What do the dressers use to "bleach" muskrat and coon? I had a bleached muskrat coat made for my wife that is beautiful. It's about the color of the background in this site, maybe a little lighter.

I love working with bleached coon.I think it looks terriffic.
The bleaching process for fur uses stuff like what women use to bleach their hair.it is done after the tanning so does not break down keratin-the keratin is already turned into leather at that point and the hair is set.
Bleaching and dying processes for fur are guarded trade secrets

i have an old washer in my shop. every piece of fur i get except for beaver, rats, and otters get a cold bath in washer on rinse cycle with a little fabric softener.

have had 2 fur buyers tell me whatever im doing to keep doing it.

Boco, you are the one bringing up coon and mink. We are talking coyotes, and washing them is a plus. Once you have put up two to three hundred coyotes in a week, let me know how that air compressor is working out for you.

Its a lot quicker than washing.Thats for sure.Do them right on the board before you pull them off after brushing.
No coyotes here but my wolves sure look good.

But if washing makes you feel better-keep on.But you are working for nothing.Very very few pelts need washed in order to be evaluated by a grader.

Clorox 2 did not have chlorine in it. It is no longer made.

Well,I wont be washing or blowing out 300 of anything in a week or a year.
Most all fur only needs a brushing and a flip.
You will never turn a 20 dollar pelt into a 60 dollar pelt,and a good pelt stands alone on its merit with basic handling.
Like anything else related to trapping the simpler you keep things the better.

It seems to still be for sale on a number of sites, but you are correct in that it's not a chlorine bleach. It's listed as a detergent, stain remover, color booster.

Washed, put up coyotes sell for more. It's worth the work.

I helped my fur buyer put up fur one day. He washed all the coyotes in strong bleach solution and ran them through old fashioned rollers. They came out very pale. No slippage. He says they always grade better bleached.

I will add that have tanned a small number a coyote and never had any slip.
And that lots of furbuyers will tell you that you don't need to wash or drum coyotes. That they can see thru all that and it all grades the same either way. But if you ever go to a state fur sale I can absolutely guarantee they pay more for well put up washed and drummed fur! Im not talking bout poor put up lots of good put up fur just brings average money. The top lots are quality fur with a high quality put up! MJM can attest to this.

Yup when combed they look great, some I wash 3-8 times, dirt n stuff
I use a wringer mop bucket to do mine

Bull.
I have won pretty much every wolf handling contest at FHA I ever entered.
My pelts were never washed and wolves are a much filthier animal than a coyote.
I know a few of the other guys submitted washed pelts,didnt do them any good.

Here is a brushed only dirty old wolf.



And here is a dirty old eastern coyote that was caught in a wolf snare and was alive and covered in dirt-again brushed and shook only.
I guarantee you washing would absolutely not change the grade.
I have a ton of put up fur pics-none washed I will put them up against any pic of a washed pelt.




Like I said-if it makes you feel good to wash pelts go ahead,but very very few pelts need washed to make them presentable to a competent grader.
Only pelts that have so much dirt,grease or blood actually caked into the underfur that wont brush out as dust when dried will need washed.And if you are getting a bunch of those you need to take a good look at your harvesting methods.

I'm not washing $2.00 coyotes to make them into $3.00 coyotes LOL

Beav,I wouldnt even skin one of those let alone wash one,lol.
And no need to wash the good ones-they pop all on their own if handled clean.

Nobody said washing yotes changes the grade. The grade is the grade. I certainly didn't. Calling bull on trappers that are doing it and have done it for years, childish.

I used to have a white dog. After a bath with soap, it was white again and much more silky.

"Coyote pelts are first sorted into categories based on the belly colour ( clarity)

Clear: These pelts have fur on the belly that is almost white. The underfur and guard hairs are clear and bright with no yellowish or brownish tint. Most pelts in this category are Western pelts; clear pelts are very rare in the Eastern section."

I've handled a few wolf pelts for our little local auction nearly all unwashed. I wear gloves and try to hold my breath. There is a -- 'dust'-- that comes off the wolves that is unclean... From dried excrement and urine at one end to moose sheep and caribou blood, guts and whatever other meal remnants worked in around the face, throat and belly, other dirt, pitch etc they come in contact with along the way and in the trap or snare not to mention the grease and blood from dispatch and handling etc, etc they are unclean for sure. The rare washed pelt definitely stands out. We probably handle 50 or more a year. Any cleaning; blowing, washing, drumming etc improves their appearance

Dirty pelts are dirty pelts.Some trappers are slobs and do a poor job on their fur-that is why every trappers pelts get drummed at the auction before grading,the majority pay for the few.Same with skins blown out in the dressing from harsh alkaline chemicals(like bleach) affecting the outcome.All trappers lose out to cover that loss. .
Bottom line-there are lots of ways to clean a pelt that are way less time consuming and labour intensive and much less risky to the end product than washing with chemicals,detergents etc that also removes the natural oils from the fur when used in excess.Cats are especially prone to losing their natural oils from even small amounts of detergent and should never be washed in my opinion unless extremely bloody or greasy.(which is caused by the trapper/handler in the first place).
Washing is not necessary for the vast majority of pelts-wolves included.
Overhandling of fur costs the trapper in the end.
Keep things simple and your operation efficient.
As you can see you can get a top quality product without going thru the extra time effort and expense to wash.

My hair looks and feels better after washing