Cleaning a Sheepskin at home
I have a beautiful long-haired sheepskin that has accumulated city soot over the years and would like to know if it's possible to clean it at home and what products I would use. A furrier will do it but it costs a lot. Your sheepskin rug can be easily hand or machine washed. It is important not to use hot water when washing sheepskins as this may damage the pelt of the sheepskin. Washing Instructions Hand Washing Use a mild liquid household detergent in cold or warm water (max 40°C/105°F). Do not use soap or washing powders containing enzymes or bleach, or which are alkaline. Machine Washing Use the 'wool wash' cycle on your washing machine and wash in warm water (max 40°C/105°F). Use a mild liquid detergent suitable for washing machines. Do not use soap or washing powders containing enzymes or bleach, or which are alkaline. Dry Cleaning The sheepskin can also be professionally dry-cleaned using either white spirits or perchloroethylene. *Do not use fabric softeners. Rinse thoroughly in warm water. Hand squeeze as much water from the sheepskin as possible or spin in the washing machine. Drying Instructions Your sheepskin rug may be tumble dried on the 'cool' or 'warm' setting. Do not use 'hot' setting as excessive heat may damage the lambskin. Alternatively, hang the sheepskin outside to dry naturally, avoiding direct sunlight. Take care not to place the sheepskin on a radiator, steam pipe or in front of a fan heater as this may damage the sheepskin. Do not iron or bleach your sheepskin rug. Brushing After washing, the wool may revert back to its natural curly state. You can help restore the fluffy appearance by brushing the wool while it is wet and again when it is dry. A wire pet brush or comb is suitable Sheepskin Care Instructions. Retrieved 08 October 2002. http://www.madenz.com/sheepskinrugs/care.htm I followed the above instructions to the last detail and wound up with clean fluffy fur, but the pelt is as stiff as a board. What can I do to restore it? If the sheepskin dries too quickly, the hide will tend to be stiff. Work the hide with your hands to soften it. Thanks for the tip, but when I said stiff as a board, I wasn't exaggerating. It is like trying to massage a piece of wood. No give at all. Would it help to wash it again as you directed and do something different? The first time, I fluffed it in the dryer for 5-10 min. on delicate and then hung it over the backs of two chairs. Thanks for any more suggestions. Did you get all the soap rinsed out? I washed it in the machine with Woolite on the delicate cycle in cold water. I've never had problems with anything washed on this cycle. I'm beginning to wonder if some sheepskins have not been treated for washing. I bought it in Austria. The stiffness could have been caused by the Woolite. WASHING SHEEPSKIN and WOOL: Wool does not have to shrink- sheep do not shrink in the rain nor does their skin go hard! Shrinkage, felting and skin hardening are due to hot water, agitation and the use of inappropriate detergents. Hot water, agitation and poor detergents cause the wool fibres to shorten and lock tightly together; causing shrinkage and felting. You can stop this happening to your sheepskin and woollen products by using the following washing procedures. For best results, follow these 4 easy steps: 1. Use cold or lukewarm water. 2. Use wooltech: a sheepskin and wool cleaning conditioning detergent 3. Wash 4. Dry Detailed instructions: 1. Use COLD or lukewarm water- NEVER HOT (There is one exception: you can safely use hot tap water for HiTemp UR Medical Sheepskins. These superior sheepskins can withstand more than 100 wash and dry cycles while retaining their softness and pressure relieving properties. HiTemp UR Medical Sheepskins are thermally disinfected when washed at 80oC = 175oF) The use of excessively hot water: · Will damage leather and may cause it to shrink and harden · May cause felting of the wool pile · May cause loss of colour · May make thorough rinsing much more difficult. · May set some stains and make them difficult to remove 2. USE A SHEEPSKIN DETERGENT: Wool detergents are not recommended for the washing of sheepskins as they may contain chelating agents, phosphates, alkali, bleach, peroxide, triethanolamine, sequestering agents, phosphoric acid or enzymes. All are harmful to leather and should not be used. We recommend : wooltech Sheepskin Shampoo Woolwash wooltech with Tea Tree Oil, a new generation product developed in conjunction with the tanning industry, will lubricate the sheepskin and give a distinct lustre and handle to the wool fibres. The anti-bacterial in wooltech remains in the washed article, providing continued action and prevention of odours. wooltech kills mites ( the cause of house dust asthma) and washing with wooltech will also remove mite allergens. 3. WASHING SHEEPSKIN Handwashing sheepskins Add lukewarm water to the tub first. Then add the measure of wooltech-with Tea Tree Oil. Place the sheepskin in the solution and work it through the sheepskin for approximately 5 minutes. Squeeze by hand until clean. Rinse twice with cold water or until water is clear. To remove excess moisture, use the spin-dry cycle of your washing machine. Squeeze by hand until clean. Rinse thoroughly with cold water until water is clear. To remove excess moisture, use the spin-dry cycle of your washing machine. See drying instructions below. Machine washing sheepskins: Sheepskin may be washed in a washing machine using the “wool” or “gentle” cycle. Use small load settings for small articles and full load settings for larger loads. Use Ѕ the recommended dose of “wooltech” for front load machines. Select cold or warm wash. DOUBLE RINSE Institutional Washing Procedures: Washing instructions for HiTemp Medical Sheepskins to meet thermal disinfection requirements. The washing machine should be loaded to half capacity. The recommended Detergent for institutional thermal and