It would seem that everyone loves sheepskin coats - elegant, warm and always fashionable fur coats and jackets, but these perfect winter wardrobe items still have a significant drawback. Even with the most careful handling, they quickly lose their original appearance, become greasy and become covered with unaesthetic stains. To keep your sheepskin coat always looking perfect, you have to clean it often. It’s quite expensive to take the item to the dry cleaner every time, so it makes sense to know how to clean a sheepskin coat at home.
How to clean a sheepskin coat: general recommendations
Before you start cleaning a sheepskin coat, you need to find out what material it is made of, since it is this factor that has a decisive influence on the choice of method and means for cleaning.
Natural sheepskin coats are made from fur velor - dressed sheep skin with a polished reverse side. The velvety leather surface of such material can remain pristine or have a laser coating. Today, there are various options for such coatings, but the most common of them are: crack, pull-up, Kansas, nappalan and silk. Sheepskin coats made from uncoated velor are often (and not entirely correctly) called suede. The appearance of a sheepskin coat with a laser coating is more similar to an ordinary husky or chevro.
Regardless of what type of velor your sheepskin coat is made of, you should never wash it! Water has a detrimental effect on fur and skin, so the maximum moisture that a natural sheepskin coat can withstand is a light wipe with a cloth soaked in soapy water, but even this is unacceptable for a suede item.
People's Councils
Almost every happy owner of a sheepskin coat has at least once wondered how to extend the life of a product and preserve its beauty for many years and what needs to be done so that it does not cost a hefty sum and does not have to give the item away every year, risking getting the wrong result. which you expect.
We all know that in almost every dry cleaner there is no guarantee for cleaning sheepskin coats, or dry cleaning of this product is completely prohibited; this problem can always be solved by cleaning the product yourself. Moreover, if the cleaning is unplanned, then for such cases there are well-known, simple ways to clean sheepskin coats at home, here are a few of them:
- To get rid of dry dirt, first clean the product with a brush with hard bristles, preferably a special rubber one, and then a softer one, which must first be moistened in a solution with soap.
- If you need to clean the product from dust, simply change the attachment on the vacuum cleaner to a softer one and use it.
- The areas of the sheepskin coat that are most susceptible to fraying can be cleaned with a mixture of tooth powder and a small amount of ammonia. Since tooth powder is rarely used these days, baby powder can be substituted.
- An ordinary stationery eraser or a crust of dry white bread will help you get rid of small stains.
- You can also get rid of dirty areas by mixing baking soda and milk, then applying this mixture to the product.
- Stubborn stains can be easily removed by a mixture of soap solution and ammonia. Treat the sheepskin coat with it, changing the rag frequently. Then, prepare the following mixture: add 5 g of borax, 20 g of glycerin and 20 g of ammonia to half a liter of water. Re-treat the sheepskin coat with this mixture.
- You can also deal with stains by rubbing half a bar of soap with a high glycerin content, then adding a little warm water, 5 g of boric acid and 50 g of ammonia. Rub the resulting mixture into contaminated areas, rinsing the sponge frequently.
- If you are confident in the quality of the color of the material, then even large grease stains can be removed without leaving a trace. To prevent discolored spots from appearing, it is recommended to first test this method on the wrong side of the sheepskin coat.
- Medium to low oil stains, such as those from dairy products or eggs, can be easily washed off with warm water. The main thing is not to let the stain dry on the clothes and wash it off before it gets into the product.
Remember that you should not use salt to remove stains; it is better to replace it with starch.
How to clean a natural sheepskin coat: instructions
- First, vacuum the item or go over it with a soft clothes brush. Try to remove dried dirt with a small stiff brush.
- To restore the velvety texture of suede, treat the laces on the sleeve cuffs and near the entrances to pockets with a white eraser, fine emery cloth or a special rubber brush designed for cleaning suede.
- Try to remove any fresh greasy stains found on a sheepskin coat using bread crumbs or starch. To do this, make a ball out of white crumb and roll it over the dirty area, or pour a spoonful of starch onto the stain, lightly rub it into the surface of the skin and brush it off after a quarter of an hour.
- Try removing old, difficult-to-remove grease stains with gasoline or purified kerosene. Soak a piece of canvas in one of the two solvents mentioned above and wipe the dirty area with it.
- Collect lint and threads stuck to the velvety surface of the velor with a piece of tape or a hard half of Velcro tape (commonly called “Velcro”).
- If the sheepskin coat is not very dirty and only needs to be slightly refreshed, wipe the suede with stale bread crusts and brush off the crumbs with a clothes brush.
