How to Clean, Care For, and Maintain Your Hats. You’ve got a brand new custom hat, but after wearing it for the first time, it’s already showing a small stain. Or, maybe you’ve got a dirty and dusty old favorite, perhaps from an event long ago, which you want to resurrect. Either way, we’ve got you covered with this guide on how to clean, care for, and maintain your hats.
Caring For Your Hat While Wearing Your Hat
Caring for your hat in any style doesn’t just start when you take it off for the day! Even while you’re out and about, there are some tips you can use to minimize wear and tear on your favorite hat:
- Gently handle your hat by the brim, not the crown, to reduce wear.
- Wear a hat that fits properly to avoid it falling off your head.
- Don’t excessively expose it to the elements, like rain.
- You may need to decide that some hats are exclusively “fashion hats,” that you wear on special occasions, versus “working hats” for your everyday use.
The key takeaway is that if you care about your hat’s condition, you need to pay attention and be gentle with it all the time, not just at home.
Cleaning Your Hat: Steps for How To Wash Your Hat
If your hat is already dirty or sweaty, then it’s time to get washing! You’ll figure out if you can soak it, scrub it down, rinse, and then dry it off, to keep it in good condition for the next time you wear it.
Step 1: Identify Your Hat’s Brim: Cardboard or Plastic
- Cardboard Brim Definition: An arch of paperboard inside older hat visors, which helps them keep their shape.
- Plastic Brim Definition: A piece of plastic that maintains the shape of modern hat visors.
- This is important because while plastic-brimmed hats can be soaked, cardboard-brimmed hats cannot, and will be damaged.
- To tell if your hat is cardboard- or plastic-brimmed, check the care label. You can also tap the brim and listen – a cardboard brim will give off a dull sound, while a plastic brim will give off a sharp sound.
Step 2: Dissolve Laundry Detergent in Water
- Use either room temperature or lukewarm water – don’t use hot water, as this can damage your hat!
- Be conservative with the amount of detergent you use – too much, or too strong of one, and it may cause your hat to fade.
Step 3: Spot Clean Your Hat With A Brush
- Using a soft brush, spot clean any areas of your hat that are extra dirty or stained.
- Spot Clean Definition: Use a cleaning solution on a specific part of something, without cleaning the whole thing.
- Brush gently to avoid damage.
- Sometimes, this may be all you need to do, and you can skip Step 4.
Step 4: Soak Your Hat
- Only use this step for plastic-brimmed hats.
- Soak your hat in the cleaning water you made in Step 2.
- You should leave it in for about 20-30 minutes, though some tough stains may take longer.
Step 5: Rinse Your Hat
- Only use this step for plastic-brimmed hats.
- Take the hat out of the soapy mixture and rinse it under cool water.
- Get all the soap and any remaining dirt off of it as best you can.
Step 6: Towel Dry
- If there are any particularly wet spots on your hat, dab them with a towel.
- This absorbs excess moisture.
- Don’t bend or wring the hat – this can damage it.
- Do your best not to accidentally reshape the hat while it’s wet.
Step 7: Air Dry Your Hat:
- Set your hat out to dry the rest of the way in the air.
- Keep it indoors and at room temperature.
- If you have a hat form or hat rack, you can hang it in that.
- If not, you can set it up on a bowl or rolled-up towel to help it keep its shape.
To summarize, to properly wash a hat, you figure out if it’s cardboard- or plastic-brimmed, spot wash it, soak and rinse it (if it’s plastic-brimmed), and then dry it gently.
How To Properly Store and Maintain Your Hat:
Taking care of your hat is more than just washing it after use. To get the most out of your hat’s life, you need to store it properly when not wearing it:
- Keep your hats away from direct sunlight.
- Keep them in dry, not humid, environments.
- If you can, store them in cardboard boxes.
- Don’t stack your hats or put any weight on top of them, as this can misshape them.
Summary: How to Clean, Care For, and Maintain Your Hats
In summary, anytime you wear your hats, they will pick up some wear and tear. But with some simple steps, you can minimize it and keep your hats in great condition for a long time.
- Wear hats that fit properly and treat them gently while using.
- Wash them carefully, using gentle materials and spot-wash techniques.
- Store them in climate-controlled environments, away from the elements.
FAQ on Cleaning, Caring For, and Maintaining Your Hats
Is dish soap safe for hats?
Dish soap is generally safe for hats and an acceptable alternative for laundry detergent.
How often are you supposed to wash your hats?
For regular hat wearers, we recommend that you wash your hats once a week.
Will soaking a hat ruin the brim?
While soaking a cardboard-brimmed hat will severely damage it, you can soak a plastic-brimmed hat with no worries!
Can a hat go in the dryer?
Putting your hat in the dryer can damage it, both from the heat and the tumbling.
Do custom hats wear out faster?
Not inherently so – if you’re creating a custom hat, keep in mind that embroidery tends to last the longest.
Want to Order Your Next Favorite Hat? Check Out Hat.Co
Hat.Co offers premium custom hat creation services to make a one-of-a-kind piece of headwear for you. You can design your own hat from scratch, or work with an experienced graphic design team to create something memorable.
You can get in touch by calling us at (636) 926-2777 or by requesting a quote online.