How to Ensure Your Cowhide Rugs Last a Long Time

Cowhide rugs are durable and hardwearing but to ensure they look good for as long as possible you do need to look after them carefully. Cowhide rugs can provide a natural warmth and elegance to your room and will compliment both modern and tradition design schemes.

Everyday Wear

Cowhide rugs are ideal for rooms that see a lot of everyday heavy usage as they are very hardwearing and resistant to tracking (when the fibres are flattened in one direction).  To help create more even wear for your rugs you should rotate them every few weeks.  Cowhide rugs are resistant to UV light but if you place them in direct sunlight for long periods of time they will start to fade.  It is a good idea to draw the blinds/shades across if you have cowhide rugs near window spaces and rotate rugs around so that they are not constantly in direct sunlight.

Regular Care

You should vacuum rugs frequently as this will remove any dust or dirt that has settled. Use a low setting for the vacuum cleaner as a powerful setting can suck the rug up into the vacuum and damage it. Shaking the carpet off outside will also remove everyday dirt but you should avoid using a carpet beater as this can damage the hairs and cause excessive shedding.

Treating Stains

It is a good idea to avoid placing cowhide rugs in areas where you eat and drink a lot as this will help to avoid stains.  Although cowhide is very durable it is more difficult to treat stains as you will not be able to use strong spot cleaners.  These will strip essential preservatives and natural oils from the hide and damage the hair.  This makes them more difficult to clean than synthetic rugs.  If you do get a stain on your cowhide then you will need use a mild detergent and carefully sponge the rug clean.  Avoid getting the cowhide rug too wet and dry thoroughly before you put back in place.

How Are Cowhide Rugs Manufactured?

Cowhide is a useful by-product of the beef industry and helps to make sure there is as little wastage as possible. Cowhide can be used for many products including shoes, clothing, bags and rugs.  The process for manufacturing cowhide rugs is fairly straightforward and techniques have changed very little over the years.

Preparing the Hide

The hides are all delivered in their pre-curing raw state and sorted into sizes and colours.  Top quality whole pelts with good colour patterns are typically used for whole hide rugs.  Pelts that are slightly damaged will be cut up for patchwork rugs or smaller cowhide products (bags, hats, lampshades etc).The pelts used for cowhide rugs have both hair and hide and so need to be cured slightly different than plain hide (leather) in order to retain the softness and natural look of the product.  The curing process is essential as this preserves the hide and helps to prevent bacteria or fungus from forming.  This makes the cowhide a safe and long lasting product to use in the home. 

Dying Process

Cowhide rugs are available in natural patched, brindled and spotted patterns (depending on the breed). These vary from black and brown through to light beige, cream and white colours.  Cowhide also responds very to well to dyeing and so rugs are available in a wide range of different colours.  Dyeing is usually reserved for the poorer quality hides as those with naturally attractive patterns, shapes and colours are prized for classic cowhide rugs and other products.

Uses in the Home

Each cowhide is unique and this can create a very original and natural decorative feature for your room.  As well as cowhide rugs of all shapes and sizes you can also get cowhide furniture (chairs, sofas, headboards etc), wall hangings, lampshades and more.  Cowhide is very durable and will provide a long lasting, soft covering even for areas that see heavy foot traffic.

You can check out some more really useful information about rugs by visiting one of niche rug resource sites

Cowhide Rugs Can Add a Natural Elegance to Interior Spaces

There is an elegance provided by natural hide rugs that just cannot be replicated with synthetic products.  Natural cowhide colours are a beautiful mix of soft blacks, browns and creamy whites.  Each hide is different and will offer a unique mix of patterns and colours.  This creates an informal look to interior design projects that will add glamour and softness to both modern and traditional homes.

Buying Cowhide Rugs

There is a wide range of quality in cowhide rugs so you will need to shop around.  The best quality hides will be more expensive but these will offer beautiful patterns and colours that will look amazing in your home.  Good quality hides will also last a lot longer and be less prone to shedding.  You can get a number of affordable, good quality hides and these can vary in terms of sizes.  If you need to cover a large floor space then you could consider getting a few matching cowhide rugs to scatter around the room or you could opt for one of the larger patchwork cowhide rugs.  These are available in a wide range of sizes and provide an affordable and stylish natural soft floor covering for your room.

Dyed Cowhide Rugs

You can buy cowhide rugs in a number of different colours.  These are useful if you have a particular design scheme that you want to match for your interior spaces.  However nothing can beat the beautiful subtle colours of a natural cowhide rug.  These will compliment many different design schemes and never go out of fashion.

Caring for Cowhide Rugs

Cowhide rugs are very robust and durable.  All you will need to do is vacuum them regularly to remove household dust and dirt. Turn rugs around now and again to produce a more even wear pattern and encourage people to remove their shoes before they enter your interior spaces to help limit the outside dirt tracked across flooring, carpet and rugs.

If you have a first for more information about rugs,check out our rug resource blog 

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