- For deeper cleaning, use semolina. Cover the table with a sheet and place the sheepskin coat on it. Pour half a pack of semolina into a bowl and put on knitted gloves. One by one, sprinkle the grain onto the stains and lightly rub it into the surface of the suede. Shake off the semolina that has darkened with dirt from the product, and treat the entire sheepskin coat in the same way. After finishing cleaning, carefully beat out the sheepskin coat with a twig and go over it with a stiff brush.
Removing gloss on a suede sheepskin coat
The shiny elements of a suede sheepskin coat are those parts that have become worn during wear. As a rule, these are the sleeves of the product and areas near the pockets. In order to return the beautiful appearance of things, we need semolina. Yes, yes, semolina will help perfectly in this situation. This unusual method of getting rid of shine on a suede sheepskin coat guarantees the result:
- Lay out on a flat surface the part of the sheepskin coat that will be cleaned.
- Pour a small amount of dry semolina onto this part.
- Using the soft side of a dry sponge, rub the grain over the surface of the sheepskin coat.
The rather soft and delicate structure of the semolina allows it not to damage the suede skin and at the same time lifts it.
Try not to rub semolina too much into the seam of the product to maintain the thickness of the thread.
How to clean a coated sheepskin coat
Laser processing of sheepskin gives the velor surface a special texture. In order not to damage the thin laser coating, things made of such velor cannot be cleaned in any mechanical way (i.e., rub with semolina, sandpaper, a stiff brush or eraser).
- Wipe the dusty “laser” sheepskin coat with a damp flannel cloth and dry it on a hanger.
- Treat a heavily soiled item with a foam sponge soaked in a washing solution prepared from one teaspoon of neutral shampoo, half a teaspoon of ammonia and a glass of warm water. After this, wipe the sheepskin coat several times with a clean, damp sponge. Having finished cleaning your sheepskin coat at home, lay the item on a table covered with terry towels and wait for it to dry completely.
Methods for cleaning artificial products
Cleaning items made from synthetic materials is not difficult, so spending money on chemical treatment of such a sheepskin coat is not practical. It is necessary to consider how to clean an artificial sheepskin coat at home:
- Faux suede products are treated with salt, talc or starch, covering the stains and then cleaning with a brush.
- Artificial leather can be cleaned with a soap solution with the addition of ammonia. Please remember that excess moisture can damage the product, so you must carefully wipe off any remaining cleaning solution with a dry cloth.
How to clean a light sheepskin coat
To clean white or light-colored suede, milk or ammonia is usually used.
- Pour a glass of low-fat milk into a bowl and add a tablespoon of baking soda. Soak a cotton pad in the soda solution and wipe the dirty areas with it. Rinse off any remaining cleaning product with slightly vinegared water and blot the wet spot with a paper towel.
- Treat particularly stubborn dirty stains with an ammonia aqueous solution. Mix a spoon of ten percent ammonia with four tablespoons of water in a glass, soak a piece of gauze in the ammonia solution and wipe the most dirty areas with it. After finishing cleaning, neutralize the remaining ammonia with a weakly concentrated solution of table vinegar and dry the cleaned area with paper napkins.
Wet processing
When wet cleaning, they do not use water, but liquids that help get rid of contaminants: kerosene, ammonia, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide.
By soaking a piece of gauze in kerosene and treating a sheepskin coat with it, you can get rid of even very old stains.
Take 1 liter of water and 250 grams of ammonia. Soak a cloth in the solution and wipe the sheepskin coat with it. The napkin will become dirty during the process, so it needs to be rinsed or changed.
A mixture of ammonia and liquid soap is a potent remedy. It is necessary to treat the jacket with this mixture, and then rinse it with a vinegar solution: take 1 teaspoon of vinegar per 1 liter of water.
After wet processing, the product must dry. To do this, hang it on hangers and leave it until completely dry in a well-ventilated place.
How to clean the fur of a sheepskin coat
Fur that is dirty, has lost its shine, or has become yellowed over time can be cleaned and refreshed with bran, lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide.
- Turn the sheepskin coat inside out and lay it out on the table. Heat the wheat bran in a dry frying pan, scatter it over the surface of the sheepskin and rub it into the fur. Shake out the sheepskin coat, carefully beat it out with a thin stick, remove the remaining bran with a brush with stiff bristles.
- Squeeze the juice out of the lemon, soak a sponge in it and run it over the surface of the dull fur, then comb the sheepskin with a wide-tooth comb.
