How to clean a cowhide rug
A cowhide rug is close to the lowest maintenance floor covering you can own. The hair lies flat and in one direction, so dirt tends to sit on the surface rather than working its way in, and there is no pile to crush or matt. Most cowhides need nothing more than a shake and an occasional wipe.
The one thing they do not tolerate is water. Everything below follows from that.
Everyday care
Shake the rug out or take it outside and beat it. Because the hair is short and smooth, most of what lands on a cowhide comes straight back off.
To vacuum, use a smooth floor attachment and run it in the direction the hair grows, which you can feel by stroking it with your palm. Never use a beater bar or a rotating brush head, and never go against the grain, because both will loosen the hair.
A stiff broom works just as well and is gentler. Sweep with the grain, not across it.
Spot cleaning
Move quickly. On a cowhide, spills sit on the surface for a while before they soak in, which gives you a real window to fix things.
- Blot the liquid up with a dry cloth or a paper towel. Press, do not scrub.
- Wipe with a barely damp cloth, using cool water and a drop of mild soap if needed. Wrung out well, so the cloth is damp rather than wet.
- Always wipe in the direction of the hair. Going against it lifts and roughens the finish.
- Blot dry immediately with a clean towel and let it air dry flat.
For anything solid, let it dry first and then scrape it off with a blunt edge. Wet mud smears; dry mud lifts away cleanly.
Grease and oil
This is the one stain worth treating differently. Cover the mark with cornstarch, talcum powder or baking soda, leave it for several hours or overnight, then brush it off with a soft brush. The powder draws the oil out of the hair. Repeat if the mark is still visible, and only then try a damp cloth.
What not to do
- Do not machine wash a cowhide, ever. The drum will destroy the hide and the hair.
- Do not soak it or hose it down. Water gets behind the hair, the hide swells, and it dries hard and curled.
- Do not use a steam cleaner. Heat and moisture together are the worst combination for tanned hide.
- Do not use bleach, solvents or harsh chemicals. They will strip the finish and can lift the color.
- Do not dry it in the sun or on a radiator. Direct heat makes the hide brittle and fades the markings unevenly.
Keeping the rug flat
New hides sometimes curl slightly at the edges, particularly if they have been rolled for shipping. Lay the rug out and leave it; the weight of the hide usually settles it within a week or two. If a corner is stubborn, put something heavy and flat on it overnight.
A rug underlay helps in two ways. It stops the hide sliding on a hard floor, and it keeps the edges from lifting where people walk.
Where to put a cowhide, and where not to
Cowhide handles traffic well, which is why it works in hallways, under dining tables and in living rooms. It does not belong in a bathroom, a mud room, or anywhere it will regularly get wet.
Rotate the rug every few months if it sits in strong daylight, the same way you would with any natural material. Hides vary in shade and marking from one to the next, and uneven fading on a rug you like is an avoidable annoyance.
Professional cleaning
Once every few years, or after something has genuinely soaked in, take the hide to a leather cleaning specialist rather than a standard carpet cleaner. Carpet cleaning almost always involves hot water extraction, which is exactly what a cowhide cannot take.
One last thing about real hides
Every hide in our cowhide collection is a real skin, so shading, markings and size vary from one to the next and small natural marks are part of the material rather than a fault. Looked after the way described above, a good hide will outlast most of the furniture in the room.
If you have a stain you are unsure about, send us a photo before you try anything on it.