Welcome to a brief history of how we started using Zorb® in our cage liners and then why we are moving onto using Zorb® Silvadur™ instead. This is a bit of a read, approx 6-7mins, and we appreciate not everyone has lots of time to spend reading it all. So, if you want to get straight to the Silvadur™ part then Click Here or if you want to skip further to the Summary then Click Here Instead
Original Zorb - The Journey Begins
I started out making cage liners a number of years ago, heading towards 10yrs in fact. When I researched making them I found most people were using towelling, mattress toppers, polyester wadding and similar. I thought to myself that none of those materials are really designed to be used as an absorbent core. So, my research began and I found a couple of mentions of a fabric called Zorb®! "Hmmm, I wonder what that is?" I thought, and so started to research more into it.
It didn't take long to find the manufacturer and start reading all the information on their websites and started to read claims such as their 2 main claims:
- Zorb® is 20 times faster at locking away liquid than any other material including cotton, bamboo and microfibre
- Absorbs 10 times it's weight in liquid in half a second.
Can this be true? Well looking into the applications of Zorb® and I found out that it was designed to be used by makers of reusable nappies (diapers, given they're an American company). Wait! Hold on! Reusable Nappies? Those items that clad cute babies when they do their business on a regular basis? So, Zorb® is used to absorb wee from babies ... a lot of wee given how much most babies produce! LOL
"If it can absorb a babies wee, surely it can handle a Guinea Pig's?"
This is what immediately came to mind. A bit more research into reviews and social/blog posts by users of Zorb® and I decided this would be perfect for making cage liners. I wasn't wrong. Having got hold of some I made some liners and was immediately impressed with how lightweight and thin the liners were and most importantly how absorbent they were.
Zorb® Silvadur™ is Coming
Using Zorb Original has been a real game changer and has allowed me to produce thousands of high quality, great value and amazingly absorbent cage liners. The best available in the UK IMHO and the opinion of hundreds of customers, just check out the reviews. How could I offer something more to my customers that other makers just don't offer? What can I add that sets my liners apart again? This is where Zorb® Silvadur™ comes in.
What is Zorb® Silvadur™
Basically this is Original Zorb® but better! It has the same basic construction with the same lightweight feel, the same thinness and most importantly the same absorbency. OK, so if all of that's the same what's the big deal? Well that's where the Silvadur™ part comes in! It is now antimicrobial!
Silvadur™ is a treatment that is added to the threads that are used to make the Zorb® fabric to make the Zorb® fight bacteria. "How?" I hear you ask. Well it is a product produced by Dupont, a huge multinational company who have existed for over 220yrs producing everything from fabric treatments to automotive cleaning and additives and even Kevlar! Silvadur™ is a silver based polymer that produces an antimicrobial coating to whatever it is applied to. This means, in the case of Zorb®, that the manufacturers add Silvadur™ to the threads when manufacturing it thus creating a product that has advanced antimicrobial properties. Silver is well known to have huge antibacterial properties and that capability is exploited fully in this fabric.
Now, if you have piggies you will know there is a chance of some kind of smell especially if you have boars or circumstances mean you miss clean out day by 24hrs. I am not going to claim that Silvadur™ based liners will simply make odours vanish, but they will inhibit the chance of odour producing bacteria reproducing and so can make a huge difference.
The Science Bit
Third party testing was carried out using Silvadur™ with 2 known common bacteria, staphylococcus aureus and klebsiella pneumoniae
Odour resistance is the most sought-after feature in performance fabrics. When odour-causing bacteria come in contact with fabric surfaces, SILVADUR™ releases silver ions which neutralize the bacteria on contact. SILVADUR™ delivers unsurpassed odour protection.
Therefore biggest advantage of using Silvadur™ is within odour control as shown from this extract from the Dupont website:
SILVADUR: 3 Modes of Action to Control Odours:
- Odour Absorption Control: Blocks select odorants via absorption
- Antimicrobial Odour Control: Uses low levels of silver
- Controls Metabolic Enzymes: Silver ion polymer targets enzymes, preventing production of malodors
In addition to odour control, as Silvadur™ uses silver ion technology then not only does it combat bacteria but also fungus as well. This means that fungal spores are inhibited, within the liner core, and unable to reproduce at their usual rate.
In short, using the Silvadur™ version of Zorb® gives you massive absorbency capabilities with antimicrobial actions reducing odour. Win Win Win in our eyes.
Summary - Enjoy the Benefits
I realise that if you didn't skip down the page then this is quite a read so thank you for taking the time for doing so. I was wanting to clarify how and why I started using Zorb® and why I am moving over to Silvadur™ version. In brief the reasons are:
- I was the first to use Zorb® in all liners I sold.
- Proven to be highly absorbent and high quality liners with 100's of reviews.
- Imitated by newer makers but never matched on quality and price.
- A desire to keep evolving and producing the best I can for my customers.
- Zorb® Silvadur™ offers massive antimicrobial properties to an already extraordinary fabric.
- Silvadur™ takes our liners to a new level of superior performance.
- Price! Our prices will continue to be competitive and in fact lower than our main competitors. Higher quality at the same or lower price! What's not to love about that?
Hopefully now you can see the benefits of using the Zorb® Silvadur™ within our liners and can understand why we are moving over to using it in all our liners, lap pads and pee pads
Thanks again for showing an interest in my products. Your support is appreciated every day and I feel blessed to have such wonderful customers who come back again and again. Also a big thank you to all of you who have taken the time to leave reviews. I do read them all and love hearing about all of your piggies/pets. Knowing that my customers and their piggies/pets are happy makes the long hours and hard work worthwhile.
Take care and hope to see you soon.
Elaine with her amazing Team