- Spray yellowed white sheepskin with a solution of pharmaceutical hydrogen peroxide from a spray bottle (a tablespoon of the drug in half a glass of water) and hang the sheepskin coat to dry.
Fur cleaning
How to clean fur on a sheepskin coat that has lost its original appearance - caked?
- The fur is moistened with water and straightened (combed) through the pile using a soft brush.
- Fur soaked in lemon juice will be significantly refreshed after combing.
- Hydrogen peroxide successfully fights (per 0.5 liters of water, 0.5 small spoons of peroxide) with yellowed fur. Using a napkin, cover the fur with the composition and wash it off after a few minutes.
- To combat the yellowness of the fur, baby powder or tooth powder is suitable, which is sprinkled on the dirty area for a while and removed with a brush.
- A mixture of wheat bran and sand is heated in a frying pan and rubbed into the fur surface using massaging actions. Remove with a rough brush.
- Dissolve animal shampoo in water until it foams, cover the fur with it for 3-5 minutes, then rinse off.
For information on how to wash a product, how to refresh a sheepskin coat using folk recipes and other cleaning methods, read our material “How to wash a sheepskin coat at home.”
Methods for cleaning natural sheepskin coats from stains
There are two methods for cleaning natural outerwear from large greasy stains:
- dry - bulk products are used;
- wet - water or solvents are used.
Suede and velor material of a sheepskin coat is easier to clean dry using a special brush or sponge.
For laser coating, a wet procedure is allowed. Genuine leather is treated to remove oily marks using two methods.
Washing by hand or machine is prohibited. Natural fabric does not withstand water. The sheepskin coat becomes deformed, becomes smaller in size, or, on the contrary, stretches. The surface becomes brittle, clothing is not suitable for wear.
Unnatural fibers can withstand wet washing: polyester, acrylic. When cleaning fabric, follow these rules:
- delicate machine mode;
- temperature 30°C;
- without spinning for sheepskin coats with oily areas;
- double rinse mode.
After washing is completed, wrap the item in a terry towel to absorb excess moisture. Drying natural items is done in a ventilated area. Do not use batteries, hair dryers or fireplaces.
According to the advice of professionals, the priority is a manual cleaning procedure without strong friction. Then the item will retain its original appearance.
What does anyone who undertakes cleaning a sheepskin coat at home need to know?
Availability of tools.
You need to have the right tools to make the process quick and very easy. You will need: a microfiber cloth (not for glass - soft), a soft brush that will not scratch or injure the suede, suede products (purchased in the hardware department of the supermarket) and spray bottles. In extreme cases, the brush can be replaced with a new soft sponge for washing dishes.
When using chemicals, read the instructions for use carefully!
Most of the products offered are sold in concentrated form, so they must be diluted following the instructions on the packaging of the product itself or the manual included in the packaging box. The diluted products are poured into spray bottles for further use.
Cleaning sheepskin coats occurs in several stages.
It must be remembered that the processing of such a large product as a sheepskin coat occurs gradually. The heaviest dirt, grease and other stubborn stains are removed first. This stage is wet cleaning of your product. After the item has dried, dry cleaning is performed. If you are not completely satisfied with the result, you should repeat the processes.
The sheepskin coat cannot be washed!
Do not under any circumstances try to remove stains from your suede clothing, even if the stains are very strong. Forget for a moment that you have a washing machine at home: you won’t need it. However, hand washing is also canceled.
Faux sheepskin coat
The following recommendations will help you clean a sheepskin coat at home made from non-natural material.
Dry
- Rub the greasy areas with a student's eraser, and remove any remaining gum with a brush.
- Talc and potato starch are suitable for combating greasy stains. The contamination is sprinkled with a thick layer of powder and left for 2-3 hours. Clean clothes by hand with a brush or vacuum cleaner.
- To clean stains and dirt, use dry baking soda or a crust of bread.
- The steam generator successfully removes dirt from artificial sheepskin coats, lifts the pile and refreshes the appearance. After the thermal procedure, walk over the surface with a rubber suede brush.
Wet method
- Cleaning with soapy water. Prepare warm water and whip a small amount of hair shampoo or washing gel into foam. Spread the sheepskin coat on the table. Use a damp microfiber cloth soaked in the solution to wipe the surface several times. Remove foam with a wet sponge and blot with a towel. Hang the product on a hanger to dry at room temperature.
- A soapy solution of laundry soap is suitable for cleaning. To do this, grate 50 g of soap and add 100 ml of water. After treating the surface, the product must be thoroughly rinsed off.
- A solution of ammonia (250 ml per 1 liter of water) will thoroughly clean the surface of accumulated dust and dirt. Finally, wipe with a damp, clean sponge and dry.
