Guinea Pigs and Vinegar

Question
I have fleece bedding for my two guinea pigs.  I read that, to help with the smell, pre-treat by spraying white vinegar (from spray bottle) on the corners before washing it.  My question is, if I were to spray it on AFTER washing and leave it on, can that make them sick or even kill them?

Answer
I don't believe it will harm the pigs to spray after washing. But the vinegar will dissipate in the air and may make the spraying useless. The reason vinegar works to spray in the cage is that it neutralizes the alkaline properties in the urine. Vinegar is acid and therefore cancels out the alkinlinity of urine, thus helping to eliminate the odor.

I sometimes spray vinegar on the metal trays of my cages before I put in the shavings and hay. Vinegar has many uses for hundreds of things. The water in my area is heavily alkaline and my dishwasher gets the white alkaline spots all over my glasses and dishes. If I put a cup of vinegar in the dishwasher, then add the detergent, everything comes out clean and sparkling.

I think you might get a better and longer lasting effect if you put some vinegar in the washing machine when you launder the fleece. That will remove the residual odors left from the urine and help keep the cage smelling fresh.

As far as harming the pigs by spraying before you put the fleece in it's doubtful that it will make a huge difference, but unless it's awfully strong it shouldn't be harmful for the pigs.