The concept of fleece bedding originated in the UK and USA in the early 2000s.

It wasn’t an Australian invention, but rather an idea that was adopted and adapted.

***  Deano Designs Perth led the way in Australia by being the first to publicly produce and offer fleece cage liners for sale in June 2013.

Choosing Fleece Bedding for Your Small Pets

Have you ever wondered why fleece bedding is an excellent choice for your small pets? Let’s explore the benefits:

1. Eco-Friendly Option: Fleece bedding is reusable, making it a more environmentally friendly choice compared to sawdust or paper bedding, which require cutting down trees. Disposable puppy pads can take over 200 years to decompose in landfills.

2. Cost-Effective and Easy to Maintain: You can wash fleece bedding by hand or machine, meaning it needs to be replaced less frequently than other types of bedding. This makes it a cost-effective solution for pet care.

3. Year-Round Comfort: Fleece bedding is suitable for use in all seasons, ensuring your pet’s comfort throughout the year.

4. Health Benefits for Pets: The material is designed to wick moisture away from your pets’ feet and body, keeping them dry and comfortable. This can reduce the risk of medical issues such as urine scald and foot problems that are often associated with wet bedding.

5. Aesthetic Variety: Fleece comes in a wide range of colours, prints, and patterns. Unleash your creativity and design the pet cage of your dreams!

Environmental Considerations for Pet Bedding

It’s crucial to think about the environmental impact of our choices, especially when it comes to pet bedding.

The Issue with Disposable Puppy Pads: The journey of used or soiled bedding doesn’t end at your curb. Understanding the fate of these products post-collection is an essential part of responsible pet ownership. We need to be conscious of how our choices in pet bedding contribute to broader environmental issues. Disposable puppy pads, much like disposable diapers, pose a significant problem as they can take up to 200 years to break down in landfill sites. This long-term environmental impact is an important factor to consider when selecting bedding for our pets and our homes.

Caring for Fleece Cage Accessories

Fleece, a versatile fabric made from polyester (plastic), is an excellent choice for pet bedding and accessories. While it’s not inherently absorbent, it’s effective as a moisture- wicking medium. When using my handmade fleece products, it’s important to consider the appropriate cleaning methods for each type.

  • This category includes fleece cage liners, soaker pads, potty pads, and lap pads. You have the flexibility to clean these either by hosing them off outdoors, machine washing, or handwashing, depending on your preference. For drying, it's best to hang them on a line undercover, away from direct sunlight, to prevent the fleece from degrading over time.

  • Items with polyester boning, such as cubbies, hammocks, and tunnels, require a gentler approach. Handwashing these in warm soapy water, followed by a thorough rinse and line drying undercover, will help maintain their shape and prolong their life. The agitation of a machine wash can cause damage to these more delicate items.

  • For items like the Deano Den and Squishy bed, the main body often remains cleaner than the removable potty pads. While the potty pads can be machine washed, handwashing the main body of the bed is advisable to maintain its shape. Allow these items to drip dry for best results.

A key tip to remember is to avoid using clothes driers for items containing boning, as the heat can cause melting or warping. Additionally, for an easier drying process, you can place washed cubbies and tunnels in a Deano washbag and hang them on the line undercover.

On the respective product pages on our website, you’ll find a recommendation for handwashing to guide you in proper care.

FLEECE BEDDING – How it works and how to clean it.

Fleece Cage Liners: Washable and Reusable Bedding for Small Pets

What are They? Deano fleece cage liners consist of three securely stitched layers, forming a durable ‘mat’. These liners are designed for repeated washing without the need for disassembly or reassembly.

The top and bottom layers are made of polar fleece, which acts as a wick, drawing liquids away into the absorbent middle layer, much like a disposable diaper. This design ensures the outer surfaces remain dry and comfortable for your pets.

What’s Inside? The core of the liners is a non-toxic, highly absorbent cotton-based material that effectively traps and holds liquids. This core fabric is durable, does not break down inside fleece liners, and can last for several years of continued use. This material is very absorbent, but also quick to dry after washing.

