My Sporran SMELLS ?

[JOHNNY FAIRLESS]

I have a real horse hair sporran that smells dry. The hair is not out of control. I keep it in the closet in a bread bag to keep it's shape. The hair just smells really dried out. I am not a fan of washing it because Im afraid of damaging it but, I feel I might damage it by not taking care of this problem. My fear is that the hair will become brittle and break. Any suggestions ?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

It may be the bread bag that is causing the odor. Try hanging the sporran outdoors in a shady spot for a few days and see if that doesn't cause the odor to go away.

[JOHNNY FAIRLESS]

Sounds simple enough. I'll try it ! Thanks.

[BonnetMaker]

Sounds like it could be getting musty through lack of ventilation in the bread bag assuming its a plastic bag we are talking about. I usually advise people to keep anything hair or textile related wrapped up in several layers or acid free tissue for storage, thats plenty to keep out dust and balance humidity, but the fibre can still 'breathe' which helps avoid smells

[robbiethepiper]

Urged by the Pipe-major's wife I recently washed mine. Lukewarm water, ordinary shampoo/conditioner and courage. Avoid full immersion of leather back as far as possible. Brush whilst drying. Final result realy sexy and smelling sweet....Robbie

[Neil Clark]

In the Guards we used to wash ours fairly regularly. Seemed to do the trick, certainly didnt do any harm.

However, two factors there

1. Our sporrans took a fair bit of bashing between beer and food

2. General motto was "if it's wet, it's clean"

[Tobus]

My fear is that the hair will become brittle and break.

Well, hair of any kind (be it human or equine) is nothing but dead cells anyway, even when it's hanging from your head. So treat the horse hair on the sporran just like you would any other hair. It can be shampooed, conditioned, brushed, etc. And indeed it does need to be conditioned from time to time or it will dry and turn brittle and break, just like the hair on your head would if untended.

[piperdown]

Sounds like it could be getting musty through lack of ventilation in the bread bag assuming its a plastic bag we are talking about. I usually advise people to keep anything hair or textile related wrapped up in several layers or acid free tissue for storage, thats plenty to keep out dust and balance humidity, but the fibre can still 'breathe' which helps avoid smells

Another trick I have seen is using pantyhose. It breathes while keeping a nice shape.

[piperdbh]

Another trick I have seen is using pantyhose. It breathes while keeping a nice shape.

Yes. Yes it does.

[Dale-of-Cedars]

Yes. Yes it does.