Washing Sheepskin Half Pad

[devildogtigress]

I have a nice sheepskin halfpad that is due for a wash. I’m new to them, though, and am not sure how to do so.

That said, I’m a mother of 3 children. I cloth diapered my children all from birth through potty training because a) it was cheaper and b) it was SOOOOOO much better for them. One of my favorite types of covers that goes over the cloth diaper was wool. It naturally wicks away the moisture, and was much more breathable than the polyurithane options. I learned how quickly to handwash my covers using a specially designed wool wash. It’s a mixture of lanolin and detergents that are safe for use on wool (because hey, it can only be used over wet diapers so many times before it starts to smell like a wet sheep is in my arms LOL). I have a bunch left over (my youngest is going to be 4 next month, and has been potty trained for over a year), and was wondering if it’d be safe to use? It’s lanolin based so it won’t dry out the sheepskin fibers, but has a detergent in it to help safely clean them.

If so, do I need to handwash the halfpad in my tub? (I’m totally okay with doing that if it’s best).

[atlatl]

I washed my fleece pad with Melp in my front loader washer,then dried it on low heat. The only special thing needed was to brush out the fleece with a vent brush. It looks like new.

[ElementFarm]

I use Melp and the gentle/wool cycle. I air dry and then brush with a wire brush (you can get them cheap from the pet grooming section of your grocery store). They look virtually new.

[SuZQuzie]

I wash mine on delicate with sensitive skin detergent and just hang it dry. Looks awesome every time.

[TarheelJD]

[QUOTE=ElementFarm;6573214]
I use Melp and the gentle/wool cycle. I air dry and then brush with a wire brush (you can get them cheap from the pet grooming section of your grocery store). They look virtually new.[/QUOTE]

This is what I do with mine, and it has worked really well.

[Mukluk]

I washed mine with livestock shampoo (for sheep!)- air dryed. Turned out fine.

[hunterrider23]

I wash mine with melp on the gentle/wool cycle, let it dry, then put in the dryer to air fluff (NO HEAT!!!).

[Lori]

I used sheepskin full pads with my saddle.

I always air dry fleece up after riding. When dried you can take a brush like the small Beastie Brush (I have one just for the pads) and give it a light back and forth brush to take the dirt out, then vacuum.
For the most part, the above cleaning keeps it looking nice.

For washing I use woolite and a very mild cycle on the front load. The washer has a zillion miles an hour spin that takes out almost all of the water. I then air dry overnight.

[yellowbritches]

I like PePeDe better than Melp. Delicate or Wool cycle. Usually an extra spin cycle (in a front load). Run through the dryer on the air dry setting for half an hour or so, the dry flat.

[shadowanne]

I use almost capful of Pepede on quick cycle in a front loader in cold. I air dry it upside down over a chair on my back porche for some fresh drying time, but not in the sun. About 1/2 through the drying time, I run my hand quickly in a back and for waving motion through the fluffy part (which looks sad and stuck together). It instantly fluffs into normal look. Let it finish drying. Never had a problem - have done with Professional Choice, Mattes, & Fleeceworks sheepskins, blacks & whites.

[SarahandSam]

[QUOTE=shadowanne;6573434]
I use almost capful of Pepede on quick cycle in a front loader in cold. I air dry it upside down over a chair on my back porche for some fresh drying time, but not in the sun. About 1/2 through the drying time, I run my hand quickly in a back and for waving motion through the fluffy part (which looks sad and stuck together). It instantly fluffs into normal look. Let it finish drying. Never had a problem - have done with Professional Choice, Mattes, & Fleeceworks sheepskins, blacks & whites.[/QUOTE]

That’s exactly what I do too, though I haven’t used Pepede… I normally use the Leather Therapy or Melp and either has been fine. OP, your special wool detergent will be fine. (:

[devildogtigress]

[QUOTE=SarahandSam;6574027]
That’s exactly what I do too, though I haven’t used Pepede… I normally use the Leather Therapy or Melp and either has been fine. OP, your special wool detergent will be fine. (:[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this. After I read it, I washed it. The fleece part of the pad (the actual wool fibers) look fantastic, but the white fabric is still grey and dingy. I used about 2 tsp. of my wool wash, and added a half a cap of my homemade (so very gentle) laundry detergent). I was afraid to add more detergent for fear of damaging the fibers of the wool. Should I try again with more detergent this time? The wool wash is highly concentrated so I wouldn’t want to add more…but should I wash it again with more detergent? (FTR, my detergent is Fels-Naptha bar soap grated and melted, then mixed with 2 cups each Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, and Borax…so nothing harsh in it).

[Resilient]

I wash mine with Melp and hang it to dry.

[devildogtigress]

bumping for any additional help.

[BAC]

What additional help are you looking for? No need to hand wash, as everyone has already said, cold water, gentle cycle, front or top loading machine, special product made especially for sheepskin, air dry naturally or on “fluff” in the dryer, but no artificial heat. Its pretty simple, I have washed tons of sheepskin pads that way with no problems.

I didn’t quite get the connection between the cloth diapers and the sheepskin pads though.

[ALTERthepress]

Melp!

[BAC]

@devildogtigress;6575208

(FTR, my detergent is Fels-Naptha bar soap grated and melted, then mixed with 2 cups each Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, and Borax…so nothing harsh in it).

That’s the problem, nothing like a bunch of harsh chemicals to get something really clean. Sad but true. Doesn’t your saddle cover that part of the pad? My Mattes half pad has navy quilting, so I don’t have to worry about it looking grey and dingy.

[Anne_Luck]

Natural Sheepskin items are very easy to care for and when washed they can look like new again. This week I washed my double longwool sheepskin rug that I have beside our bed with Washsafe. I bought it from The Wool Company which are in the UK.
You don’t even need to add any detergent, but if you want to get all thebenefits from using one of the detergents, this can also work very well.

I even use a luxury sheepskin brush for it as im so happy with the product and im very happy to recommend them to you.[URL=“http://www.thewoolcompany.co.uk/”]http://www.thewoolcompany.co.uk/