- Old and difficult to remove stains can be effectively removed with the following composition. Mix equal parts of ammonia and glycerin, add a teaspoon of borax and dilute the mixture with 0.5 liters of warm water. Moisten a gauze swab in the solution and wipe away the dirt, moving from the edge to the center. When finished, rinse with a damp microfiber cloth and hang to dry.
- It is recommended to bleach a light sheepskin coat made of artificial material with hydrogen peroxide. The substance is diluted with water in equal proportions. Moisten a soft sponge in the solution and wipe.
Effective household chemicals
You can also clean your sheepskin coat with special products that can be purchased at a household chemical store. The main condition is strict adherence to the instructions placed on the bottle or box of the purchased drug.
The line of drugs from the brands “Salamander” and “Dezamsh” have long been especially popular; in the same Amway chain you can find the effective remedy “Lok”.
Many owners of suede products speak well of a special cleaning foam, which effectively removes any dirt and is suitable for any color. There is also a special sanding cube that can quickly remove fresh stains on velor products.
Useful tips for caring for a sheepskin coat
- If the product is very wet, it should only be dried at room temperature. It is not recommended to hang a sheepskin coat to dry on a radiator or heater. Such drying will completely ruin the material, exacerbating folds and wrinkles on the product and ruining its overall appearance.
- Collect the remaining drops from the surface with a sponge and dry the product by combing it.
- To store a sheepskin coat, it is better to purchase a fabric cover, since plastic bags or bags allow air to pass through.
- Do not take risks and do not wash the product as usual.
- To prevent creases from forming, hang the sheepskin coat on hangers every time you take it off.
These simple tips will help keep your sheepskin coat looking attractive for as long as possible.
In order for each cleaning of your sheepskin coat to be as high quality as possible, we recommend that you save all tags and labels after purchasing the product, as well as the warranty card. Thanks to this, you will always know the material from which the sheepskin coat is made and what care it requires.
Useful tips
There are several basic rules for caring for a sheepskin coat, systematic adherence to which will ensure that the product is cleaned only in extreme cases.
Helpful Tips:
- Before putting the sheepskin coat into the closet for storage after the winter season, it must be cleaned with a dry brush.
- It is necessary to store the product in a closet that is not too crowded with things, on hangers, having previously packed it in a special case for storing winter things.
- Drying a wet sheepskin coat is done in the same way: on hangers, away from a radiator or other heat source.
- You can put a handkerchief or cotton pad in the pocket of your winter clothes, onto which a few drops of lavender oil are first applied. In this way you can protect a natural product from moths and other insects.
- If possible, avoid getting your sheepskin coat excessively wet in the rain or sleet. For this purpose, its surface must be systematically treated with water-repellent preparations.
- It is impossible to make faded places bright. The only way out is to buy special paint and, following the instructions, paint the faded surface.
- If a stain appears, you should try to clean it right away: dried and old stains are difficult to remove and require the use of special products. In addition, the worn place will immediately catch the eye.
- Suede sheepskin coats must be systematically cleaned with a special brush made of brass (hard bristles, rubber).
The following video contains more useful information on how to clean a sheepskin coat yourself and what means you can use to get rid of stains:
Washing a fur collar
When washing a fur collar, you should first find out what kind of fur it is - natural or artificial. This is usually indicated on the product label, which is why it is important to save all tags and labels after purchasing a sheepskin coat. If you do not have a label, you can determine the type of fur by looking at its base. If the base of the fur collar is wrinkled and stiff, then it is natural. The fabric base indicates that the fur is artificial. Once you have determined the material, we will figure out whether it is worth washing.
Washing natural fur using a washing machine is strictly prohibited. This is due to the fact that natural fur has a leather base, which has a natural certain set of special substances and fats that protect the skin from destruction and the fur from rash. Due to the action of chemically active substances, which are contained in absolutely all powders without exception, all the fats contained in the skin will be washed away. As a result, we will lose the beautiful appearance of the fur and the elasticity of the skin.
What to do in this case? We have a few tips that will help your product maintain its great appearance even without washing:
- First, take a pack of starch.
- Sprinkle the area with this powder.
- Then gently rub the fur in the same way as when hand washing, but without using water.
- The duration of the procedure is no more than 10 minutes.
- Shake off the starch. If powder residues are stuck in the fibers, simply brush them out with a natural bristle brush.
Methods for cleaning sheepskin coats at home
It is customary to distinguish two methods that allow you to clean a winter jacket made of tanned leather or artificial material. Which one to use depends on the characteristics of the material, as well as the degree of soiling of the clothing.
