Thrift Shop Towels?

[EternallyCynical]

So I need to make more liners for Pepper's cage. I have all the fleece bought, and normally I would use a towel as an inner absorbent layer, but I don't have any old ones lying around and even at "cheap" stores, towels are still like $10 each! Not horrid, except I need four of them, and their only purpose will be soaking up chinchilla pee....

I was thinking about seeing if I could get some towels from a thrift store, but I'd be worried about chemical buildup on them, if the previous owner had used a lot of scented detergents or dryer sheets or whatever with them..... at home we use eco-friendly scent free detergent on all our laundry, including the chinchilla stuff, but obviously I can't control what people did with their towels prior to my owning them.

Has anyone used thrift shop towels in their cage liners before? Is there anything in particular to do beforehand (other than just giving them a good wash) to make them safe(r)?

Thanks!!

 

[IceMaiden]

Towels are expensive, I had a job to find some cheap ones too. I don't use second hand ones from charity shops, partly because I like to know they've never had anything on them and partly because charity shops here don't have any as they won't accept them. This means they have to be new, and of course big bath sheets are pricey.

So I came up with a way that means I only need a couple of towels instead of one for each liner. Instead of sewing the towel on so it can only be used with that specific liner, I put the piece of towel loose in the cage tray then pull the liner on like a pillowcase, effectively trapping the towel inside it. I cut my liners so there is enough overhang on the top one to tuck it right underneath, but I intend on putting zips on them when I can get some, then it will be totally impossible for my chin to open them and get to the towel. As their separate, eveything dries quicker and they can be used with any liner. You could have ten liners and still only need two sets of towels made out of two bath sheets, or one, if you only have one cage tray.

 

[Amethyst]

I wouldn't really trust second hand towels from a thrift store, as said there is no way to know what has been on them. Also, have you tried places like Walmart? Just doing a quick search on Walmart.ca and bath towels, 27" x 48" (69 cm x 122 cm), are a cheap as $4 each.

 

[EternallyCynical]

I did check Walmart but I thought all the less expensive ones were small!! :O

I'm really really bad at visualizing areas of things, so that may be it. I'll definitely have another look there, then!