Welcome to all cowhide rug owners

Congratulations for making an excellent choice of flooring solution. Your cowhide rug is good quality it will bring you enjoyment for many years to come.

Remember that when you are ready to add an additional cowhide rug to your home decor Gorgeous Creatures has the biggest selection in New Zealand! Buying from Gorgeous Creatures means that you can be sure to get the best advice, the best service and the best quality product. Don't make the mistake of buying cheap low quality cowhide from cowboys! It does not pay off in the long term.

View this fabulous web video about cowhide rugs made by VideoMadeSimple.

Cowhide care instructions

Cowhide hair-on-hide is best used in a domestic home environment. You can use a cowhide rug in your home's indoor entranceway but it will show wear more quickly.

It's OK to fold your cowhide rug, but it will need some time to relax after it is unfolded. If your hide is good quality the creases will come out after a few days laying flat. A heavy weight like books can speed up this process. You can also steam iron the hide on the underside or hairy side to reduce creases more quickly.

Cowhide does not move much on carpet (unless you have deep carpet underlay) or wooden floors, the textured underside has natural grip. You do need to be a bit careful in bare feet on the soft and silky upper side. Sometimes Velcro dots (the teeth grip kind) around the edge help stop the hide from being kicked up at the edges on carpet or a non-slip rug underlay (or hard floors like wood and concrete).

The sun takes its toll on all furnishing fabrics. We recommend keeping the dyed and printed hides out of direct sunlight to avoid any possible fading. Natural cowhides are fade resistant.

Cowhide cleaning instructions

Download FREE cleaning instructions PDF

Include your cowhide rug, furniture or cushions in your normal cleaning routine, simply vacuum with the vacuum head brush in the down position (for hard floors) or give rugs and cushions a shake outside to remove dust and small dry particles of dirt. Rotate your rug or move to a different location from time to time so that it wears evenly.

You can wipe cowhide smoothly in the direction of the hair with a damp (but not wet) cloth with mild soap and water. Do not soak the hide or get it too wet. DO NOT wash in a washing machine or dry clean.

Brushing with a hard plastic brush helps to keep the hair soft and fluffy and helps to remove dirt.

For common spills like wine, coffee, tea, juice, food, soup, urine and vomit - soak up spills with a paper towel or sponge immediately. Remove solid matter with the blunt edge of knife by scraping gently in the direction of the hair. Then wipe with a damp (but not wet) sponge or cloth using mild soapy solution. You can wipe and rub the hair vigorously in any direction. Finally clean with a damp cloth using a diluted 5% white vinegar and 95% water solution, this balances the PH levels and helps to eliminate unpleasant odours. 

Demonstration using red wine, dark soya sauce & chocolate sauce.

For oil based spills like fat, grease, lipstick, tar and chewing gum - Remove solid matter with the blunt edge of knife by scraping gently in the direction of the hair. Then apply Eucalyptus oil directly to the affected area on a soft cloth by dabbing gently. Finally wipe with a damp (but not wet) sponge or cloth using a mild soapy solution. You can wipe and rub the hair vigorously in any direction. We can not guarantee that this will remove your stain, but it the best method of trying. This is done at your own risk.

Demonstration using peanut butter, Thai chilli paste, lipstick, chewing gum & black road oil & dirt.

Cowhides do not like to be damp or wet for long periods, please avoid this. On a sunny day you can put your cowhide outside with the underside facing the sun to air out. Store them in a dry well ventilated place, preferably rolled around a tube core with a clean cotton sheet to protect from dust and dirt while in storage.

We recommend that white, cream, beige or other light coloured cowhides be sprayed with a light coating of colourless nubuck and suede water proof spray from a cobbler or shoe shop when they are new. If you clean the cowhide with soap and water you can re-spray the surface again for added protection.

Are your cowhide edges curling up? Cigaring and what to do about it.

There are a number of things that might cause edge curling on cowhide. A poor quality hide that has been unevenly split during the tanning process is a strong possibility. Because the leather fibres in the thinner areas dry out faster than fibres in the thicker areas it can create uneven surface tension and make them curl. Expect cheap cowhide to curl quite quickly. This is sometimes called cigaring.

However even a good quality cowhide can curl with the right environmental influences. Again if the top surface fibres are drying and contracting faster than the underneath due to heat expose like strong sun or a heater blowing hot air over the hide over a long period of time. Or the reverse can be true for under floor heating which dries out the underneath faster than the top surface.

They are most vulnerable to curling around the narrow leather parts like the legs and the cheek leather near the head. Curling is simply something that cowhide rugs can do, it should be considered the "nature of the beast".

There isn’t really a cure but try to roll the leather back in the opposite direction to the curl and give it a squeeze massage. A misting of water can also help put a small controlled amount of moisture back into the leather. You can steam iron cowhide on either the leather or hair side with a cloth between the iron and the hide.

If it really bothers you and continues to curl then the only other option is the trim off a slice of leather removing the curling area. Use a sharp craft knife blade and cut from the underside starting by wiggling the knife through the leather in the middle of the cutting path, then slowly draw the blade in a gentle curve mirroring the original shape of the hide and running off the edge of the hide, repeat going in the other direction to complete the cut. This technique cuts the leather but not the hair leaving a nice layer of hair still falling over the edge of the hide. I find it easiest if the rug is on the floor (upside down), I then stand on the rug to hold it down and lift the edge that I am cutting about 10cm away from the floor so the leather is taught. Be careful and watch out you don't cut your floor or your leg!!!!

Of course it is very likely that curling will happen again if the hide is poor quality or the environmental factors are still happening. If cigaring is an ongoing annoyance then perhaps cowhide rugs are not the best flooring solution for you. Buy a wool rug instead.