How to Clean Sheepskin Seat Covers

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Sheepskin seat covers are pretty much excellent for cars. Due to their hypoallergenic properties, they have the potential to keep you warm and cozy in the winter season and cool and comfortable in summers.

Moreover, these seats have the potential to offer you the best protection for your backbone and back area. One of the several reasons for which you must prefer sheepskin seat covers is that it is washable.

The washing aspect is an important factor of consideration for every car owner to decide whether to get a seat cover or not. If sheepskin is your choice, then you can get it without second thoughts.

How to Clean Sheepskin Seat Covers

Sheepskin seat covers provide an appealing look and require simple steps for maintenance. You just need to keep in mind that vacuuming once a week will help you limit the dust and dirt build-up over the covers.

Close-Up shot of sheepskin cover

But if you are occupied and do not find it feasible enough to do periodic vacuuming on your sheepskin seat covers, you need to take up some professional measures in the comfort of your home.

So, if you have missed out on cleaning your sheepskin seat covers for a long time, then you should approach it now. And for that, this guide will help you learn how to clean sheepskin seat covers.

The 3 methods on how to clean sheepskin seat covers are the following:

  • Spot Cleaning with Detergent or Shampoo
  • Submerged-Cleaning Method for Sheepskin Seat Covers
  • Reviving The Fluff of Sheepskin Seat Covers with Tennis Balls

Method 1: Spot Cleaning With Detergent or Shampoo

If you do not want to park your car at a service center to get your sheepskin seat covers washed, then you need to opt for household measures. And there is nothing better than mild-detergent for cleaning your sheepskin covers.

However, while you choose the detergent solution, you need to keep in mind to avoid buying the ones that have bleach in them. Detergents with bleach can also ruin cleaning your mattress cover.

Not just bleach, but you should also avoid the detergent solutions that consist of washing enzymes, peroxide, and alkalis. If you are confused about what to pick, then go for the woolskin shampoos. These products act as cleaning detergent and are soft on the sheepskin seat covers.

You can also go with baby shampoo products or ivory soaps to get done with the job. Also, you need to keep in mind that you should not submerge the sheepskin seat covers into the mixture of the solution unless the entire seat cover needs cleaning.

But instead, you should prefer spot cleaning the covers for small spots to ensure the longevity of the material. In fact, you must spot clean the sheepskin covers only when you see some kind of small spot stain or sticky residue over the surface.

Here are the steps to help you carry out this cleaning method:

  1. You will need a sponge for spot cleaning the sheepskin seat covers.
  2. Take a bowl and fill it with cold water. Hot water might result in shrinkage of the sheepskin seat covers. Therefore, avoid using hot or warm water for cleaning purposes in order to avoid causing damage to fleece.
  3. Submerge the sponge in cold water, and wring out the excess content of water. Now, dampen the stain spot over the seat covers with the wet sponge.
  4. After dampening the spot, you can use a clean and gentle washcloth to rub detergent over the sheepskin seat covers.
  5. Keep a gentle rubbing motion, and repeat it until the stain is out.
  6. After that, you can just use the sponge again to remove the detergent remnants from the sheepskin seat covers.
  7. You can now make use of the sheepskin brush for brushing out the seat cover. It is to give fluff to those covers.
  8. Now, lay the covers flat on the ground, preferably indoors, for the drying purpose. Do not place them under the direct sun for drying, as it will cause shrinkage and unwanted damages.
Bottle set of shampoo made of glass

Method 2: Submerged-Cleaning Method for Sheepskin Seat Covers

If you haven’t cleaned the sheepskin seat covers for a long time, then you can expect the entire cover to be dirty and dusty. If it is the case, then spot cleaning will consume a lot of time and effort.