Do They Leak Through? There’s no need for a waterproof layer, as the absorbent middle layer prevents any leakage through the bottom.

Simplicity in Use: Deano liners don’t require additional materials like carefresh, puppy pads, shavings, or towels. They are designed to simplify your pet care routine, saving time, money, and water by washing just one item instead of multiple bedding layers.

Reversible and Easy to Clean: The liners are reversible, making mid-week cleaning effortless. Simply shake out the liner, flip it over, and the cage stays fresh for a few more days. Regardless of which side is up, it functions effectively.

Daily Maintenance: For optimal cleanliness and health, it’s recommended to spot clean the liners daily. This can be done using a small broom and dustpan or a hand-held vacuum. For quick cleaning, you can also remove the liner, shake it outdoors, and replace it.

Refreshing Between Washes: If time is tight, air the liner by hanging it outside for a few hours. This will help it dry and resume its functionality.

Regular Changes: Fleece cage liners should be changed out every 4-7 days or as necessary. It’s important not to exceed this duration, even if the liner appears dry, to maintain a healthy environment for your pets.

Considering Cage Size and Number of Occupants for Bedding Efficiency

The Impact of Cage Capacity on Bedding: When using fleece liners in your pet cage, it’s crucial to balance the number of occupants with the size of the space. An overcrowded cage results in concentrated areas of urine, leading to quicker saturation of the liners and more frequent washing. Conversely, in larger cages, urine spots are more dispersed, allowing the fleece liner to manage moisture more efficiently.

By employing the below simple strategies, you can effectively reduce the burden on your fleece liners, making maintenance easier and extending the lifespan of your bedding:

  • 1: Litter Pans for Guinea Pigs: Implementing a litter pan can significantly reduce the amount of urine on the main floor liner. A standard cat litter pan can be effective. You can either place hay directly in it, creating a combined hay kitchen and bathroom, or hang a hay holder bag above it to encourage your guinea pigs to spend more time there, eating and using it as a bathroom.

  • 2: Soaker Pads on the Main Floor Liner: Placing soaker pads under areas prone to getting wet, like cubbies or water bottles, can be very helpful. These pads catch liquids before they reach the main liner. Regularly changing and washing these soaker pads will keep the main liner cleaner throughout the week, as liquids won't seep through.

Easy-to-Care-For Fleece Cage Liners from Deano Designs Perth

Our fleece cage liners are crafted for convenience — straightforward to use, effortless to wash, and designed for quick drying, ensuring they’re ready to be used again in no time.

Simple Cleaning Solutions for Every Season

  • WINTER

  • SPRING

  • SUMMER

  • AUTUMN

Whether it’s winter, spring, summer, or autumn, Deano Designs Perth liners are a breeze to clean. You have the flexibility to choose the cleaning method that fits your lifestyle:

 

Machine Wash: For a hassle-free, thorough clean.

Outdoor Hose Off: Ideal for a quick, effective rinse.

Handwash: For a gentle, more controlled cleaning.

 

The choice is yours. Find the method that aligns with your schedule and preferences. Our goal is to make pet care easy for you.

After all, there’s plenty more to do in a day — don’t let cage maintenance dominate your time!

02.10.2021

Understanding How Fleece Cage Liners Function

Two Components, No Magic Required

Polar Fleece: Although polar fleece is made from plastic and not inherently absorbent, it excels as a wicking fabric when spun correctly. This means it can draw liquids through itself. Polar fleece often comes with a waterproof aspect, much like in polar clothing, designed to keep the wearer dry. It’s available in various grades, from those with little visible pile to those that are more tufty when brushed.

The weight of polar fleece typically ranges from 150gsm for standard types to luxury weights of around 350gsm, similar to the thread counts in bed sheets. The heavier the fleece, the denser it is.

Any grade can work for fleece liners, provided it’s in close contact with an absorbent layer to allow efficient liquid passage. Personal preference plays a role here; some may prefer a tufty, soft texture, while others might choose a smoother, sleeker feel.

