There is a lot of bloggers out there that share their knowledge on how to look after and clean your sheepskin, but I am sorry to tell you NOT EVERY SHEEPSKIN IS THE SAME….So before you start trying to do anything to it,  please identify your type of sheepskin as the incorrect care can permanently damage your product. I would highly recommend you go back to where you purchased your sheepskin rug from and ask for the correct care instructions. There are many different sheepskin textures available on the market and they all feature their own individuality and characteristics. The sheepskins tanning process also effects the care of your sheepskin. At eluxury home, our sheepskins are eco-tanned resulting in safer tanning practices that are healthier and safer to humans and the environment. Unlike toxic-chemically treated sheepskins, our sheepskins require a little more care but instead offer a healthier living option with more beautiful and softer wools and skins.

In this article, I will be focusing on a merino sheepskin. Merino sheepskin have an extremely thick and dense wool coat – It actually has the thickest wool per cm2 than any other sheep breed making it super plush under the foot. It features a velvet like wool pile ranging from 5 to 8cm in length. Also known as the Australian Sheepskin, lets take a closer look on how to look after this Australian beauty.

1. Sheepskin must be kept away from Direct Sunlight

UV sunlight is harsh and over a period of time it will even change the hardiest of products such as timber and house paint. So it is vitally important if you wish to preserve that wool fibres of your sheepskin, do not have direct sunlight beaming against your rug, even through your windows.  Most of the time, a merino sheepskin will be dyed into a gorgeous fashion colour (excluding natural white). At mentioned above because our sheepskins are eco-tanned, the colours dying our merino sheepskins are non-toxic and therefore are not colour-fast and will fade if exposed to direct sunlight.

2. Vacuum on Medium Setting

I highly recommend vacuuming your rug on a regular basis, this will minimise soiling and build of dust. I use my standard carpet attachment and vacuum like any floor rug, but I keep away from the edges as you do not want the suction to tear and separate the sheepskin stitch joins. If vacuuming around the edges place your vacuum on a low setting, remove your carpet attachment and vacuum  sheepskin with the vacuum head.

3. Use a Wired Pet Brush

If you use your merino rug often it may start look a little unrefined and scruffy. This is an easy fix. A simple wired pet brush will smooth out the woollen fibres in your rug. You do not need anything to expensive. A wired pet brush also assists in catching loose wool fibres that are still trapped in the sheepskin from its production process.

Q. Does a merino sheepskin shed?

A: This is a very common question that we get and the simple answer is no. Wool does not shed like fur. Wool’s molecular structure is different  but there may be loose wool fibres trapped from production that may appear as shedding but actually it is not. The best way to fix this is by using a wired pet brush, as discussed above vacuuming and our favourite technique that we use after production is the  garden blower. This will not only blow out loose fibres but will also blow out the dust and bring the air back into the wool and make it look fluffy again. (We will discuss more about this further down the page.)

4. Shake Your Sheepskin Outside

If your sheepskin is not large to carry, take it outside and give it a good shake. Again be careful not to pull or put pressure at the stitch seams so the sheepskins do not tear from the weight of the rug. An average merino sheepskin weighs about 1.5kg so these rugs get pretty heavy, the larger they become. The old broom stick trick is a great idea also, hitting the wool with broom stick to release trapped dust. Remember to do this in shaded area away from direct sunlight.  By shaking your sheepskin rug it allows air to flow back through the fibres to fluff up the wool pile.

5.Use a Garden Blower

At ELuxury we love using the garden blower treatment for our Australian sheepskin rugs.