I have a coyote fur rug that my dad and I tanned about 10 years ago. We just did it at home using salt and something else, I don't remember what exactly. Anyway this rug has been beside my bed for as long as I can remember and it gets stepped on quite a bit, so it's looking rather dingy and matted in places. My question is this - is there a way I can wash it, or would getting it wet mess it up somehow?
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My best guess is that the other stuff you refer to is probably Alum - and if it is then you dont want to wet it to wash it. Instead - it must be dry cleaned by tumbling it in sawdust with some Odorless Mineral Spirits added - or some dry cleaning fluid. Wetting it may wash out some of the Alum which only loosely bonds to the skins fibers. It would leave your skin with hard and discolored areas that may horribly shrink.
Whenever in doubt as to how a skin was tanned - always dry clean it! That's the safe way.