So you’ve bought a natural cowhide rug and spent some lovely weeks with it being a centerpiece of your home. Now it’s obviously a bit less clean than it was from the store! How exactly should you clean a natural cowhide rug not to damage it in the process?
Why You Can’t Just Put Your Cowhide Rug In a Washing Machine
When it comes to cleaning your new cowhide rug you can not simply put them in a washing machine as this will then turn its natural oils into permanent stains. To prevent this you should always use a vacuum cleaner that has a 30-40 degree water temperature, then vacuum the finish and fibers of the cowhide rug.
Remember that the cowhide rug which is made of pure organic materials cannot be cleaned with any chemical cleaning agents, but only with water and dry-cleaning products.
How to Clean Your Hide Rug Less Frequently
Instead of wasting time on frequent full-size cleaning, why not adjust your usage of the rug to put less effort into cleaning it later?
The best way to keep your new natural cowhide rug looking good is to clean it after 1 or 2 weeks rather than after a full year. This will not only keep the layers and fibers of the cowhide rug fresher longer, but also will prevent stains from becoming permanent.
This also means that you should vacuum less frequently, since vacuuming every few weeks will be enough for you to protect your new natural cowhide rug. You also should not put it somewhere where people will walk over it in their shoes.
How to Maintain Your Cowhide Rug for 10 years
Because of the relatively small thickness of the cowhide rug, it can easily be matted up from all sides if it receives a lot of pressure from life. To prevent that, always use some care and make sure to keep it in a good condition.
To avoid the matting up, you should vacuum your new natural cowhide rug after each use (as above). If you want to maintain your cowhide rug try to clean it with a damp brush, not with a dry brush.
Damp brush also removes all traces of dirt and oils from the natural cowhide rug making it look nice for many years. But make sure that you use a non-abrasive soft brush if your natural cowhide rug is a suede one or only slightly damaged.
Cowhide Cleaning Step By Step
Now — here’s a step-by-step instruction that will save you a lot of nerve cells when the time of cleaning will come:
- Vacuum your cowhide rug;
- If you want to keep the finish fresh you should use a non-abrasive vacuum cleaner with at least water and dry 30-40 degrees Celsius, but not too much pressure (this will cause damage to the rug);
- If your natural cowhide rug is suede you can use a soft brush, but be aware of all possible damages from this (also to the suede);
- Vacuum the layers and fibers of the cowhide rug again after each use (for example: after 1 week);
- If your natural cowhide rug is suede you can use a soft brush, but be aware of all possible damages from this (also to the suede);
- Always use a vacuum cleaner without chemical cleaning agents and only with water and dry-cleaning products;
- If you want you can use a mix of water and vinegar with the vacuum cleaner to clean your cowhide rug;
- For any kind of additional stains which are not easy to wipe out, you should try to soak them up with an absorbent paper towel.
And again: do not use detergents or chemicals!
The Final Word
Obviously the above information might change depending on the exact kind of leather and size of your cowhide rug. Remember that they are very sensitive to air, water and other natural elements.
Always try to keep your cowhide rug away from any big pressure or spills and it will last for many, many years!