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[stevense]

I have a finished hide that was hung on the wall.
I noticed during a wet spell that the hide had absorbed moisture in places and was actually dripping down the wall.
What caused this, and is there some way to remedy it?
I hope so because it looks really nice, but it will ruin the plaster and carpet.
Thanks

[The Tanner]

I have never heard of that happening to a hide before, but I do have a possible solution.

Lay the hide out flat with the flesh side up and cover it with a thick layer of corn meal.  The corn meal should pull all the excess moisture and even some excess oil out of the hide.  Let it sit for a week or so and then shake it out.

[danallen]

Could possibly be the tanning salts weren't completely rinsed away; both the (table) salt and alum are "hygroscopic" as they readily absorb water - even from humid air.  Maybe repeat from the rinse step to cure the root cause of the problem. 

Pick up a box of regular table salt and read the ingredients - you'll probably find calcium silicate or magnesium carbonate listed as an "anti-caking agent" to keep the salt from absorbing water and clumping.

Hope this helps.

[The Tanner]

If you rinse the hide again you will wash the tan out of the hide.

We don't recommend using table when curing the hide.  It usually contains iodine which can stain the hide.  We recommend any kind of hay ans stock salt.  It is available at more farm supply or hardware stores.  It is about $5 for a 50 lb bag.