How to wash a sheepskin rug

A lot of people are put off sheepskin rugs because of a perceived difficulty in cleaning them. However, I've had mine for more than 15 years, and it gets washed at least once every year too. Before I go into how I clean my rug, it's important to keep your sheep as nice as possible the rest of the year. Give it regular shakes outdoors, and a good brushing every few months. And don't stamp around on it in your outdoor shoes! The less grubby you make it, the less cleaning it will need. Unfortunately, mine is right by the fireplace, so was looking horribly grey lately. Time it had a wash...


You will need 
A bathtub
Shampoo and hair conditioner
An outdoor area
A garden chair or other sturdy support
A very hot, dry day.

Put your sheepskin in the bath, skin-side down. Turn the taps on. I usually have the water hand-warm; as long as you don't over-agitate the rug you're unlikely to turn it into felt. Let the water get a few inches deep, enough to cover the fleece and let it drift about. The rug will probably float slightly.

Squirt a bit of shampoo over the rug and rub it gently in with long sweeps of your hand. You don't need to work up a mass of bubbles, and you don't want to felt your rug, you just want to get the detergent in to do its work. Don't be alarmed if your sheepskin looks darker than usual, this is normal when it's wet. My nice cream one always goes a manky yellow colour.

Push the rug down into the water to rinse the shampoo out. Drain the water from the tub – push the rug up the non-plug end and give it a gentle squish to get extra water and grot out. You'll probably notice particles of sand and dirt coming out.

Repeat the shampooing and rinsing if your rug is especially grubby.

Gently rub conditioner into the fleece.

Now pop the plug back in the tub and turn the taps on. Again, get the water a couple of inches deep and rinse off the conditioner.

Drain the water from the tub, and give your fleece a gentle squish. If you've started this early enough and the day is hot enough, leave the sheepskin in the bath to drain for a bit longer. Otherwise grab the sodden, heavy mass, and run (it'll drip horrendously!) outside to your waiting garden chair. Hang the rug over the back of the chair so it can drip harmlessly and dry in the direct sunshine. Later in the day you might want to turn the rug over so the sun can get at the skin side.

Your rug may look at bit ratty at this point. Don't worry about that. Leave it till it is completely dry, then give it a good brush with a wide-toothed brush so it becomes lovely and fluffy again. I promise, it will look brighter and cleaner, it'll smell nice... it'll be like getting a whole new rug.