How to tell is horse hair couch filling is in good shape?

Hey everyone,

This is my first post here, I am a beginner at upholstering antique furniture and hoped someone would have some advice. The person I got this couch from was a little vague on where the stains on the fabric came from, I am assuming a bit of water damage. Knowing it was a full makeover I wasn’t super worried about it at the time. My question, which may be silly is how can I tell if the horse hair is damaged like the fabric? Can horse hair get water damage? I am going to replace the cotton but did not want to get rid of the horse hair if I didn’t need to. Thank you for your help!

 

as long as there's no infestation....or mold.....I would think the hair quite useable ..

 

I admire your desire to save as much of the original sofa as possible; in fact, I admire you for saving the sofa, period.

I must, however, disagree with my esteemed colleague. Since the horsehair has been flooded, I would get rid of it. Doesn’t seem healthy, not to mention that horsehair would have lost much of its “body” as well.

How about posting photos once you’re finished with the project?

 

I must concur with my laudable member , the couch on 2nd look , may have been up to it's ass in water of unknown origin, rendering the horse hair...puke worthy !!

 

Thank you for your responses. I will take your advice and err on the side of caution and replace it. This is a very exciting project and will take me a while to complete but I will upload pics as soon as I’m done!