Absorbent Core Layer: This layer is usually made from materials like cotton or bamboo wadding. Many fleece liner makers opt for a recycled cotton product, derived from shredded clothing such as denim jeans, cotton, and polyester.

This recycling process creates a durable, absorbent material without a specific absorbency rating, as it varies based on the fabric types mixed during production.

This recycled material is a response to the massive amounts of textile waste, especially in countries like China and India. Using it in liners is environmentally beneficial, giving new life to discarded clothing.

WHY DEANO DOES NOT USE BAMBOO AS CORE LAYER

The cost per metre for the finished bamboo product is very high –  it is not manufactured here in Australia on a large scale, it’s mainly imported from overseas from places like China where it is processed.

Fleece liners made with bamboo fibre inside will take longer to dry, especially if they have a waterproof backing added, as air can only dry them from one side. The waterproof backing means also that liquids will pool at the lowest point during drying, making drying time even longer.

We opted for the cotton based absorbent core layer: it is cost effective, it helps reuse a waste product, and can last several years – and that’s gotta be a good choice for the planet.

What Makes an Ideal Core Layer? Thicker isn’t always better. Too thick, and the liner absorbs too much liquid, leading to prolonged drying times. If it’s too thin, liquids might pass through it completely. A balance is key, with a thickness of 3-6mm being optimal. This thickness allows the liner to absorb liquids effectively without letting them seep through the other side, and also ensures reasonable drying times post-wash.

Using New Components for Fleece Liners

When I craft fleece liners, both the polar fleece and the absorbent core layer are brand new and unwashed. To ensure they work effectively together, a few initial washes and drying cycles are essential.

Key Steps for Preparing Your Liners:

1. Initial Wash and Dry Cycles: Wash and dry the liners multiple times to enhance their performance. Keep the process straightforward and avoid using too many additional products like soakers or stain removers, as these can affect the liners’ efficiency.

2. Ensure Complete Drying: It’s crucial to fully dry the liners between washes. If they’re not completely dried, it’s akin to having only washed them once. Proper drying is essential for the liners to start working effectively.

3. Seeking Assistance: If you encounter issues despite several wash and dry cycles, don’t hesitate to seek advice. Often, a minor adjustment in your washing technique can resolve the problem and improve the liners’ functionality. Remember, sometimes the solution is simpler than it seems.

Preparing Your New Fleece Liners

Got your new fleece bedding from Deano? Here's how to get it ready for your pets.

When you purchase liners from Deano, we attach a card of washing information to the liner for you.

** Most fleece requires at least two wash and dry before use.

Polyester Fleece is made from plastic, so it is not absorbent on it’s own. However, the fleece fibres will allow liquids to travel through it, into an absorbent layer underneath – this is called ‘wicking’.

TO WICK YOUR NEW LINERS: Wash and dry liners at least twice before placing in your pets cage. This is to remove the waterproof layer the fleece has on it from manufacturing. So wash – dry – wash – dry, then pop them into the pet cage.

WASHING AND DRYING: Use warm water, a simple liquid detergent – wash and rinse the liners well, use no softeners. Air dry under cover on the clothesline is best – be aware that fleece is not UV stable, so repeated exposure to direct sunlight will degrade the fabric.

Testing for wicking: Use a little warm water (as pee is warm) – if liquid soaks in quickly, they’re ready for use. If the liquid pools on top for more than 1 minute, another wash and dry, or two, is needed.

Cleaning Soiled Fleece Liners

do this first

Before you start, remove the bowls, cubbies, animals etc from the cage while you are cleaning it.

Firstly, take a dustpan and give the cage liner a sweep – to remove hay, poops and cage rubbish.

Then roll up the liner and remove from the cage. I find a laundry basket is good for this task.

IMPORTANT: Remove as much hay, poops, scraps and rubbish off the liner with a brush or vacuum before you attempt to wash it.

The more hair, hay, food scraps etc you can remove from the liners before you attempt to wash them, the less ends up thru your washing machine.

