So, apparently you are supposed to wash fleece first? I didn't know this before I made/gave cab his first set of toys! Now I have more fleece...how do you wash it? Hot/Warm/cold, air dry or use dryer? TIA ya'll!

Cold is okay. I hang dry mine so it doesnt shrink!

YES! It's shipped with chemicals to preserve it.

I wash with the free + clear stuff, for people with allergies! :D

When I first buy my fleece I toss it all in the washer with regular 'ol detergent, no fab. softner, on Cold. I dry it as normal cuz unlike Heidi...if it's gonna shrink, I'd rather it do it now! ~ Cuz after I've made cage sets I wash them with my regular laundry and that means the dryer also so I'd rather the fleece be pre-shrunk.

Ok so wash it cold, if I dont' want it to shrink air dry, if I don't care regular dry; I'll use my babies dreft to wash it :) What about what I've already used-specifially what I used to trim by ball pit-pit itself is mesh...can I spray it outside or something?

Can you maybe soak the whole thing in some soapy water in the sink, rinse, squeeze as much of the water out as you can then set it in the sun to dry???

Kind of like hand washing a blouse...

Thanks Jazz great idea :)

Fleece is a gift and a nightmare. It is made from PET plastic and does not like high heat or hot water. I wash mine with All clear and free and original Downy fabric softener and a downy dryer sheet for static.
Fleece that is intended for children's clothes and sleepwear has to be coated with a flame retardant or clearly state that it is not on the salvage edge or bolt at the store.
Fabric softener is a supposed no-no but I use it anyway- it will eventually leave a coating that affects the pile of the fabric. The cheaper the weave the faster the fabric softener and hot water affects the fabric and can cause pills as well.

I was mine cold and dry low, or lay flat.

For fleece toys I hand wash in the tub with some Dawn.

I also don't use fabric softener on my glider things because a) it leaves a residue, and b) it kills the absorbancy of fabrics.

I've had mine thru the washer before, just on a normal 'quick wash'. Dried over a radiator. Normally I just throw them all in the bath tho and let them soak in hot water with a bit of washing powder in. Then rinse them and hang up to dry x

Ok, I just wanna say... I make all my own cage stuff so I'm not really concerned if the washer & dryer beats them up cuz I'll just make some more.

For those of you that spend quite a bit of money purchasing thru vendors, obviously you want them to last quite awhile so I would use the others washing instructions over mine... use a bit more of a delicate touch to get your moneys worth out of your purchases...

I use softener on my fleece. The main thing I would recommend is be consistent. I use the same detergent and softener everytime so they don't have to get used to different scents.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by waterburyk9</i>
<br />Fleece is a gift and a nightmare. It is made from PET plastic and does not like high heat or hot water. I wash mine with All clear and free and original Downy fabric softener and a downy dryer sheet for static.
Fleece that is intended for children's clothes and sleepwear has to be coated with a flame retardant or clearly state that it is not on the salvage edge or bolt at the store.
Fabric softener is a supposed no-no but I use it anyway- it will eventually leave a coating that affects the pile of the fabric. The cheaper the weave the faster the fabric softener and hot water affects the fabric and can cause pills as well.
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Thanks waterbury, it is like no matter how many times I tell people why and how to wash fleece it doesn't seem to matter but possibly the way you put it will get through to them.

Hi VE.
I have found that people just know better and blame the person who made the item months later....
I have found that I can strip my fleece (both people and animal) every 6 months or so. Just like you do for cloth diapers...except for the fact that I use warm water, as hot is just too hot and can melt the fibers.

I also some times will give a squirt of original dawn (the blue kind) and that helps remove the coating- I don't recommend this if you have a HE washer as the foaming will be an issue. The dawn removes the film that is left by fabric softener. The I double rinse, and re-wash without soap, checking to see if it foams up, if it does I restart the load...

I dry my stuff on medium for 10-20 minutes and it is dry, don't leave your stuff in the dryer longer as it gets too hot and starts to melt almost, even on low.

Edit: I forgot, I am lucky to have an almost endless supply of high quality material, but I want my stuff to last- so don't mix loads just fleece on the regular or delicate cycle.

If you purchase "cheap fleece" or cheap blankets to use, no matter how you wash they will pill and become ugly looking. So remember that when you purchase your fleece, sometimes I will purchase a cheap blanket for the pattern and live with it until it is crappy then chuck it or give it to the wildlife rehab lady, who uses it once and then chucks it...

Honestly, I had no idea that Fleece was so temperamental. I just wash mine on a weekly basis, or when we have a house showing and I need the room to smell better. I just throw mine in the wash on the normal setting. It's either on hot or on warm, and it really doesn't effect the fabric much. I normally will use it for a long while until it develops holes and stuff, then I save it and make more. The pieces I save, I make into a makeshift, ugly quilt and use it as a cage liner. I can never have too many ugly cage liners!

I use regular detergent(nothing fancy), no fabric softner. I wash on cold and either air dry, dry with no heat or dry on low heat. Just depends on if it's something already made or new fleece. I use to wash the fleece prior to making things, but now I just allocate some shrinkage and wash the item after it's made and it tightens it up nicely especially if it's a pouch.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Xotick</i>
<br />I use regular detergent(nothing fancy), no fabric softner. I wash on cold and either air dry, dry with no heat or dry on low heat. Just depends on if it's something already made or new fleece. I use to wash the fleece prior to making things, but now I just allocate some shrinkage and wash the item after it's made and it tightens it up nicely especially if it's a pouch.
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Like I said above.

I'd ONLY use the allergen stuff, the stuff that is 'Free & Clear', scent and dye free. Most 'regular' detergent is scented in one way or another and often blue or some other color. I'd rather be safe than sorry. It doesn't cost much more.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kozi</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Xotick</i>
<br />I use regular detergent(nothing fancy), no fabric softner. I wash on cold and either air dry, dry with no heat or dry on low heat. Just depends on if it's something already made or new fleece. I use to wash the fleece prior to making things, but now I just allocate some shrinkage and wash the item after it's made and it tightens it up nicely especially if it's a pouch.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Like I said above.

I'd ONLY use the allergen stuff, the stuff that is 'Free & Clear', scent and dye free. Most 'regular' detergent is scented in one way or another and often blue or some other color. I'd rather be safe than sorry. It doesn't cost much more.
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Yup you did already say it so not real sure why you are quoting me and saying it again. I wasn't the only one in the post that uses regular ol' detergent but you just had to quote me lmao. You guys crack me up.

I just use the normal detergent on the regular wash setting.I have about 3 different types of fleece that I wash every week. I haven't seen a difference in when I got it and after I have washed it so many times.

Thanks everyone! I didnt mean to start a debate lol

Just as an FYI, all fabric have chemicals in them. They put sizing in to make sure it looks nice when you get it.

If I spend to long in the mall shopping for clothes I will get a migraine from the formaldehyde. Fabric will absorb scents/chemicals even if they are not in direct contact with them. When they ship the fabric in the big container ships they come in contact with alot of things.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is no matter what kind of detergent/softener you use don't use too much. A common problem when people do laundry is that they use too much product. It's not good for your washer, and it's not good for the people/animals that come in contact with the fabrics. Measure, and don't guesstimate.......and in most cases you can use less detergent than what is called for.

I always use less detergent than what it calls for, otherwise I get itchy. XD I think I use about half.