Instead, you can go with the safe submerged-cleaning alternative, with the use of detergent. Here are the steps to help you carry out this cleaning method without damaging the sheepskin seat covers:

  1. You need to hand wash the sheepskin covers for this method.
  2. Fill a bathtub or big bucket with cold water, and add sheepskin-compatible detergent into it.
  3. Now, submerge the seat cover in the tub, and then wash it correctly with the use of a washcloth or gentle sponge.
  4. If there are some spots or stains, apply gentle pressure over those areas. Apart from that, maintain a uniform motion across the entire surface of the seat covers.
  5. After you reach the satisfactory level of cleanliness of your sheepskin seat covers, it is now time for you to rinse the detergent solution away from the sheepskin covers with the use of cold water.
  6. After rinsing them properly, you can just set them to dry indoors. While the sheepskin cover is drying, you can just occasionally stretch it out to ensure that it doesn’t shrink during the drying process. Please do not place the seat covers under direct sun, as it might damage the material integrity.
  7. To speed up the drying process, roll the sheepskin seat cover in a terry towel and squeeze out excess water before laying it flat on the ground for drying.
  8. When it is about 90% dry, you should consider installing it back to the car seat. As the complete seat cover is submerged, this step is important to ensure that the covers don’t shrink.
  9. When the sheepskin seat covers are completely dry, you can use the sheepskin brush to revive the fluff and retain the usual look.
Close-Up shot of tennis ball

Method 3: Reviving The Fluff of Sheepskin Seat Covers With Tennis Balls

As of now, you are aware of the two efficient cleaning methods. Now is the time to help you get an idea of reviving the fluff of your sheepskin seat covers. Tennis balls can do some wonder when it comes to restoring the fluff of sheepskin seat covers:

  1. After the sheepskin seat covers are dry, you need to toss the seat covers into a dryer.
  2. Add a couple of tennis balls to the dryer as well.
  3. Keep in mind that heat is prohibited for the sheepskin seat covers. Therefore, you need to set the dryer on ‘air-dry’ mode. Depending upon the type and brand of the dryer, disable the heat supply.
  4. Now, run the dryer for around 15 minutes for the first cycle. After that, remove the lint filter, clean it and place it back. Now, run the dryer for another 15 minutes.
  5. After the timer stops, clean the lint filter once again, and place it back. Now, remove the sheepskin seat covers from the dryer.
  6. The dryer generates static electricity that is responsible for fluffing the sheepskin fibers. On the other hand, the tennis balls play a significant role in preventing the covers from wadding up due to constant tumbling. In fact, the tennis balls are also responsible for absorbing the residual dust & dirt.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does the Sheepskin Seat Covers Last?

The typical sheepskin seat covers last for around five years. But the condition for it is that you should maintain them over time. You cannot expect them to last for a long time without a single cleaning approach.

However, if you look after your seat covers on a periodic basis, then you can expect them to last even beyond five years.

Why Are Sheepskin Seat Covers So Popular Amongst the People?

The driving comfort is what draws the attention of people towards the sheepskin seat covers. You need to keep in mind that sheepskin dissipates sweat and heat instantly and is better than any synthetic fiber. There is no possibility of any electrical charge flowing through the seat covers.

It means that there will be no static shock while you move in and out of the car frequently. To know more about the perks of using sheepskin seat covers, you can just refer to this write-up.

Conclusion

A car’s interior is as important as the exterior. So it would be best if you made sure that the seats are protected with quality covers to ensure longevity.

In fact, seats do cover up the maximum interior area of a car. And having the sheepskin seat covers over them will just add a glamorous appeal.

But at the same time, it is crucial to maintain this appeal over time, as a dirty sheepskin cover will just deteriorate the overall look. So even if you got just one spot over the covers, get them spot-cleaned right away.

Leaving stains over sheepskin covers will add up to the hassle of cleaning them in the long run.

Allen Michael is the Founder and Editor of Home Viable, a website that he started to provide readers with tips on home efficiency and automation. He draws on his engineering background combined with his family-of-four experiences for his articles.