When it’s time for your cowhide rug to be cleaned, depending on the circumstances, there are several methods that you can use to both clean and protect your cowhide rug. For minimal cleaning, take your cowhide rug outdoors and give it a good shaking. You might even choose to hang it over a line and give it some swift licks with a broom handle as rugs were cleaned in the old days. This will rid your rug of loose dirt and debris.
Should your cowhide rug be the victim of spills such as wine, juice or coffee, you will need to immediately soak up the spill on the rug with dry towels. Choose a small area of the rug and perform a sample cleaning just to ensure that you aren’t going to cause any damage to the rug. After you’ve soaked up the spill, use warm water and a mild soap to clean the rug. Don’t saturate the rug with the soap and water keep your towel damp only. Clean with the grain, going against the grain is not a good method for the rug.
Once you’ve cleaned the rug with mild soap and water, use a dry towel to absorb the moisture from your cleaning solution. Let the rug dry naturally on its own but do try to keep traffic off of the rug until it is completely dry.
You will never want to use harsh chemicals to clean your cowhide rug, only a mild soap is recommended to use for cleaning the cowhide rug. No matter what the bottle on chemicals day, they are not going to be gentle enough to keep from damaging your rug.
You will also never want to place your cowhide rug in the washing machine or in the dryer. The hand cleaning method with a mild soap will provide the most protection to your rug. Once your rug has been cleaned and is dry, you can run the vacuum over the rug again vacuuming with the grain. Don’t leave your vacuum cleaner running in one spot on the rug for any amount of time. Constantly keep the vacuum moving across the rug. The heat that is generated from the constant turn of the beater bar on the vacuum can scorch or burn the rug if it is left in one place for too long.
With the proper care, your cowhide rug will look great and last you for a lifetime. For further information on any of City Cows products click here.