We have a fantastic purple sheepskin rug that is in need of a really good clean, (4 year old and kitten have seen to that) is it safe to machine wash it or do i have to get it dry cleaned?
NO, i didn't know any better and put my sheepskin rug in the washing machine and came out a total mess.
Because it is dyed purple dry-cleaning is the best cleaning technique to preserve the colour long term. You could wash the sheepskin with the correct sheepskin woolskin wash but some of the dye colour will run out in the rinse water. Salt is a natural dye fixative so I use salt in the final rinse water to reduce dye run. Don't use a normal woolwash, this is not suitable for the leather. A sheepskin carding brush is great to brush out knots before and after you wash a sheepskin rug to prevent matting.
No. The fur will turn into a lumpy, matted mess. Take it to a dry cleaners. They'll charge you about $20, but it will come back like new. I had a small sheepskin that I got for my dogs to lie on and, of course, they got it pretty stinky. I washed it in the washing machine and it came out all matted and tangled. I also had a larger sheepskin rug that I sent to a dry cleaners and it came back like new.
