Sheepskin Rug Cleaning?

[lvshrs]

I wasn't sure if this would be the right place for this but here it goes....

I was given a sheepskin rug...looks like it was made from 4 hides and it really needs help. The wool/hair is matted and packed down in several places and is dirty....some places worse that others.

I have hung it up and beat alot of the loose dirt out of it so now what? Can I wash it? With what? By hand? What about the suede side? Can I use my dog's slicker brush to help remove some of the mats?

[MullersLaneFarm]

Dunno for certain. Was it commercially tanned? You may need to contact someone that tans hair-on sheep for procedure to clean it.

I have a couple fleece woven wool rugs (from wool locks) that I soak in the tub and air dry. These aren't tanned rugs though.

[lvshrs]

Looks like a pro job to me.

I spoke to a guy last night who makes hair on chaps and he told me that I would need to have it dry cleaned or I can buy some shampoo called Cloud 9 and a conditioner called Fleece Fluff so I guess I'll call and see how much it costs to get it dry cleaned or hunt for the stuff to do it myself...we'll see how it goes.

[MullersLaneFarm]

I'd be afraid the chemicals in dry cleaning would damage the fiber ....

[jassytoo]

I use people shampoo on my woven wool rugs and it works fine. Can't see why it wouldn't work on sheepskin. What kind of backing is on the rug? If its colored, make sure the color won't run.

[lvshrs]

It's 4 skins sewn together with the leather suede as the bottom(no backing) and the shaggy wool top. (The Original Shag Carpet )

As for the dry cleaning..I don't like the chemicals either so I'll probably look for the "shampoo" and "conditioner" I was told about. The conditioner is supposed to help keep the leather soft and supple...That's my main concern..that and the mats. Right now it looks kind of like a great pyrness that hasn't seen a brush in a while.

[Maura]

Try brushing it before washing it. Get out the heavy stuff and comb out the mats.

[Pony]

We have one of those, and it's now Buster's bed.

When it gets gamey, I take it to the laundrymat and put it into one of the sooper dooper washers. I use gentle liquid soap.

I pop it into the big ol' commercial dryer to get it really hot and take out most of the wet; then I bring it home to finish drying by air.

We've had it a good 4 or 5 years now, and it's still in pretty good shape.

Buster likes it.

Pony!

[beorning]

Folks used to clean rugs by beating them with snow. I don't guess that's much help in Texas...