HOW I WASH MINE HERE AT HOME:

So you have your new fleece bedding, now what?

Myself – I hang the soiled liners on the clothesline outside to let them dry off, — then give them a brush with a dry rubber bristle brush to remove rubbish, hair etc, in a downward action onto the brick pavers. I just sweep the rubbish up off the floor when done and bin it.

BEST TOOL TO REMOVE HAIR BEFORE WASHING!

ANKO RUBBER DUSTPAN SET from Kmart for 5 bucks. The bristles were a bit long and it was hard work – but I cut the bristles down by half with sharp scissors, and it now works a treat.

or ANKO 3IN1 CLEANING TOOL $3 AT KMART – Shorter bristles, works great, I think I prefer it to the dustpan BRUSH, more control with less elbow grease required

Brushing the liners again after washing whilst damp on the line works well too.

BEFORE BRUSHING THE HAIR AND RUBBISH OFF, I let my liners dry off for a few hours in the breeze before washing them in a separate machine, just for animal bedding.

I use cold water (as I have machine connected to an outdoor tap), and a general purpose liquid detergent, as I find it rinses better than a powder in my machine.

CLEANING OPTIONS

decide what works best for you, your household and budget.

  • HOSING TO CLEAN THEM OUTDOORS: If you feel the liner is just too gross to throw into the household washing machine, brush it off then get the garden hose to it instead. Some folks throw the liner onto a gate or fence, throw on some liquid detergent, and hose them clean.

    There’s nothing wrong with this method – however, you don’t want to hurt your back, or break the clothes line trying to hang a very heavy one. If you can’t spin the water out, it will take a lot longer to drip dry.

  • MACHINE WASHING: use a regular cycle, warm or cold water, with liquid detergent (as they rinse away better than powder), and spin dry. No fabric softener.

  • HAND WASHING: You could handwash the liners in your laundry tub instead, and then peg them on your clothes line to dry undercover or in the shade outside.

    Remembering that the more water you get out by spin cycle in the washing machine or squeezing, the sooner your Fleece Liner will be dry.

    When washing, use a liquid detergent to wash your Fleece Liner. The eco friendly generic ones are fine. If the liners are a little smelly or really dirty, add half a cup of vinegar to the wash for an extra boost in cleaning.

  • DRYING: I highly recommend drying your Fleece Liner outside undercover by pegging them over your clothes line and depending on your weather they will dry quite quickly. Fleece is made from plastic, so is not UV stable – repeated exposure to sunlight will degrade the fabric.

    As with any washing the more water you can squeeze out after washing, the sooner your Fleece Liners will be dry. Line drying is kind to the environment, and saves on energy costs to you.

  • TUMBLE DRYING: Fleece Liners may be tumble dried on a low/medium heat in 5 minute bursts. It should be noted that Fleece is a synthetic fabric and repeated tumble drying on high temperatures may reduce the lifespan of your Fleece Liners.

    Tumble dryers are a little like cheese graters on fleece – this is where the lint in the door comes from. Little bits of fleece are scraped off on each tumble, thus, less tufts to wick liquids effectively down into the absorbent layer.

  • ODOURS: Depending if your cage is indoors or outdoors, if you have odours that tend to linger after washing, try a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle.

    **Do check with your manufacturer if this is recommended for your machine. Vinegar can neutralize many odours without harsh chemicals, it will also soften many fabrics.

SOAKING

It’s really not necessary.

As humans we soak items of clothing, linen etc to remove stains like food, blood, makeup etc.

Your rabbit or guinea pigs’ bedding has some pee on it, and perhaps some powdery brown stuff (which is poop thats starting the crumble apart into powder). They eat an plant based diet, chew their food very thoroughly, and well, there really is not anything bacterially nasty in it. If you are sweeping up poops, and cleaning your liners often enough, there is simply no need to soak them.

One important point to remember if you do soak them in prewash, stain removers etc – these will over time build up in the core layer of the liner. There will come a time that with so much residue in the absorbent layer, it cannot not absorb liquids anymore.

