Cowhide rugs are a great natural solution for decorating the floors. Soft to touch and walk barefoot, cowhide rugs have delicate fibers which require special attention in cleaning. No matter if you have them placed in the high foot traffic area, or somewhere less busy, cowhide rugs need regular cleaning. In this post, I’ll tell you how to clean a cowhide rug in a few simple steps. Read on not to miss anything.
Just like other leather goods, cowhide rugs need delicate cleaning, but this shouldn’t scare you off if you plan to buy one. The cleaning process is demanding, but pretty manageable.
Regular Cowhide Rug Cleaning
If you want your cowhide rug to look tidy and last longer, it has to be regularly cleaned. Regular cleaning will help to prolong its lifespan and save you from unnecessary costs of professional rug cleaning. There are a few methods to maintain a fresh appearance of the rug.
1. Vacuum cleaning
This will help to prevent the dust and residue from building up on the rug. How to vacuum a cowhide rug? Easily! Regular cleaning should become a part of a maintenance routine. You should clean it just like any other rug, with a little difference. This is important: you should vacuum in the direction of the fibers.
Vacuuming a cowhide rug, you can also use the hose attachments to help you do the work. However, don’t set the cleaner for the maximum suction power. Otherwise, the fibers may get creased. Use the non-spinning brushes, for the same reason.
2. Brushing
Regular brushing is good for all the rugs. Brush your cowhide rug to keep it clean from the dust and dirt. Brushing will also help you manually remove all the dust that the vacuum has missed. Use a soft brush, with plastic bristles. Same as with the vacuum cleaning, brush the rug in the direction of the hairs, not against it.
3. Give it a shake-off
Shake the rug at least once a month to loosen the dirt and particles trapped in the fibers. Take it outside and use a stick of a rug beater. If you have to beat the rug, do it only on the backside. Shaking a cowhide rug should be done delicately.
4. Rotate cowhide rug regularly
Rugs tend to have uneven wear and tear. If you keep it in the same position and the same place for a long time, it may even fade out because of the sun’s rays. If you want to avoid having an uneven rug, rotate it from time to time, to have equal wear on all the sides.
5. Keep it dry
Cowhide rugs don’t like the water. Try to avoid getting it wet or using water for cleaning. If it still happened, and some water got spilled, dry it as fast as you can. Air-dry the rug, or place it in the sun to speed up the process. What not to do: never use a drying machine to dry the cowhide rug. Period.
Remove Stains from the Cowhide Rug
Even if you do the regular rug cleaning, sometimes misfortunes happen. Coffee, wine, or other substance may be spilled on the cowhide rug, and you may need to take fast action to get rid of it. Below, I’ve listed tips to remove the most common stains.
Coffee, Wine, Juice, Tea, and Other Liquids
First, start with blotting up the area with a soft sponge or a clean towel. If something solid like cake fell on the rug, scrape it with a knife.
Take a damp cloth (not completely wet) and rub it over the affected area. Be very gentle. Go in the direction of hair growth.
Blot the rug with a cleaning solution: 1 tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with 1 cup of water. This should help to remove all the common types of stains.
If the stain persists, try to blot it with the baby shampoo. Rub it gently into the stain with a soft brush, and then blot the rug with a clean cloth.
Pet Urine Stains
Cowhide is one of the most pet-friendly rug options you can choose. Yet, incidents happen, and sometimes our lovely pet friend may leave smelly marks on the cowhide rug. You may wonder is it possible to remove the green stains from the cowhide rug, or should you call it quits? This is absolutely possible.
First of all, take a dry towel and blot the urine remains from the rug. The sooner you do it – the better. For the next step, you will need a pet stain remover that contains enzymes.
Blot with a towel on the stain in the direction of the hairs.
Bonus cleaning tip. It uses only regular household products but is nevertheless effective for urine smell removal.
You will need: water, baking soda, white vinegar, a sponge, a vacuum cleaner, and a kitchen knife.
- To prepare the solution mix 2 cups of water and one tablespoon of vinegar.
- Dampen the sponge in this solution and apply it to the affected area on the rug.
- Leave the rug to air dry. If you can, take it outside to dry in the sun.
- Pour some baking soda onto the stain and leave it on the rug for about 24 hours.
- After the time has passed vacuum clean the rug removing baking soda.
- Use a knife or a carpet brush, and scrape the cleaned area to make the rug fluffy again.
FAQs on Cleaning a Cowhide Rug
I’ve collected the most common questions you may face when looking at how to clean a cowhide rug. Hope this helps.
Can you vacuum a cowhide rug?
Yes, absolutely. Giving your cowhide rug regular vacuuming is recommended. Use a brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner to make this process more effective.
Vacuum clean the cowhide rug in the direction of the hairs. If you’re wondering how often you should vacuum them, well, once a week is usually enough. When vacuuming, use the lowest power setting, so as not to stretch out the hairs. Start vacuuming from the center of the rug, and move slowly to the edges.
After the vacuum cleaning is done, brush your cowhide rug with a plastic brush to remove whatever dirt you missed.
How to get wrinkles out of a cowhide rug?
When buying a cowhide rug, you should ask the supplier how the rug was stored. Ideally, it should be stored flat. However, to save storage space many suppliers store all the rugs folded. Think twice before buying it cowhide rug that was folded. I’ll tell you why – wrinkles on the cowhide are extremely hard to remove, almost impossible. So it’s better to prevent the problem than deal with the consequences.
