# Washing bunny blankets



## Eve (Dec 2, 2006)

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone could kindly help me with a quick question. 

As my bun Layla has recently had an operation, I have been washing allthe sheets and blankets in her cage every morning. I have been doingthisso that everything is as clean as possible, to preventany infection as she has an open wound under her chin. 

My mum will not let me put any of my bunny blankets/towels in thewashing machine or dryer at home. She will not even let me hang theminside to dry. She has a paranoia that by washing these things in thesame place as where she washes her own clothing, Iwilltransmit some sort of disease to her and my family. :?

Iwas just wondering if there is any truth to what sheisarguing, or possibly any resources I could bring to herattention to convince her otherwise. 

I do not have a car at the moment, and dragging 2 garbage bags full ofbunny rags to the laundromat every day (which is a 15-20 minute walkfrom home) is becoming a bit of a pain. 

Thank you in advance for your help.


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## ani-lover (Dec 2, 2006)

If Layla only got spayed, i have been watchingthe thread,there is nothing transferable that the rabbit would have. Asfor the open wound on her chin, i would put some vacitration(if ispelled that right)on there. Also, if you get allowed to wash Laylasthings at home use hot water and bleach so everything gets prettysterile. There is no kind of disease or anything that can betransferred from getting spayed, so no need to worry.


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## Eve (Dec 3, 2006)

Hi ani-lover, thank you for the reply. 

Layla did not actually get spayed, the spay was cancelled due to theabcess which needed instant removal. I already have medication from thevet which I am using to flush the wound with also. It is meant toremain open, so I am not allowed to put any other ointments on it, butthank you for the advice. 

Thank you for the bleach suggestion, I will start doing this at the laundromat.


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## aurora369 (Dec 3, 2006)

A little bit of bleach in the water would kill anything harmful.

Tell your mom that people use a mild bleach/water spray (about 10%mixture) to clean up the bathroom/kitchen. It will kill justabout anything harmful found in those rooms.

So, washing bunny stuff in home washer/dryer should be just fine.

I do all my bunny towells in the home washing machine, and I've yet to catch anything harmful.

--Dawn


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## cheryl (Dec 3, 2006)

Hi Eve!

I wash my bunnies blankets in my washing machine,i just add acoloursafe bleach,and i also use nappysan...the kids and myself havenever caught anything at all,by washing their stuff in my machine



cheryl


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## Mikoli (Dec 3, 2006)

Hi Eve!

As far as I know, there are no diseases that can be transmitted from anopen wound. It is a good idea to wash the blankets though, just to makesure that it doesn't get infected or anything  Like the otherssuggested, put some bleach in if you can.

If your mum still won't allow you to wash the blankets inside, I guessyou'll have to keep going to the laundramat every day. You could tryhandwashing them in the backyard, but it would be better to wash it ina washing machine.

It's a bit off topic [well ... a lot], but I live in the same part ofAustralia that you do, and my best friend has a rabbit called Laylathat looks EXACTLY like the bun in your avatar. :shock: I'll freak outlater ...

Rach &amp; Ollz.


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## Maureen Las (Dec 4, 2006)

I wash all my rabbit blanket, sheets and towelsin our washing machine and also the messy towels from the guinea pigs.If the machine is working properly and you are using a good detergentthere is nothing to worry about. Probably worse to wash a baby's diaperetc. in a washing machine than a rabbit towel. I have to admire you forgoing to the laundromat as this proves you are a number 1 dedicatedrabbit mom and should be proud that you are such a good owner to yoursick bun. :sickbunny:


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## Bassetluv (Dec 4, 2006)

Since Raph's urine can be very strong, and hecan be quite messy (sometimes he will stomp some cecals right into thetowel, making it hard to clean them, I take the towels from his cageand soak them in hot water with some bleach added in the laundry tubnext to my washing machine. If there are any soiled areas I scrub themuntil it's out; then once they've soaked in the bleach/hot water for awhile I wring them out, toss them into the machine and wash them in hotwater. I found that at first, the concept of urine-soaked towels frommy rabbit being washed in the same machine that I do my own clothes inkind of a gross concept, but since I pre-clean them in mild bleach nowit doesn't bother me at all.


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## Eve (Dec 5, 2006)

Thank you all so much for your replies and the greatsuggestions. They have been extremely helpful. :kiss:

I willtell my mum aboutyour replies to myquestion,andhopeful she will reconsider letting meuse the washing machine at home for my bunny blankets. 

Thank you again for helping me!


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## Bassetluv (Dec 5, 2006)

Oh, something I forgot to mention...since Raph has problems with hislegs, he lies down much more than he stands. And since he only uses hislitter box to snooze in (kicking out the bedding and urinating all overthe towels in his cage instead), I wanted to find something moreabsorbent for him, as he winds up lying on urine-soaked towels and isoften a very stinky bunny. I recently joined a forum for owners ofdisabled rabbits, and one of the things that some of the memberssuggested was to purchase a product called Palace Pet Bedding. It wasoriginally designed for veterinary clinics, and it apparently workswonderfully. It is made for animals who are older, or are ill,incontinent, paralyzed, etc....any urine that comes in contact with thesurface is drawn away from the animal and is absorbed. Apparently it isextremelydurable and will withstand many washes, and it comesin several sizes (which can be cut). They also cut down on having towash bedding quite so often. Though the product is a bit pricey (atleast for me, as I have to have it shipped to Canada), I have placed anorder for two of them for now, to see how well it really does work. Ifind that using towels just isn't good enough for Raph, as he urinatesa lot, and the towels absorb somewhat, but they don't draw the urineaway from his body. The women in the disabled bunny forum swear it isthe best product they've ever found for their rabbits, esp. since theyare dealing with bunnies who are either partially or fully disabled,who can't (or don't) use litter boxes.

Just thought I'd mention this in case anyone is interested. I'll postmore on it once I've received my order and see how well it works...


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