How do you clean hats?

[AmazingGracePlayer]

For those of you who wear hats (mainly baseball caps)... how do you clean them? Do you just toss them in the washer, or do you use soap and brush them?

[Phalex]

I mix oxyclean into water in the kitchen sink, let a hat soak for a while, swish it around a few times, rinse it well, and put it over something round to dry.

[hover]

I have a ballcap washer fixture for my good New Era fitteds

Ball Cap Buddy Cap Washer FD-XS3W-EP3Y

laugh if you want, works great.

Other hats, read the inner brim tag. I've had my wool hats dry cleaned. Straw hats, wipe down.

[Muzoid]

I just did mine....fill the sink, pour in some laundry soap...swish, rinse, hang on line.

[Absentia]

same way I clean my shoes
I don't

[tastybasslines]

I usually scrub mine with soap and water. I don't want to drench it (washer) cause I don't want to kill the integrity of the bill. Just a light scrub there and more vigorous on other parts of the hat.

[carl h.]

Washing machine, gentle cycle with a couple wash clothes. (front loader)

Works fine.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by hover

I have a ballcap washer fixture.......

Same thing I use. Some I leave dirty since it contributes to the coolness of the hat.

-Mike

[ShredderMaximus]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Same thing I use. Some I leave dirty since it contributes to the coolness of the hat.

-Mike

This is true, but when I do need to wash a hat (I am a bit of a hat enthusiast) I just throw it in the dishwasher, works great and easy on the bill.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by Absentia

same way I clean my shoes
I don't

+1 When a hat gets *too* dirty... it becomes a work hat

The only disadvantage is I have way more work hats than I really need

[R. Laevinus]

I'd just toss mine in the washer too (if I wore baseball hats). Be sure to check the tag to make sure the cycle is okay for the fabric, and I would also put the hat over a round, roughly head-sized object to dry, to prevent shrinkage. I'd also gently mold the bill while it's still damp.

Berets, or wool hats though, are a different story entirely. If your hat is wool or felt, the best way to wash it is to take it in the shower with you. Seriously! Wash your hair first, of course, then lightly shampoo the hat inside and out and stick it on your noggin to rinse through while you take care of business.

Then continue to wear it outside the shower until it is completely dry.

[bassbrad]

Originally Posted by hover

I have a ballcap washer fixture for my good New Era fitteds

Ball Cap Buddy Cap Washer FD-XS3W-EP3Y

laugh if you want, works great.

Other hats, read the inner brim tag. I've had my wool hats dry cleaned. Straw hats, wipe down.

Yep that's what I do, short cycle with no soap. You should be able to find them in a sporting goods store for 3-6 bucks.

[dbhokie]

With hatcleaner.

[jp58]

I have my one dress hat dry cleaned.

The rest of my "ball" caps are rinsed with water and some form of cleaning agent, or they just become work/play hats. I've got a few dirty ones, a couple clean ones for when I need to look decent, and a dress hat. It's a pretty good system.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by R. Laevinus

I'd just toss mine in the washer too (if I wore baseball hats). Be sure to check the tag to make sure the cycle is okay for the fabric, and I would also put the hat over a round, roughly head-sized object to dry, to prevent shrinkage. I'd also gently mold the bill while it's still damp.

Berets, or wool hats though, are a different story entirely. If your hat is wool or felt, the best way to wash it is to take it in the shower with you. Seriously! Wash your hair first, of course, then lightly shampoo the hat inside and out and stick it on your noggin to rinse through while you take care of business.

Then continue to wear it outside the shower until it is completely dry.

If you have a baseball cap (not a hat, it's a cap), then the washer trick on the top shelf works - with or without hat carrier to keep its shape.

I have a collection of good Stetsons, Baileys, Resistol and Borsalino hats....and have worn them for years. Info from experience here...

If you have a good felt hat (not wool, those are cheap hats), then DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT take it in the shower. That is highly likely to ruin it unless you've worked with hats for years.

Most good felt hats will respond well to brushing, and they should be brushed periodically to minimze buildup of dust and dirt. Smudges can often be removed with a coarse sponge; there are sponges made specially for hat cleaning.

If you have a badly soiled felt hat, the best cleaning solvent to use is naphtha, dunking the hat in it a few times to remove soil, then carefully re-shaping while it's damp. Naphtha can be bought in gallons at ACE HArdware; try to minimize breathing it, and remember the fumes and solvent are highly flammeable!!

Wool hats are deserving of moderate respect, but if you get them wet in a shower, chances are they will shrink until they only fit your Ken doll or 7-year-old nephew. The naphtha trick will work on wool as well as on real felt...question is whether it's worth spending $15 on solvent to clean a $30 hat. My vote: replace the wool hat with a real felt from Ebay. It's a better hat.

More information: The Fedora Lounge, where real men talk about real hats.

[Cabazon]

I jumbled up this thread title with another and read, "How do you regard clean hats?" to which I say, "With great suspicion."

[drummer5359]

When I first saw this thread, I assumed that you meant hi-hats. (I really must spend too much time on drum forums.)

[sonic assassin]

i get a new hat.