Removing dirt and sharpie from cotton quilted top of real shearling pad without using washing machine - ideas?

[hemitheconyxcaudicinctus]

So I got the find of a lifetime today at a tack sale and got a Dover shearling pad for 5$. It has a quilted cotton top and the underside is all sheepskin, so theoretically anything I use on the top could seep through to the sheepskin under layer. The white quilted top has a lot of dirt on it and someone wrote their name on a large surface area in somewhat faded sharpie.

Any ideas on how to remove this/tidy it up? My instinct is to use isopropyl alcohol to remove the sharpie but I’m not sure if that would just diffuse it and create a bigger stain. I don’t want to machine wash it because of the shearling.

Thank you!!

PS Tips and tricks for white cotton pads - also appreciated!

[Argo]

I’d try vacuuming it then a gentle cold wash cycle with a spoonful of Woolite. Then try the alcohol.

White cotton pads need hot water, Oxi and probably chlorine bleach. Throw everything you’ve got at them haha. I’ve seen people recommend Scotchguard to keep whites white. I’m going to try silicone waterproofing spray.

[Scribbler]

This is the problem with sheepskin pads. Anything that will clean the white cotton quilting wlll kill the actual sheepskin. That’s why you got it for $5.

[cbg]

I power wash all my saddle pads - including my sheepskin ones. It gets them super clean and doesn’t seem to kill the sheepskin (I’ve had some for years now and power wash them regularly).

[Scribbler]

I machine wash line dry my sheepskin pads using Melp. The fleece comes out awesome. The cotton padding stays grubby. Is life. The danger is drying out the skin backing of the sheepskin and making it crunchy. I did that to a very filthy sheepskin scatter mat and it became a cat tunnel until I tossed it eventually

[beowulf]

I once found a Christ sheepskin pad on consignment for something like $10 - same problem as you, it was dirty and had big black sharpie on it.

I ended up dyeing it. I figured I didn’t need it to be white, it was for schooling anyway, and I’m just the kind of OCD person that would be bothered by dirty white pads. So I found some sheepskin dye online, stuck it in a muck tub for a few days, and rinsed it out to dry. While I ordered black dye, it actually came in a very dark grey. The cotton side darkened substantially but the sheepskin itself looks light grey. The dye hid the sharpie and I ended up writing my last name in silver sharpie over it - it did a great job and I was pretty happy with the end result.

That was ten or so years ago at this point. I still use the pad semi regularly too. Like another poster, I wash it often. My method is hose off and then soak in a muck tub with sheepskin safe detergent. Rinse and let dry. It’s served me well so far, none of my sheepskin pads are suffering from this treatment to date and I’ve been doing it for probably close to two decades now.

[MadTrotter]

If I were you I would feel relieved that I had a real sheepskin to just use without being overly precious about it getting dingy-looking. I had a problem with using “nice” things in everyday situations until I had kids and learned about the ephemeral and futile nature of keeping things pristine

I do like the idea of dyeing your pad.

[mfglickman]

Im getting no bites selling a Mattes half pad on Facebook that has my last name in very pale sharpie (lavender maybe)on the spine. Wonder if that’s why…I’ve been surprised that it hasn’t sold, real sheepskin and all.

[luvmyhackney]

Since I’ve been buying/looking for sheepskin pads all week on Facebook ads, how have I not seen your ad? I need 2 more.

[LCDR]

I own a half dozen Mattes pads. Mattes recommends washing with MELP, and I have had good results with it over the last decade.

[endlessclimb]

Won’t your saddle go over it?

Then, who cares?

Or am I imagining a different type of pad?

[beowulf]

In my experience sharpie doesn’t impact resale value or buyer interest, but the condition and prices do. I’m at a local consignment shop fairly regularly and have a good feel for going rates here: a nice Mattes half pad doesn’t command much more than $70, with or without sharpie. If it’s a Medium or an odd size it doesn’t sell well either.

[Argo]

I have washed plain real sheepskins and several kinds of sheepskin-lined pads, girths and boots in a regular top loading washing machine using either Woolite or Tide Free and have had no issues. Air dry out of the sun and ‘flap’ them out to fluff back up. If they can survive getting soaked in horse sweat, they can take a wash.

[FLeventer]

This is exactly what I do with all my sheepskin goods. I have a sensitive flower and he gets sheepskin girth, sheepskin saddlepads against the skin (got some great deals on some Mattes saddle pads a few years ago) and breastplate fleece.