But what to do if you have received a rug that has wrinkles and return is not an option? There are some secrets that will help you to make the rug flatter, and if you’re lucky, you will completely get rid of those wrinkles.
- First of all, place your cowhide rug on the floor and don’t move it for a few weeks, the wrinkles may go away naturally.
- If they didn’t, put something heavy on the wrinkle, for example, a pile of books or clothing. Leave them there for a few days.
- If this still hasn’t helped and you have large wrinkles on the rug, you may try to iron it. To do this, take a wet towel and put it on the backside of the rug. Iron using a wool setting on the iron. Don’t press too hard.
Like with all the methods, test this solution on the less visible area first.
Recommended reading that may help you understand how to get rid of the wrinkles: how to flatten a rug.
How durable is a cowhide rug?
A common myth says that cowhide rugs are very delicate and don’t last long. However, like all the other leather products, cowhide rugs are extremely durable. With proper care, they will last for many years, even decades. They don’t break easily, withstand heavy tear and wear, and are difficult to cut. Al long as you don’t put them in a very busy area, cowhide rugs will serve you well.
How to store a cowhide rug?
As I’ve mentioned before, cowhide rug storing is a very important process. You shouldn’t take it lightly. If you need to store the rug away for some time, the best option would be to roll it first. Folding the cowhide rug is a big no-no. After rolling the rug, put it in a dark and cold place, away from direct sunlight. Ideally, put it in a box, which will protect the rug from catching any dirt. The box, however, shouldn’t be plastic. Plastic can damage the rug, cowhide needs to breathe when being stored.
Can cowhide rugs cause allergy?
Absolutely not. Cowhide rugs do not contain allergens, and they are suitable for people with allergies. Cowhide rugs do not irritate the skin. Natural cow skin does not collect a lot of dust and pollen. When the allergen season comes, it will be very easy to just wipe out the dust from the cow skin, and give it a gentle shake-off. You can also just vacuum clean it, that will be enough to remove all the allergens.
Can you dry clean a cowhide rug?
As much as you may be tempted to use the dry-cleaning with chemicals, cowhide rugs won’t forgive such treatment. This cleaning method is prohibited because cowhide rugs don’t tolerate aggressive chemicals.
Can you wet a cowhide rug?
If you want to keep your cowhide rug in its original shape, don’t wet it! A dry towel can help remove as much water as possible from your cowhide rug if water is spilled on it.
To ensure that the rug stays in its natural shape, you may need to reshape it by pulling gently while it dries.
Does a cowhide rug have a strong smell?
With its velvety fur, the cowhide rug will be a pleasure to walk barefoot on. It looks beautiful and has a natural smell. While the cowhide rug may have a leather scent, it will disappear with time after the rug has been cleaned and handled correctly, as with other authentic leather items.
Keeping your windows open or hanging your cowhide outside (not in direct sunlight) helps freshen the smell should you find it too strong.
Can you steam clean the cowhide rug?
Cowhide rugs may also be cleaned using steam, which is a popular cleaning technique. There’s nothing to worry about when it comes to using a steam cleaner as your preferred technique of cleanup.
Before using your steam cleaner, vacuum the rug to eliminate any residual dust. Make sure your steam cleaner has warmed up to the ideal temperature before using it on the rug.
While steam cleaning, pay great attention to the process. Make sure you move in the direction of the cowhide rug fibers. In order to avoid over-cleaning a single area, it is important to keep the vacuum cleaner constantly moving.
During this procedure, the rug should be dampened. To avoid water damage, do not oversaturate the rug.
How to Make Cowhide Rug Last Longer?
A cowhide rug will serve you well for many years if you follow the care recommendations listed below.
- If the rug is dirty, clean it as soon as possible. To clean dirt, use a white, soft, absorbent cloth, warm water, and chemical-free solutions. Do not let dirt sit in for a long time.
- Use special rug shampoos to clean carpets. Rub the hair gently. Do not brush with water or leave the rug wet.
- Do not use strong detergents, chemicals, and bleaches for cleaning the cowhide rugs.
- Hard parts of furniture (like chair wheels, legs, etc.) may leave marks on the rug, that you won’t be able to remove. To prevent this, put a soft backing on these legs and do not leave such items standing on the rug for a long time. If possible, avoid placing any furniture on the cowhide rugs.
- When not in use, store the rugs rolled up in a dry place, or flat.
- Use professional cleaning services to deal with difficult problems (stains you cannot remove yourself).
- Do not use washing vacuum cleaners.
- It is not recommended to use cowhide rugs in homes with pets.
- It is not recommended to place cowhide rugs in damp rooms, as well as on heated floors and near a fireplace/radiator.
Conclusion
Cowhide rugs have many pros and cons. They are luxurious decorative elements that are timeless and fashionable. They will always be the perfect addition to any home and will fit into any interior. As a decorative element, cowhide rugs will always be one of the most amazing ways to decorate your home or office. All rugs are different, and therefore each one is exclusive. As you see, cleaning the cowhide rugs is an easy process if you take regular care of them, and use the appropriate cleaning methods. With proper use and care, cowhide rugs can serve for up to 10 years without losing their beauty and shine.