Cleaning sheepskin

EJ

Hi All,

I have recently bought a long 70's leather coat with a sheeps skin collar and have no idea how to clean it other than dry cleaning.

The problem is that i took it to the dry cleaners and they said that firstly it would cost £38 and secondly, as there no labels in it, it may crack the leather. It smells a bit musty, especially the woolly collar bit and i was wondering if u guys know any ways of cleaning it?

I love this coat and am desperate to wear it but I dont want to stink of old mustyness either!

Any help would be most gratefully received!

Cheers!

EJ

Sarahsaver

My mum had a sheepskin coat when i was a kid, and she had a kind of 'rubber' that cleaned marks off it, it was a very dense sponge. It will smell as it is the flesh of an animal, and although it will have been treated (tanned) years ago it will whiff naturally. Try waitrose's own brand of febreeze type stuff as it smells really nice, and even stopped my front room smelling of wee when my son decided to take a leak in there. If you have an old fashioned shoe repairers near you go to them for advice (this was my dads job when i was little) They will know more about leather than a chain of dry cleaners. Or else try an independent dry cleaner. Dont use water if you clean it yourself as this will make it dry out and crack.
Maybe try an antibacterial spray on the inside to kill of anything which may be lurking and causing a smell.
Hang the coat outdoors on a clear day, but make sure you are going to be in just in case it does rain.Hope to help, I will post again if i think of anything else.
Oh yes, if its one of those afghan coats then theres probably nothing you can do and it will stink to kigh heaven. Maybe thats why hippies wore patchouli oil ;D

Sarahsaver

oh yes baby wipes!
i clean my leather sofa with them!

EJ

Hi again, Thanks Ssaver for your tips .. I'll def try out the baby wipes on the leather(in a hidden area first though!).

Does anyone know how to clean the collar bit .. it's actually woolly so its the skin with the wool still on it .. any idea how to clean it? It does wiff a bit!

Cheers
EJ

Will69_2

Hi all, my first thread so be gentle! I have two sheepskin coats that have become marked. They were living happily in a wardrobe inside dry-cleaning type bags. They now have stiff, dark marks where the plastic was touching. Are they beyond repair, or is there a nice, old-fashioned tip to get them looking tidy again? If I posted in the wrong place, I apologise, feel free to move it. Nice site, look forward to trawling through it all!

comping_cat

Hello, and welcome to old style!!!! Not sure if this will work, as its a remedy to remove sheepskin odour, but you could try washing with soapy water (soap, not detergent), rinse twice in warm water. You can add 1 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil in the second rinse.

Will69_2

Thanks for the quick reply Cat, I never knew you could use soap on sheepskin to be honest, shows how much I know! I suppose as there's two jackets, I could try it out on just the one first. I'll keep you posted, thank you!

Thistle-down

Not sure if this would work for you but when my suede chaps and 1/2 chaps used to get mucky with dirt and horse sweat I would put them in the washer on the gentle / wool cycle with woolite. They always came out looking like new! You shouldn't put them in the drier though - they will shrink!

~Lynn

Toxic_Lemon

I've got a new skeepskin jacket with a 'mystery' stain on the front. It maybe jam? Not sure. Also, there's a straight line mark on the collar - the wooly part. Does anyone have any knowledge of the best product to use to try to get these marks out, rather than spending a fortune at the specialist dry cleaner?

organic_wanabe

I asked my husband (a chemist) and he suggested pure, colourless, methylated spirit or a high alcoholic vodka (tested first on a bit that wont be seen, of course). Good luck, there's nothing worse. Hope it wasn't a Christmas pressie.

Toxic_Lemon

Thanks, OW.

Is the vodka to be used on both the smooth skin side and the fluffy side?

It was a Xmas pressie to myself. I got it off Ebay. I clearly have different standards to the seller who described it as 'New, without tags' and 'beautiful'. :rolleyes: