Cleaning fur at home: restoring the shine to a fur product

The appearance of your favorite mink coat certainly worries every housewife. After all, only in a shiny, well-groomed model will you feel truly royal. What to do if the product is no longer new, and due to various reasons (age, improper storage or weather conditions) has lost its original shine? As it turns out, you can restore mink fur to almost its original shine at home, without resorting to the services of often expensive and not always high-quality dry cleaners.

White mink coat

When to clean fur

Cleaning of fur products is resorted to in the following cases if:

there is dirt and dust on the surface;
the uniform color structure is lost;
there are particles of debris between the hairs;
tangled lumps are formed and the ends of the hairs are cut.

Cleaning fur yourself is only possible if it is not too dirty. Otherwise, of course, it is better to find a specialized dry cleaner and entrust your fur to it.

Methods that are not worth wasting time on

The Internet is replete with many proposed methods of cleaning mink fur that are completely unacceptable, which not only will not help the fur coat achieve the desired look, but will most likely cause even more harm.

After using these methods, most likely the product will be suitable for wearing at the dacha. Such wet and dry cleaning methods include:

cleaning with sawdust, which needs to be rubbed into the fur;
the use of starch, which can and will remain in the fur fibers, which will subsequently attract insects;
cleaning a fur coat with gasoline. This method will not only give a long-lasting, specific smell to the fur coat, but can also ruin the structure and color of the fur;
ammonia;
sprinkling delicate fur with hot sand, which then may not be completely removed from the product;
semolina grits.

What not to do at home

It is prohibited to carry out the following experiments with fur items on your own:

wash and remove stains with washing powder or detergents;
dry the fur over heating devices or near a fire (it should be dried naturally in a thoroughly ventilated area);
clean the fur with a vacuum cleaner;
Smooth it with an iron - the fur will even out on its own.

It is better to clean and dry fur products in spring and summer, when it is warm and natural drying is possible. It is also not recommended to dry the fur in direct sunlight, as it will lose its natural color.

What not to do with mink

Often dry cleaners do not accept fur coats and vests made from expensive materials for fear of ruining them. There is only one thing left to do - clean the product yourself. There are many rules that must be followed. Cleaning a mink fur coat at home should exclude the following points:

long soaking in water with powder or other detergent;
complete washing of the product using water;
drying a fur coat near a radiator, open fire (fireplace, gas stove), heater;
drying fur with a hairdryer or fan;
ironing mink items with an iron.

Attention! The cleaning method should be selected taking into account the color of the fur. For example, dark fur coats should not be treated with hydrogen peroxide or products containing chlorine, and light fur coats should not be treated with tea leaves. Failure to comply with this rule will lead to a change in the shade of the product and, accordingly, its damage. Usually, fur outerwear is rarely cleaned (no more than once per season), as this is problematic. You cannot wash it too often, otherwise the pile will quickly lose its appearance.

You may notice that snow-white fur coats in stores often turn gray or yellow.
The culprit is sunlight, so you can’t leave the item under ultraviolet rays. In addition, you need to understand that cosmetics and perfumes negatively affect mink. It is necessary to use perfume in advance, and not to spray it on your outerwear. Gloves, bags, scarves - all this spoils fur; low-quality products will quickly stain an expensive item. We must not forget about friction, because carrying a bag on your shoulder will change the condition of the pile. After the first winter, the fur coat will change color in the areas of contact, and the fur will break off.

Tips for cleaning fur at home

Before starting the cleaning procedure, the fur product is not knocked out too much, and then cleaned with a special brush;
If the fur is wrinkled, it is better to moisten it with a sponge. Then the fur is combed, allowed to dry and, after complete drying, knocked out;
Potato peels make an excellent cleanser. It should be washed thoroughly and mixed with a few drops of ammonia. The mixture is distributed onto the contaminated area, rubbed lightly with a brush, washed off and wiped;
To restore the softness of the fur surface that has become rough over time, take glycerin, petroleum jelly and egg yolk. Mix everything and add 250 ml of warm water. The resulting composition is wiped over the leather base of the fur, dried, crumpled and slightly pulled in different directions;
You can restore the beautiful shine by using a cloth soaked in vinegar essence, glycerin, lemon juice or citric acid. The fur product should be treated with one of the above substances, and then thoroughly wiped with a napkin;
You can clean faux fur using a soap solution: dilute 2 tablespoons of detergent for synthetic fabrics in 1 liter of water. Beat the foam and apply it to the brush, rub the fur along the pile. The remaining solution is removed with a slightly damp cotton cloth;
Faux fur should be treated with antistatic aerosols. They will help protect the fur from dirt and remove electrostatic charges that attract dust.

