Cleaning & Care

Wool and tannins are naturally anti-microbial, so to keep your hide feeling fresh, all that’s needed is shaking out often, or beating the wool (a broom is great!) to release dirt and debris. If you have a clothes dryer with a tumble-only setting, you can pop it in there to shake out debris. You can also spot clean as needed to get rid of stains or spills, with no worry about getting the leather wet.

When a real deep clean is needed, my hides are fully washable! However, some breeds of sheep have wool that felts very easily, so I do not recommend putting them through a regular wash cycle. I fill my washer (or bathtub) with warm water, add a little mild soap or detergent, turn the washer OFF, and then submerge the hide with as little agitation as possible. When the water has cooled, you can use the spin cycle to spin out extra water, then line dry somewhere with good airflow. That’s it!

Drying in full sun will not harm the hide, but sun exposure will darken the tannins just like any veg-tan leather. If you want to keep the very light pink color of the leather, always dry in the shade. If you need to brush out the wool to remove debris, spritzing the wool with diluted vinegar and then working it into the locks can help give back that natural wave look. Iron will react with tannins to create black spots, so avoid hanging over metal fences when wet.