Halloween is coming! So I thought it’ll be a great time to write about a horrifying topic…

… Pee In The House! 😱 😱 😱

At first I assumed it was normal to use newspaper for Donna’s peeing and pooing needs in the flat, because that was what paper-training means right? The dog is trained to do it on newspaper.

But I soon realised that newspaper was a really bad medium for absorbing pee. And Donna had and still has the unfortunate habit of kicking the newspapers (and peepads) around after doing the deed.

So you can imagine how good absorption is so important to me. Donna tracks the pee off the pet sheet when she is done. Sometimes, she kicks the pee pad around in the toilet, sometimes even out into the common hallway. I really don’t want all that pee to smear around on the floor.

In this post, let’s do some tests to see which pee pad will work better with Donna!

Whether you are currently toilet training or have toilet trained your dog, you will find the following test outcomes helpful to you! 

What’s my criteria for Donna’s pee pads?

Now besides good absorption, I also want to get a sense of whether any pee pad product will show odour control properties.

I try to clear the pee pad as soon as it gets used. But most of the time, Donna would use it in the middle of the night or in the day when we were out. The doors and windows would be closed, so the odour was pretty noticeable in the morning or when we get home. So odour control will also be a nice to have. At least it will make cleaning up less distasteful. :P :P :P (I hate cleaning up.)

The pee pad brands we are testing

• Absorb Plus – $24.90 (regular), $29.00 (charcoal), 45x60cm (50 pieces)
• Drypets – $16.50 (regular), 50 pieces
• Honeycare – $29.90 (lavender scent), $29.90 (charcoal), 45x60cm (48 pieces)
• My Potty Pad – $25.00 (regular), $29.90 (charcoal), 45x60cm (50 pieces)
• Pet Sheets – $24.90 (regular), 50 pieces

*Prices for reference only. There may be differences depending on where you buy your pee pads from.

I actually don’t have a specific pee pad brand that I buy. Drypets and Pet Sheets are two brands that are currently in my storeroom right now. In this post, I will also compare them with regular and charcoal pee pads from Absorb Plus, Honey Care and My Potty Pad.

The Pee Pad Test

I then put the pee pads through two tests. These are casual tests for a quick indicative idea of how these pee pad products may perform on absorption ability and odour control. ;)

Test 1: Absorption
100ml of diluted chrysanthemum tea is poured onto each pee pad. The liquid is deliberately poured at a corner about 10cm from the edge of the pee pad because Donna never pees at the centre. :P A piece of tissue paper is then placed on top of the wet patch. The pee pads are then assessed for their ability to absorb the liquid quickly and to lock in the moisture.

Test 2: Odour control
100ml of chrysanthemum tea mixed with vinegar and water is poured onto each pee pad. The pee pads are then assessed for how strong the vinegar smell is.

Note: These are casual tests for a quick indicative idea of how these pee pad products perform on absorption ability and odour control only, so results aren’t final. ;)

Regular pee pad with the Worst to Best Absorption

#3 – #5 Absorb Plus, Pet Sheets, Drypets X-odor Eliminator

I’m ranking Absorb Plus, Pet Sheets, Drypets together since each has its own pros and cons.

Absorb Plus fared the worse in terms of absorbing the liquid and locking in the moisture. Don’t get me wrong, the pet sheet actually absorbed liquid fast and appeared to dry well over time, but the border around the pee pad did not keep the liquid within the pad as effectively as other brands. This compromised the pee pad’s performance when it let the liquid flow right onto the table.

If you have the pad within a pee tray, this may present less of a concern to you, versus someone who lays the peepad directly on the floor for example. Since my preference is for the pee pad to absorb everything nicely so minimum effort for me is needed to wash the tray, this pee pad may not work for me.

The difference in performance between Pet Sheets and Drypets was not that big. Both pee pads still felt wet after some time had passed. In this respect, they performed worse than Absorb Plus. This may mean that Donna is more likely to track urine paw prints onto the floor when she is finished using the pee pad.

However, both Pet Sheets and Drypets kept the liquid within the pee pad, so there was no spilling over the edge of the pet sheet.

Drypets absorbed slightly better than Pet Sheets but the difference was not great since both of the pee pads remained wet after some time had passed.

#2 My Potty Pad

My Potty Pad absorbed the liquid fast and appeared significantly more effective in locking in the moisture compared to Pet Sheets and Drypets. The liquid also did not spill across the edge of the pee pad.

#1 Honey Care U-Play Lavender Pee Pad

HOney Care is the most expensive option out of the 5 brands for regular pee pads in this review. This is also the only pee pad in the test that is scented, and has a floral print on its surface. But you’re not just paying for the aesthetics alone with this product. Honey Care U-Play pet sheets displayed the best absorption performance in terms of locking in the moisture out of the 5 brands tested.

Next, let’s find out if there is discernible difference between charcoal pee pads and regular ones.

Do Charcoal pee pads have better odour control and absorption than regular pet sheets?

A horrible concoction of vinegar with chrysanthemum tea diluted with a small amount of water is used to put these peepads to the Odour Control test. Charcoal pee pads are often marketed as containing activated charcoal and having stronger odour removing properties.

The verdict? The charcoal pee pads appeared to me to have less strong vinegar smell compared to their regular pee pad counterpart from the same brand when doused with vinegar water.

That is, except for Honey Care U-Play Lavender, because it’s strong lavender scent seemed to mask the vinegar smell more effectively than the Honey Care U-Play Charcoal pee pad.

My Potty Pad Charcoal pads appeared to work the best in this regard. The vinegar smell was least strong compared to the others, when held to the nose.

 

Absorption power – Charcoal vs Regular Pee Pads

When it came to locking the moisture in, most of the pee pads tested appeared to fare worse with the more concentrated solution of apple cider vinegar and crysanthemum tea, compared to test 1 where a diluted solution of chrysanthemum tea was used.

Interestingly in this case, the Honey Care and Absorb Plus Charcoal pads appeared to perform worse than the regular pads when it comes to their absorption capabilities. The liquid spilled onto the table for both brands’ charcoal peepad.

So it appeared to me My Potty Pad Charcoal pee pad was the best charcoal pee pad for both odour removal and absorption ability in the test.

I would say Honey Care U-Play Lavender pet sheets is a comparable product with good absorption and odour masking attributes. It certainly performed the best for the regular pee pads.

Both retail at the same price – $29.90.

Whether you are currently toilet training or have toilet trained your dog, I hope this article has been helpful to you.

I will continue to try out the different brands in Donna’s pee tray, and see if the performance with real urine stays consistent with the test results. So follow me on my social media to get updated! ;)

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Disclosure:  Pee pads outside of those in my store room kindly provided by Nekojam.com and Somewhitecookie for testing purposes. Thank you! The test method, assessment and final written review of the pet sheet products and their performance were all independently planned and conducted by weliveinaflat to ensure an objective review of the products shared. The review is personal opinion only. Please feel free to share if you have other opinions about the products featured. ;)

Leave a comment

• Do you use any of the pee pad brands mentioned in the post? What is your opinion of them?
• If you use other brands instead of the brands mentioned, what brands are these. What is your opinion of the pee pad brand(s) you are currently using?
• Any horror stories with pee or poo to share with me this Halloween? :P Tell me more about it in the comments. ;)