How do you wash a sheepskin rug?

[ooosabeauta]

Sorry if this has been done before, but I need to wash my ds's small sheepskin rug. It's very fluffy like an angora cat and I don't know how to clean it. Any tips much appreciated!

My kids used to have trimmed fleeces to sleep on (pre back-to-sleep ) & I washed those in the machine on a wool cycle with eg woolite - oh, & added a small amount of glycerine, as advised by suppliers, to keep the skin flexible.

Best to do it on a warm blowy day (usually get a couple of those in Sept) so you can line dry it.

i shove mine in the machine in a pillow case, using a liquid detergent and the wool wash setting.

mine is a natural rug straight off the sheeps back so has no chemicals to soften up the wool and make it fluffy.

what does it say on the back of the rug?

Ooh, excellent thank you both.

I was hoping there might be some machineable way of washing it like you have suggested. The back of the rug says handwash or dry-clean, but I was hoping to avoid dry-cleaning and handwashing never seems to get things quite as clean, and would take forever to dry with weather like we're having.

Can I ask where you get glycerine from?

Thanks again.

I think you can get it from eg Boots. But my last baby is 17 now so I can't quite remember!

(Glycerine is also used in making royal icing or something so you might get it a baking kind of shop. I will google )

\link{http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Glycerin-B.P-200ml_852418/?CAWELAID=336746355&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Engines--Google%20Base----_-Boots%20Glycerin%20BP%20%20200ml\200ml bottles from Boots}

They sell it as a sore throat remedy or something but you can still use it on your fleece

You might have to ask for it though & even stamp your foot.

I'm prepared to stamp my foot

Thank you ever so much Ponders. I'll get in there tomorrow and get washing. Sad that I'm actually quite excited by this!

If you add about 1 tbs instead of fabric conditioner in the final rinse that should do it.

Have fun (I get sadly excited by things like this too )

Brill, thanks, I can try that too. Impressed by your knowledge on this. Tomorrow's going to be an exciting day, by all accounts...