Wet cleaning of sheepskin coats
You can most effectively clean an item using water. The procedure is carried out using a soap solution and ammonia, shampoo or gasoline. In all cases, wet cleaning shows good results and helps get rid of even heavy dirt.
You can moisturize tanned leather, but in moderation
However, you need to keep in mind that you cannot get a tanned leather or suede jacket too wet when cleaning. It is recommended to use the wet method only in extreme cases and ensure that the material gets wet as little as possible. When interacting with water and especially when drying, outerwear can become deformed. Therefore, cleaning should be local and careful; the material should be kneaded with your hands during the process and during drying.
Dark product
To clean dark-colored natural sheepskin coats, you can use an aqueous solution of oxalic acid: 1 tablespoon of acid is diluted in a glass of water, 2 tablespoons are added to the solution. baking soda. The product is applied to the area that needs to be cleaned, rubbed lightly with a cloth, and then washed to remove any remaining chemical mixture with a foam sponge soaked in clean water.
You can try to clean old greasy stains on a dark sheepskin coat with gasoline (including for lighters) or purified kerosene. To do this, a small piece of canvas should be soaked in the substance and rubbed onto the stain.
In the store you can buy a special spray paint for dark suede sheepskin coats: just spray the product, and as the paint dries, the dirt will disappear.
As in the case of light-colored suede sheepskin coats, for dark colors cleaning with salt is unacceptable, because this substance is considered quite aggressive, capable of “corroding” the surface of the product and leaving behind a faded stain. You should not experiment with ammonia, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide - the reaction of dark material to these chemicals is unpredictable.
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Types of stains
To remove grease stains from the surface of a sheepskin coat yourself, you need to use gasoline.
This product is most effective for removing this type of contaminant. You need to take a small piece of coarse cloth, gently moisten it in gasoline and rub the stain. This method cannot be called universal, since it can only be used for cleaning sheepskin coats of dark colors.
If you need to remove greasy stains from a light sheepskin coat, then you need to take ammonia and tooth powder. Actions should be performed using a coarse brush. You need to take tooth powder and dilute it a little with ammonia, and then rub the product with a brush into the stained areas.
To remove a wine stain from the surface of a sheepskin coat, you need to quickly move on to cleaning. Old wine stains will no longer be able to be removed.
The wine stain should be sprinkled with starch or semolina. These substances perfectly absorb moisture, so they will help you quickly deal with stains. When semolina or starch absorbs the remaining wine, it is necessary to clean the contaminated areas using a dry brush.
If your favorite suede sheepskin coat has lost its attractive appearance over time, then you can use a combination of soda and milk. This tandem will allow you to clean the product from various types of contaminants, and will also perfectly clean the shiny surface and renew the old item.
Milk and soda will not affect the color or texture of the product. Before cleaning the sheepskin coat, you need to remove dust. To prepare the cleaning product, you will need 1 teaspoon of soda per 200 ml of warm milk. You need to take a cotton swab, carefully moisten it in the prepared product and lightly wipe the surface of the clothing. A contaminated swab must be replaced with a new one when cleaning the product. Next, the surface must be wiped with a sponge soaked in a vinegar solution. For one liter of water you need to add just one teaspoon of vinegar. After cleaning, the surface of the sheepskin coat should be wiped with a dry cloth and wait until it dries completely.
There are times when a sheepskin coat needs to be wiped off from the paste of a ballpoint pen. This often applies to men's sheepskin coats, since men often work in offices and are not always neat.
You can use dry Vanish. It is enough to sprinkle the powder on the stained areas, moisten them a little, and then gently rub with a foam sponge to remove all traces. After cleaning, any remaining product must be washed off with water.
Ballpoint pen stains can be easily removed with sandpaper. First you need to rub the dirty pile in a circular motion. Next, wipe the cleaned area with a swab well wrung out of water. The suede should not get very wet.
The following recipe is ideal for cleaning sheepskin coats from mold. You will need to take one teaspoon of acetic acid, one teaspoon of soda and liquid soap per 200 ml of water. You need to dissolve the soap in water, then add vinegar and soda. It is better to place the glass in the sink when creating the solution, since mixing all the ingredients is accompanied by strong foaming.
First, you need to test the solution inside on a small area to make sure that the dye adheres firmly to the material. If the paint cannot be removed, then use a sponge to go over the entire surface with the prepared solution. After cleaning, remove any remaining solution with clean water. After the procedure, the sheepskin coat must be thoroughly dried.