingering, not all antibiotics shift all infections, maybe the vet can take a nose swab to see if there is still infection and if so which antibiotic is effective?
 
Thank you, they did the swab and know which bacteria it is. So I’ll take him back, perhaps it’s a longer course needed.
Other than that he’s such a happy pig! Pop corns that much that he actual rolls himself over (I hope that is normal) lol!
thanks for all the advice 😊
 
I wash at 40 with non-bio and white vinegar in the rinse. Although you can wash cotton at 60 it goes 'hard' and crusty after a time so I avoid it. However, all the cotton stuff goes in the tumbler on hot so it comes out literally steaming. The wash is to clean and the tumble to 'sterilise' I suppose.

My recent fleece/zorb combo has to be tumbled on cool - if at all (shrinkage!) and I normally just put it on a radiator to air off. Urine smell is a funny one because so far nothing has come out the machine still smelling of wee but if it did it wouldn't be bacteria I'd be worried about - it'd be the actual chemical components of the pee, like ammonia and that. I don't worry at all about bacteria in Laundry - especially for piggies - seeing as they live on the floor and eat their own poop. And they're exposed to all sorts in the garden!

I find the issue with a lot of modern machines is that they've been programmed to use the least amount of water possible which is a big pain in the bum for good rinsing. It's useful if you're on a meter, or if you live in a country where water is an issue, but here in the UK it really isn't. I mean, I know so many people who have a 'duoflush' toilet and end up flushing twice because the little flush doesn't do anything! I often end up doing a second rinse if there's still suds in the machine at the end... and I use an 'eco' liquid in a hard water area so we don't really foam to start with! My machine 'weighs' the load and apparently rinses accordingly but of course fleece can fill a drum and not weigh much at all so by scrimping on a few litres of water I end up having to rinse again - annoying. This will change in the future as manufacturers realise (and more people get eczema): there's already one machine advertised on telly with it's new 'hydro-technology' compared to other machines... the animation just shows a larger volume of water in the drum!

Having a cleaner machine makes washing more effective for sure. Despite being 'green' minded I have a trusty bottle of cheap biological liquid (Surf, I think) which I use to clean the machine and this one has lasted over a year! They say once a month to wash at 90 with nothing in the drum and this cleans the tubes but instead I do an 'empty' wash at 40 with a little dollop of surf and it dissolves a lot of piggy residue which hangs round in the machine tubes. Then I do the empty 90 wash after to make sure all those enzymes are killed off. It's once a month in the summer when the machine room is warm, but in winter I do it very rarely - the utility room is so cold not even mould will grow!
 
I wash my fleecy piggy stuff at 60 degrees using Lidl non-bio liquid and put a splash of white vinegar in the conditioner compartment of the drawer. I either pop the fleece liner over the banister at the top of the stairs overnight, on the airer or outside depending on the weather. Everything else I tumble dry. Never had a problem with smells. My washing machine tells me it needs an "Eco Drum clean" after every 50 washes.
 
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