Barnyard smell?

[rimpley]

The fleece we use has cut down on the smell considerably, but DH still thinks it smells like a barnyard. lol Can anyone recommend a product or a homemade idea that might be able to make the area around the cage smell a bit better?

[Bean]

Ha! I think as clean as you keep everything, some people just don't like the smell of hay which you can't do too much about.

I see you use the u-haul blankets under the fleece. Might some kind of litter you can clean out more regularly help? I'll sit back and watch what others add as I've just bought some fleece and will be trying out some different options myself.

[3piggles]

When I first changed to fleece I used cotton towels underneath, and the bedding got smelly pretty quickly. My DH isn't an animal lover, and was quick to complain about the smell. Then I swapped the towels for quilted Uhaul pads. Sewn together, they are very easy to change and heavy enough to be swept or vacuumed easily. Still smelled like a barnyard.
Then I started putting a layer of pine pellet horse bedding under the fleece pads. Huge difference in the amount of smell, but the pellets turn to granules when wet, and the granules stuck to the underside of the pads.
Then I added a layer of fiberglass window screen between the pine pellets and the fleece. No more smell and no more granules falling off all the way to the washer.
Now I use pine pellet horse bedding in the living areas, and low dust/unscented/clumping kitty litter in the kitchen areas. I have two cavy condos. I declump each kitchen area every other day, and add more litter if needed. I haven't changed the pellet bedding in months, just scoop out the biggest piles of granules, and mix the rest in with the other pellets. I add a scoop pf fresh pellets periodically.
So no smell at all anymore. Takes about 5 minutes per cage to sweep or vac daily, and about the same to change the fleece pads weekly. With the pine pellet bedding under the pads, I don't have to even change the pads every week. I tested, and it can easily go two weeks between washings.
Pine pellet horse bedding comes in 40lb bags, costs $4-7, and is available at Tractor Supply Stores. Not sure where else.
I use the Target store brand kitty litter.
Basically, fleece wicks liquid off the surface to the absorbent layer below. The more absorbent, the better it controls odors. Unless someone suffers from hay fever, it's the proteins in the urine, not the hay, that causes problems. The faster the urine is wicked off the surface, and the better the absorbent layer holds it, the more the smell is reduced.

[SiLamb]

rimpley, how goes the smell control?