Oil the drum head and lacing with a natural oil like coconut or olive. You may have to do this once per month depending on how dry your climate is. A good rule of thumb is to oil the drum at least with the changing of the seasons. Keeping the rawhide conditioned will prevent your drum from drying up and tearing. To clean your drum wipe it down with a slightly damp, lint free cloth.
Rawhide drums are temperature sensitive, so don’t leave them in direct sunlight for long periods of time and avoid extreme temperatures like a stove, fireplace, or the inside of a hot car.
Remember that water expands and heat constricts. If you want to lower the tone you can spray water on the drum head or place a slightly damp cloth over it. To raise the tone use a gentle heat source. You can wrap it in a wool blanket and use a hair dryer on low heat positioned a foot or more away from the drum, or simply set your drum in the sun for a very short time. Let your drum adjust its temperature slowly.
You can protect your drum when traveling by wrapping it, face up in a bag. To prevent the hide from getting worn or scratched avoid placing anything on top of the drum. Keep stored in a safe spot away from pets, like on a shelf or hung on the wall, because they will try to eat the tasty rawhide!
