Cow hides are best used in domestic home environments. You can use the rug in your home’s indoor entranceway but it will show wear more quickly. The sun takes its toll on all furnishings fabrics, we recommend keeping the dyed and printed hides out of direct sunlight to avoid any possible fading. We advise you not to put your hide in the washer, immerse it in water or have it dry cleaned. Remove solid messes or spills with a solid edged spatula or utensil and blot or wipe away the rest. You can wipe hides smoothly in the direction of the hair with a damp (but not wet) cloth with mild soap (non alkaline like shampoo) and water. Include your rug in your normal cleaning routine, simply vacuum or give rugs a shake outside to remove dust and small dry particles of dirt. Brushing with a hard plastic brush helps keep the hair soft and fluffy and helps remove dirt. Keep cowhides in a dry place especially after cleaning.

Reindeer hides should not be placed near extreme heat, in front of fire, conservatories, near a radiator or on floors with under floor heating. Please avoid stepping, sitting, or walking on the hide to prevent shedding, Do not allow animals to lie on your rug, they also love to dig out the hair. If you care and look after your rug it will last for many years always looking good, giving you great pleasure and satisfaction. Place the hide on the wall, use a standard vacuum cleaner but choose the lowest power. Vacuum it from head to feet gently, cleaning should be done approx once per year.

DUST MITES

Hang your rug or hide outside on a sunny day. Sun kills dust mites.

ALLERGY ADVICE

If you are worried about allergies I recommend Icelandic breeds of sheepskin. Due to the wool properties, people who are normally allergic to sheep wool are not allergic to the Icelandic variety. They are also lighter so much easier to shake.

SPILL ADVICE – LIQUIDS

As soon as you spill liquid on your rug BLOT the area immediately with kitchen paper or tissue. Absorb as much of the liquid as possible. Avoid the temptation to rub soap on it. Rubbing the stain will permanently alter the fibre composition. If necessary dap it with WATER or water with 2 drops of washing up liquid. When as much of the liquid as possible has been absorbed, sprinkle SALT on it. This will absorb the remaining liquid. Leave overnight then VACUUM using the nozzle part of the vacuum. This will fluff up the fibres instead of flattening them. If the liquid is potentially smelly (such as MILK) sprinkle some BICARBONATE OF SODA on it. This absorbs the smell. It is a myth that pouring white wine on a red wine stain will get rid of it. You just end up with two stains instead of one! If the stain is large and dark e.g. red wine/coffee take it to a professional cleaner within 24 hours. If they can work on it quickly they can remove the most stubborn of stains!

SPILL ADVICE/SOLID FOODS/MUD

This may sound unpleasant, but wait until the food or mud has dried up then simply brush it out. It is much easier to remove when dry. CHEWING GUM if you have a freezer big enough put it in. If not put a freeze pack on it. When the gum has frozen it is easy to peel off. We hope you have found this useful. Need any more advice please contact us