Store your fur coat correctly

In order for your favorite fur coat to serve you for a long time, preserving its original beauty, you should know the rules for storing fur products:

Take the time to store your mink in a special fur refrigerator. It is thanks to the low temperature and humidity of such equipment that the edge will remain as attractive as when purchasing the product.
If you have the means, you can organize storage at home in a regular refrigerator or in a separate freezer. When sending the product into the refrigerator with food, the packaging must be very strong and airtight so that the fibers do not absorb foreign odors, and such cellophane packaging is destructive for a fur coat.
It is better to place the fur item in a cool, dark place in a special fabric cover with special anti-moth impregnation. The temperature in this room should be no higher than 12 degrees, and the humidity should be appropriate for the type of fur. It is advisable that the mink coat does not come into contact with other things in the closet, and even more so with the fur of other products.

Cleaning fur at home

Even if a fur product is in a closet in a case, it is still not immune from contamination, at least by the same dust. Fur stores sell special brushes that can be used to clean fur. You can simply comb the lint with it. More thorough cleaning of fur is carried out in different ways, depending on what animal the fur product is made from.

Add shine to mink

The first thing you need for mink fur is to restore its shine. It is lost as a result of leaching of the fat composition. To do this, dissolve 100 g of fish or pork fat and 10 g of soap in 1 liter of boiling water. After stirring, add 10 drops of ammonia and cool the mixture to room temperature (30-35 degrees). Then the mixture is applied to the fur using a brush.

How to clean an Arctic fox

Take 1 small spoon of ammonia and the same 3 tablespoons of table salt for half a liter of water, mix. Soak a cotton swab in the solution and begin to carefully remove the stain. The last stage is drying the fur product.

Cleaning a rabbit

Mix acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (both 5%). Moisten a cotton swab and treat the surface in the direction of villi growth. At the end of cleaning, remove any remaining solution without touching the leather base of the item.

How to clean goat fur

Goat fur is cleaned with cool soapy water, then wiped with a damp cloth. After the procedure, the product is dried.

Lightening doodle

Features of synthetic pile

Owners of designer fantasies are often tormented by the question of how to wash a faux fur coat. Let's figure out what it is. Let's lift the lining and look at the product from the wrong side. We will see a ribbed surface with small cells, similar to a knitted fabric. The conclusion is correct: synthetic skin is a knitted fabric into which pile is woven. Conclusion: the material will have the advantages and disadvantages of knitwear.

Knitted fabrics come in a variety of textures. Let's see what qualities fluffy joy is endowed with. A piece of fabric is sewn to the inside of the garment. We use the trim for testing. Let's look at the features of fleecy fabric. Extensibility is the main quality of knitwear. Let's pull the piece along, then across. It will give a stretch in one direction. This should not be forgotten when caring for your coat.

Let's check the piece for the strength of the weave. Let's pull the edge of the loop and it won't go down. Fur fabrics are treated with a special impregnation that prevents unraveling. All you have to do is carefully read the manufacturer's instructions and you can wash it.

How to clean dark fur

For fur products of dark shades, ordinary bran and walnuts are perfect. The bran is heated in the oven to 60-70 degrees. Then they gently rub them into the fur, collecting all the dirt. The thing is shaken off. The nuts are crushed and the resulting powder is tied into a gauze cloth and folded in half. Use this swab to wipe the fur in the direction of the villi. Walnut oil nourishes the hair well, giving it a lively and effective shine. At the end of cleaning, the product is combed with a special bristle brush.

Cleaning light fur

In order to clean light natural fur, you can use the following methods:

Starch is the best of all cleaning agents for white fur coats, collars or hats made of natural fur. Having generously poured it directly onto the fur, the product is gently crushed until the powder has collected all the dust. Then the item is shaken and combed. The procedure is repeated a couple more times.
Wheat or rye bran, semolina or potato flour are also suitable for cleaning white fur. Sprinkle generously with one of the indicated adsorbents and gently rub in your palms along with the fur. Then the product is shaken and cleaned with a soft brush.
To prevent white fur from turning yellow, it is wiped with a solution of hydrogen peroxide. To do this, take a large spoon of peroxide and stir it in a liter of water. Gently blot the fibers, then dry. It is recommended to wipe fur that has turned yellow over time with a more concentrated solution of hydrogen peroxide.
To remove a greasy stain on a white fur item, dissolve a teaspoon of ammonia and 3 small spoons of table salt in half a liter of water.

Removing stains

For light-colored clothes, you can use acetone or alcohol. They need to be mixed with starch or soda and applied to the dirty area for a few minutes. Afterwards rinse with a sponge.

Light fur that has traces of ketchup, coffee, or wine on it is still better to have it dry cleaned so as not to risk it.

Refined gasoline will help remove stains from dark wool, which should be mixed with starch or washing powder to the consistency of sour cream. This paste must be spread on the stained area and after a couple of minutes removed with a damp sponge.

If you accidentally get into oil paint, regular vegetable oil will help out. You need to moisten a cotton swab in it and rub the mark up and down until the paint is completely removed.

Prints from other paints or inks can be removed with acetone, solvent or white spirit. After treatment, you need to lubricate this area with a soda solution and blot it with a dry cloth.

Drops of sauce are removed using the following mixture: water, vinegar and pet shampoo or carpet cleaner are mixed in equal proportions. The mash should be carefully spread onto the blemish and wiped off after some time.