How do you keep sheepkin numnahs soft - mines gone crunchy?

[louiseallen]

As previously mentioned I have a small chestnut TB that has paper thin skin....and needs to be wrapped in sheepskin, girth sleeves, half pads, full numnahs, half numnahs you name it we have it. And it works. I get bitten less girthing up, he survives a days hunting with no rub marks or sores and can manage a whole day of dressage without falling apart...I leave them to dry, brush very well before use and wash infrequently

I have always washed as wool, used proper mattes or stephen or nuumed stuff and dried slowly over a chair in the Kitchen away from the aga....the non 'skin' backed ones are fine, brush up fluffy with a terrier brush and go on for another day.

The proper sheepskin/lambskin ones have now lost their flexibility - the 'skin' backing has gone crunchy... has anyone got any good ideas how to stop or solve this problem...it's going to start costing me a fortune to replace them all....

 

[MagicMelon]

Hmm... maybe it depends on the make? As I have a Bartyl sheepskin saddlecloth which is gorgeous and has remained so. I wash mine in a bath with warm water and white vinegar added (and a little hand wash and fabric conditioner!). Hot water and vinegar brings my sheepskin lined fetlock boots up a treat too.

 

[kerilli]

i think i'd soak them really well in fabric conditioner and then rinse a million times. try it on something small first, obviously!

 

[TigerLilly]

I rub cheap hair conditioner on before you put it in the washing machine comes out lovely and soft

 

[monica987]

We asked about this when we bought mine - they say wash it with human hair conditioner

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

As the back is similar to leather, ie the skin of the animal, would a good quality leather food do the trick?

 

[Foxglove]

I have found this with the Stephens and Bartyl, I use liquid washing soap and add human hair conditioner as directed and it still goes hard. The only way I have found is to let it take days to dry somewhere cool, but it can still be a little hard.

To be honest I feel they are too expensive to end up like this and I have had one that totally changed shape and wouldn't fit the saddle - though makes a wonderful cat bed!

Nuumed all the way for me now

 

[Apalacia01]

Stick it on the 'fluff' setting in the tumble dryer? I find that with down things etc they tend to ball up, and the setting with no heat will bounce it around and should break up the crunchiness.

Let us know how it goes

 

[cloppy]

i just painted leather dressing on mine with a paint brush once dry.

 

[WishfulThinker]

We have a sheepskin rug at home, and my dad wahes it in woolite - that seems to keep the back soft to.

 

[air78]

Ditto the numed reccomendation; I wash mine everytime they are used, in with a normal load and then tumble dry them. They come up like new, and if them start to look clumpy, just brush them with the dog brush.

 

[josiesmithuk]

When I bought my courtlea numnah I bought a tub of the leather cream that goes on the skin side. It keeps it supple and looking like new. Might be worth ringing them and getting a tub sent out in the post.

 

[louiseallen]

I think i'll try the hair conditioner before next washing - I like the idea of leather food, but can't get to the back of them as they are all nicely package in quilting - I also have a pending cat bed one....I'll let you know what happens....

 

[PapaFrita]

I brush mine with a plastic curry comb. I don't actually wash it all that often because it goes a bit stiff and takes about a million years to dry, so when it gets a bit sweaty and manky I brush it and it goes soft again and all the ickiness is left in the curry comb.

 

[frb]

I wash mine in persil silk and wool, come up lovely.

 

[AmyMay]

[ QUOTE ]
I rub cheap hair conditioner on before you put it in the washing machine comes out lovely and soft

[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto - mine come up beautifully soft.