How to clean a plume?
- Thread starter Dragon
- Start date
JohnM
Well-known member
Dragon,
This is not the answer you want to hear but I suggest you NOT clean parade plume.
If you really have to clean them because someone has put a gun to your head then I suggest the following 2 methods:
1) Shake the plume gently to remove any dust and then feather dust it.
2) If you really really have to moisten a cotten rag gently clean each feather. Make sure the rag is just moist not wet.
Do not under any circumstances wet the plume as the wetting and drying process will most assuredly damage the plume. They may not dry correctly and the heat might damage them.
John
This is not the answer you want to hear but I suggest you NOT clean parade plume.
If you really have to clean them because someone has put a gun to your head then I suggest the following 2 methods:
1) Shake the plume gently to remove any dust and then feather dust it.
2) If you really really have to moisten a cotten rag gently clean each feather. Make sure the rag is just moist not wet.
Do not under any circumstances wet the plume as the wetting and drying process will most assuredly damage the plume. They may not dry correctly and the heat might damage them.
John
reservist1
Member
Dragon: I have gotten good results cleaning horsehair and Yak hair plumes by gently hand washing them in luke warm water with baby shampoo. I mix a small amount of shampoo in a plastic tub filled with water, submerge the plume and gentily move it around in the water.
Carefully squeeze the water out of the plume and rinse in a tub of clear water. You may need to repeat the rinse step several times. Wrap the plume in a towel to remove as much water as possible then blow dry with a hair dryer set on low heat. The same steps can be used on wool raupes but substitute Woolite, a liquid for washing wool clothing, and cool water for the baby shampoo and warm water.
When the plume is completely dry you can gently comb it out. Be very gentile with the combing.
If you have a feather plume I would not use the above process.
Reservist1
Carefully squeeze the water out of the plume and rinse in a tub of clear water. You may need to repeat the rinse step several times. Wrap the plume in a towel to remove as much water as possible then blow dry with a hair dryer set on low heat. The same steps can be used on wool raupes but substitute Woolite, a liquid for washing wool clothing, and cool water for the baby shampoo and warm water.
When the plume is completely dry you can gently comb it out. Be very gentile with the combing.
If you have a feather plume I would not use the above process.
Reservist1
kaiserzeit
New member
Hello Dragon,
I firmly support Reservist1's view re. hair plumes, either horsehair or buffalo/yak hair. Shampooing with a mild shampoo in warm water works very well. Another product available via the horsey set is called "Mane and Tail."
I would caution you, though, if you do decide to separate the plume from its trichter, proceed with great caution. Quite often the anchoring mechanism for the hair has perished and you may wind up with a handful of hair and a very bald plume. And, they're the Devil's own to rebuild.
In the case of feather plumes, which is what I think I am looking at in your avatar, you may be best to leave well enough alone. I don't think the anchoring mechanisms for feather plumes are all that secure and many plumes were built by splicing together shorter lengths of feather to make long plumes. You risk severely shortening your feather plume if the splices come unstuck.
Good luck with it.
Cheers,
Laurie
I firmly support Reservist1's view re. hair plumes, either horsehair or buffalo/yak hair. Shampooing with a mild shampoo in warm water works very well. Another product available via the horsey set is called "Mane and Tail."
I would caution you, though, if you do decide to separate the plume from its trichter, proceed with great caution. Quite often the anchoring mechanism for the hair has perished and you may wind up with a handful of hair and a very bald plume. And, they're the Devil's own to rebuild.
In the case of feather plumes, which is what I think I am looking at in your avatar, you may be best to leave well enough alone. I don't think the anchoring mechanisms for feather plumes are all that secure and many plumes were built by splicing together shorter lengths of feather to make long plumes. You risk severely shortening your feather plume if the splices come unstuck.
Good luck with it.
Cheers,
Laurie