Raptor i wasn't recommending any of that stuff that was stuff professional mouse and rat breeders use and recommend I've tried all they recommended and settled on aspen with a lil kitty liter in the bottom only time i get a strong smell like you say is if the water bottle keeps dripping and you don't clean the wet stuff out. tried the paper stuff the mice seem to love it but like you said it stinks really quickly.

one thing nobody has said they tried or used is ground corn cobs as bedding it works really good other then if it gets wet and if it does it molds very quickly 24 hours or less if water tube leaks only place i use this stuff is in with mother and baby cages and only cause i check there cages 4 or 5 times a day if find a spot where it looks white more then likely its mold stating to grow and remove a seizable portion around where it was wet

that paper stuff i throw a handful in for them to use as bedding takes them a week or 2 to get it soft enough or small enough to use as bedding but once they get it that away they seem to like it better then toilet paper or paper towels

but for me a combo of aspen with a Lil kitty liter under works wonders. (wish cedar wasn't bad for the mice and snakes cause that stuff just plain rocks compared to everything else for keeping smell down i use to use it last time i had breeders going close to 20 years ago then i guess while i wasn't breeding my own mice they found out it was bad for mice and snakes