Benefits of Owning a Cowhide Rug

If you have been thinking of remodeling your home, one simple addition that can add beauty to any home is a cowhide rug. Whether you simply use your cowhide rug as an accent piece to a side room or as a full out center piece in front of the living room in your fireplace, there are a number of reasons to consider adding this unique, one of a kind rug to your home décor. Below we will look at the top three benefits of choosing a cowhide rug for your home.

Hypoallergenic Qualities

If you suffer from allergies, the idea of putting a rug that is essentially the skin and hair of a cow into your home might not sound very appealing. Fortunately, cowhide rugs are renowned for being extremely hypoallergenic and can actually help to reduce the allergy pathogens floating around your home.

For example, let´s say that you have a synthetic rug with thick fibers. These rugs (and carpets as well) are known to trap a number of different allergens in their fibers, including dust, dander, pet hair, pollen, etc.  Every time you open the door or walk into your home with dirty shoes, your synthetic rug or carpet is basically sucking up a number of pathogens that will stay trapped in your home.

Cowhide rugs, however, differ from their synthetic counterparts in that the individual hairs don´t trap allergens. Like any rug, it can become dusty over time. However, a simple vacuuming or taking your cowhide rug outside to shake off the dust will get rid of the dust build up. While synthetic rugs have a thicker mat of fibers that allow allergens to get “stuck”, the hair on cowhide rugs repels allergens. Whatever dust does settle within the fibers is easily dislodged through vacuuming or shaking out.

While most homeowners invest significant time and money to deep clean their carpets or rugs every couple of years, cowhide rugs won´t need this type of treatment, especially if you take care of your rug with weekly vacuuming.

Easy to Clean

There is nothing worse than having a child or a guest spill a cup of bright red cranberry juice on to your newly bought white rug.

Rugs made from cowhide do not contain synthetic materials and are also unlikely to be treated with volatile organic compounds (VOC's), such as pesticides and flame retardant chemicals. Trying to scrub out stains from these types of rugs is usually a losing proposition, and if you do try and clean your rug, you will most likely be using extremely toxic chemicals that probably shouldn´t be in your place.

Furthermore, many synthetic carpets are impregnated with other dangerous chemicals that act as flame retardants and/or stain repellants. Do you really want to be walking over potentially dangerous and cancer-causing chemicals every day?

Another benefit of cowhide rugs is that they are naturally stain repellant. Both the cow skin and the cow hair on the rug have repellant properties. As long as you clean up spills shortly after they happen, virtually nothing will penetrate a cowhide rug nor stain it. Remember to take your rug outside for drying in the sun (or with a hair dryer if the weather isn´t permitting) to avoid any sort of long term damage due to oversoaking.

Durability

Lastly, cowhide rugs are known to be some of the most long lasting household items out there. In a typical home, most people usually plan to replace their rugs or carpets every decade or so. Even with yearly deep steam cleanings, carpets and synthetic rugs do wear down from normal use.

Cowhide rugs, however, are much more resistant to constant foot traffic and use. As we mentioned above, the natural ability of cowhide rugs to repel liquids, also allows them to maintain their natural shine and colors for the long term.

The Intangibles

If all these benefits weren´t enough to convince you to purchase a cowhide rug, we shouldn´t forget the most important thing of all: cowhide rugs are naturally beautiful additions to any home. As far as interior decorating goes, you would be hard pressed to find another item that it is as versatile as a cowhide rug.

They can be placed in virtually any room in your home and even hung up on a wall for added decorative purposes. The variety of colors they come in allow for a cowhide rug to fit into the existing interior decoration of any home. With proper care and use, your newly cowhide rug will be impressing visitors for decades to come.