Fleece for cage liner - what are we doing wrong?

[tobee]

We changed from wood shavings for our guinea pigs cage to lining it with thick fleece - a kind of vet bed.

However, cleaning it is more tricky than I thought. The fleece is saturated with wee quite quickly and then it's covered in squished poo and hay and nuggets etc. We shake the loose stuff into a bin bag (well dd does) and then lump it onto the lawn to scrape off any extra. But it's quite messy and unpleasant and still soaked in wee. Then I stick it in the washing machine (we have two fleeces to alternate)

It's pretty unpleasant to do in the summer but can imagine it being worse in the colder, rainier months.

Are we missing something? I've bought puppy pads to go under the fleece as there were puddles at the bottom of their cage but haven't used them yet.

Layers of thin fleece are better OP make sure if you buy new fleece to wash it before using it as once it’s washed wee goes straight through it so the top layer stays dry. I’ve used puppy pads underneath layers of fleece or you can use normal towels. To be honest it’s a pain in the arse and once my last lot died I don’t have Guinea pigs any more due to the smell/constant need to clean out. Make sure you put your fleece in a bag (you can get big washable zip bags can’t remember what they are called) to protect your washing machine from all the fur/any other bits. Vet bed is probably too thick. Although I used to stick a small bit of vet bed in for somewhere comfy for them to sit. I do love Guinea pigs though they are such a lovely pet!

We use vet bed and then microfibre towels underneath. We swap the vet bed and towels every day, shaking them out and airing them when they're not being used. We've got a 'hay and poo patch' in one of our flower beds or shake it onto the compost heap. We wash them in the washing machine twice a week and replace them yearly as they start to not work as well. We spot clean during the day and try and keep the hay tidy but it's difficult!

Thank you for those replies; I'll take them on board!

I wasn't a fan of fleece TBH but it was ok laid out on the main floor of the indoor cage.
They are messy little critters but if I gave them a box of hay (which was their preference) they tended to do their pooh/pee in there .
Mine were cleaned daily ,
On the C&C floor they had thick cardboard , then puppy pads (or a child bedpad which are bigger ) newspaper and the top layer fleece
In the haybox , puppy pad, newspaper , hay .

The puppy pads could last a couple of days .

Fleece - I found the IKEA rough fleece wicked better (pee goes through)
I cut off any fancy blanket stitch edges in case they ate the stotching
Washed in a PetBed bag with a squirt of Ecover detergent , non scented .
No fabric conditioner , it stops the wicking .

They are lovely but the hay gets everywhere and it smells worse than the piggies do

Thanks @70isaLimitNotaTarget

I would recommend soft shell fleece waterproof backed fabric. I have used the usual wood shavings/hay outside then decided to move our piggies indoors and bought fleece pet blankets with an absorbent layer sandwiched in the middle, tried vet bed too. I have found the soft shell stuff by far the best and easiest - it's the waterproof backing- or front as it's used to make buggy bags and coats etc...that makes all the difference. I've just washed it and it's out drying now, just a quick brush down before going in the zip up bag for pet laundry and I'll pop it back in the cage soon as it doesn't take long to dry.

eBay it or Google it and you can buy it in lengths- I have 2 lengths about 60cm wide to fit my cage

I've never seen anyone mention using it for cage lining but I wish I'd discovered it before I bought the vet bed and fleece blankets.

I agree make sure you provide a container for hay - I use IKEA 2 boxes - like cat litter tray depth meant for a drawer system - lined with newspaper and then wood shavings and they mostly pee in there.

Ditto no fabric conditioner and only non-scented non bio detergent. I use vinegar in the wash instead of conditioner as that is a good natural disinfectant and odour remover.

We poo pick every day, and have extra pads in high poop areas that we change more frequently but still need to do a full change twice a week. We have 3 sows. If you have more pigs then you might need to wash the fleece more frequently. We only get wee under the liner if it’s been left for a week.