chemical disinfection is wooltech. Acetic acid can be added to steps 1,5, 9 to aid dye fastness ( pH controlled to 3.8- 4.2) 4. DRYING SHEEPSKIN AND WOOL May be placed in the dryer ( no heat ) until nearly dry. Use the fluff or gentle cycle only. Place the sheepskin( leather side facing upwards ) or wool article on a flat surface or drying rack. Dry in the shade, away from direct sunlight or heat. Do Not use direct Heat or exposure to direct Sunlight to dry Sheepskin or Wool. Down-Under Wool. Retrieved 22 November 2002. http://www.medicalsheepskins.com/wash.htm Thank you, twelvepole, for your efforts. I wish I'd known about this product before. I have no idea what was in the product I used which is designed for washing delicate items. I guess I can try it again with Wooltech Sheepskin Shampoo with Tea Tree Oil. Since the skin is now very clean, I could just run it through the washing machine on the delicate cycle and hope that it softens up (if I can bend it sufficiently to get in the machine) or if not, use the bathtub. Do any of your affiliated sources sell this shampoo or might it be available in New York City? What type of store sells it? Visit the link provided on the last post: http://www.medicalsheepskins.com/wash.htm Copy and past the website address omitting and , as we can no longer post active links on the site that can click you where we want you to go. To soften the pelt to get it back into the washer, spritz the skin with water. You can use an empty windex bottle or purchase a spray bottle at the home center. I am so sorry for your trouble. I feel guilty that I may have led you astray. The last article indicated that one should not use wool shampoos for washing the pelt. Woolite is recommended for wool. An excellent pH neutral dish liquid is Ivory. And, I think if I used the dish liquid, I would rinse twice to make sure all soap residues are removed, as soap residues can cause items to be stiff. The originial instructions in the article I posted would have been better if they had indicated a pH neutral, rather than mild household detergent. I guess they assume everyone knows about acids and alkalines and that mild means pH neutral or nearly so. I should have added my own 2 cents worth to the article. Too, much internet cleaning info is hesitant to name product brands. I, too, am hesitant to name a particular product brand. I have received emails accusing me of representing certain companies such as Barkeepers Friend, a household favorite. I am sure if I continually recommended Ivory as a pH neutral dish liquid that someone would accuse me of working for Procter Gamble. I wish! Keep us posted on your progress! I spoke with someone at Wool-tech and learned that there are two different tanning methods for sheepskin, only one of which permits washing. I seem to have the other kind...so further washing is not going to help. Wooltech is only available mail-order from Canada. So if anyone out there has a dirty sheepskin, please make sure it is the washable kind before you put it in water! And speak to the folks at Wool-tech first. Guess this project was just a wash. I have had no luck researching to find a solution to your problem. I did learn that many of the South American sheepskins are not washable. After reading about the tanning processes, they must use a method that strips the leather of its natural oils so that washing will result in a stiff hide. Does working the leather with your hands soften it at all? I am wondering at this point if a leather conditioner would be of any help? You could test in a small area. Again, I am sorry about your sheepskin. Thanks for trying. Maybe the Austrians taught the S. Americans. Well, live and learn. If I discover a solution, I'll post it. I bought a sheepskin from Egypt and tried to wash it like my other one, only to have it also end up stiff-as-a-board. Since it was already unusable, I decided to wash it again and try rubbing oil into the underside of the skin as it dried. So far, so good. I'm using purified coconut oil (I live in the United Arab Emirates and can't track down the oils they use for oil tanning), but you might try it with neatsfoot oil. I'm massaging the oil in twice a day (morning and night). Hope this helps! Leah *************is also a good option for both wool and whole skins. It has lanolin in it which should prevent the hides from stiffening. I've used it several times on sheepskins with very good results. I only use cold water, and i either put it in a bathtub and agitate it by hand, or take it to the big side-loading machine at the laundrymat. I wait until the weather is good for air drying, and i lay it flat so it doesn't dry stretched out weird. As for the ones that have been washed and dried stiff-as-a-board, I think that leahs method should work. I do braintanning with deer and sheepskins, and we always use an emulsified oil rather than just straight oil. Straight oil is used on regular leathers to make them waterproof, but i think most sheepskins are more like a chamois, and so the oil you add should be emulsified. I would recommend rewashing the stiff hide, and adding a solution of a half cup of oil (lanolin, or neatsfoot would be great, but you could potentially use olive or vegetable oils too...) well mixed with a half a bar of grated ivory soap. Grating it on the cheese grater will make it easier to dissolve. The skin should be wet enough that its very flexible and moist when you add the oil mix, and then worked in on the skin side. It will only work if it is stretched as it dries, until it is completely dry. the best way to tell if it is totally dry is to feel it, and if it is cool to the touch it is still evaporating water off- i.e. not dry yet. I've done this on raw hides, but never on a tanned, then stiff sheepskin... IT MAY NOT WORK, but it may help if you really value that stiff sheepskin and you want to try to fix it... Good Luck!
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