RINSE THE MACHINE:

I highly recommend putting your washing machine through a extra rinse cycle after it’s finished cleaning your Fleece Liner – as it will remove any loose pet hair from your machine – stopping hair from getting on any clothes in the next load of washing.

You could also add a rinse additive such as Canesten or Dettol Laundry Rinse to kill any germs from the bedding.

Alternatively, if you do not want to use the family washing machine, try the laundry tub and hand wash them instead.

WANT TO REDUCE WHATS LEFT
BEHIND IN THE WASHING MACHINE?

Why not try one of our mesh washbags.

They’re ideal for washing fleece bedding items including liners, cuddle sacks, hammocks, tunnels etc – find them here: Deano Wash bags 90x60cm (New size)

BUT I DON’T WANT PET BEDDING IN MY HOME WASHING MACHINE – Laundromats often have machines just for pet bedding, or you could invest in a second washing machine just for the bedding only. They can be hooked up to an outside tap without too much fuss. Plenty of Google videos out there about how to do it.

WHY CHANGE FROM USING PUPPY PADS?

Puppy pads can take hundreds of years to decompose in landfill sites, not unlike disposable nappies from babies.

They can contaminate underground water supplies, they are also generally toxic if chewed or ingested by pets due to the gels, crystals contained within them as an absorbent layer.

We all know that we can’t sustain the practice of just throwing these toxic items into landfill each week.

Washable, reusable bedding has to be a better option for long term use in pet cages.

Puppy pads were basically invented for short term use, while you trained your new dog to go outside to the toilet. They may be convenient, and a ‘no-touch’ way to absorb pee in guinea pig and bunny cages – but they cost us all in the long term. Cheap to buy, quick to throw away – but there are better and more sustainable bedding options.

Snowy’s Quick Guide to a Clean Cage:

I have taken some snaps here at home, of myself going through the steps of cleaning the cage for Snowy. The instructions are easy to follow – it really does not have to be difficult to have a clean and tidy cage.

  • Take your pets out and put them somewhere safe while you clean their cage.

  • Remove food bowls and cage accessories.

  • Roll the liner up and carry to the rubbish bin or garden.

  • Give the liner a good shake or brush off into the bin or garden.

  • Remove any left over odd bits with brush and dustpan, and wipe over with a vinegar/water disinfectant.

  • Put the same liner back in reverse or a fresh clean one back into the cage.

  • Put the food bowls and cage accessories back in, as well as your pets.

  • Now it’s all clean, you can wash the dirty fleece liner either by hand or machine.

FINISHED: All in less than 10 minutes ?

The instructions above are for a full clean out – some people only need to do this once a week or less. In between liner washes, you can simply sweep up the rubbish off the liner with a dustpan and brush – or take the liner out and give it a shake either into the bin, or into the garden.

Once you have tried fleece cage liners – you won’t go back to stinky towels, soggy paper, toxic puppy pads and wet hay.

It’s better for both you – the cage cleaner, and the animals – the cage dirtiers!

Testimonials

Benefits of using Soaker/Potty Pads
with your Fleece Cage Liners..

Using soaker pads along with your fleece cage liners can actually save even more cleaning time!

The soaker/potty pads are made exactly the same as the fleece cage liners, they are just smaller sizes.

They perform the same, get cleaned the same, and are a great investment for your cage or enclosure. Wash and dry them twice before use, and use no fabric softener.

How to use them:

Place the soaker pad in a spot that gets wet often: under a drippy water bottle, under a frozen bottle to catch the water dribbles as it defrosts, under the corner litter pan, under the hidey house, or perhaps in that corner that seems to be an extra toilet area.

Liquids will be drawn into the absorbent core layer and held there – the liquids will not leak through to the main floor liner. This means you can change or wash the soaker pads more often, and the main floor liner less often.

Soaker pads are sold as singles, pairs or sets. Perhaps consider having some soaker pads made to match your next fleece cage liners, then you can swap and change the decor around as you like.