How to Properly Clean Your Hats
Do it right the first time!
Baseball Cap Web Shaper
How Hats Reflect Your Personal Image
At Shapers Image® Company we want you to be happy with how you look, especially with your hats. Like with any other apparel, it’s important to read and follow the hat's label tag instruction for the proper care, especially if they are high quality hats. Materials differ from hat to hat; they can be made of wool, cotton, polyester, leather, Jersey mesh, etc. So, it's necessary to know how to wash your hats properly and how to take care of them as much as possible without compromising its shape, size, or color. The best way to keep your hat looking new is to protect it from the start.
Helpful Tips:
Throughout the years, people have kept their hats for a long time, regardless of the many uses, so we are pleased to provide tips on proper care and maintenance of your hats or caps, no matter how long you've had them. Using preventative action is one of the most important factors for keeping your hats as long as possible. You may want to pre-treat your hat with a fabric protector, such as a scratch guard spray (except leather). This provides an invisible shield which protects it from the most common problem: sweat stains. It can also repel moisture and make fingerprint stains as well as most accidental spills easy to clean. For best results, we recommend you re-spray your baseball cap's or hat's fabric after any cleaning, with the Flat Cap Dome Panel shaper, the Caps Dome Panel shaper or the Baseball Cap Web shaper installed inside. This is to keep the cap's crown and panel's contour from flattening or wrinkling.
When you are not wearing your hat or baseball cap, keep it in some place away from dusty areas to avoid dirt, dust or lint building up on the hats. It’s suggested you store your hats in a safe location such as inside a closet, covering them with some kind of cloth material. If the hats are stored this way beforehand, then future cleaning is a simple process.
Using a good, clean masking tape or rolling cloth lint remover is the easiest and most effective way (do NOT use or be mistaken with a pet’s hair remover roller) to remove dust, lint and hair from the hat or cap's panel and brim. To get a good, round and firm control on the hat, install the Baseball Caps Crown and Dome Panel shaper. You’ll have something solid to press against when using masking tape.
Properly Washing/Cleaning Your Baseball Caps
How you wash your baseball caps will determine their future. Due to time constraints most individuals have opted to use the washing machine thinking it's the easiest way out, which is not necessarily always the best way. The brim of some baseball caps are made up of cardboard-like material and we know very well what happens to cardboard when it gets wet! Other caps brims are made from plastic form. So, there is a word of caution; do not wash the caps in hot water when using the washing machine or dishwasher. The heat, steam, hot vapor, or dry cycle (call it what you like) will destroy the hat. Always remember to NEVER use a dryer to dry your hat; you risk damaging the sweatband, crown, panel and loosening the stitching or seams. Combining different colored clothing can also discolor the cap's fabric all together. Therefore, issuing the washing machine really worth it?
If you took the step mentioned earlier in pre-treating your hats with a fabric protector like scratch guard spray, then it is suggested you first start by using mild soapy water or cleaning detergent using minimal water on the cloth, lightly scrubbing the stains away with a soft damp cloth. Repeat as necessary. This procedure is especially recommended if they are good quality baseball caps such as the New Era 59FIFTY, Adidas baseball caps or even fedora and cowboy hats.
Never use bleach for severe mark stains, instead try targeting only the specific problem area with a fabric cleaner, a mild laundry detergent or using some type of steam to take away the dirt. For stubborn stains, submerging inexpensive baseball caps in warm water is acceptable, just make sure the brim of the cap is plastic, in any case, most new baseball caps have a built-in plastic form. You can test the type of brim the cap has by simply tapping the top of the brim and hearing a solid and strong sound. If the caps brim bends easily it’s most likely a cardboard material. Also, when hand washing the hat, use a soft brush and be very careful not to scrub or brush the hat's material too hard to avoid damaging the hat's fibers and threads.
Properly Washing/Cleaning Your Baseball Caps
How you wash your baseball caps will determine their future. Due to time constraints most individuals have opted to use the washing machine thinking it's the easiest way out, which is not necessarily always the best way. The brim of some baseball caps are made up of cardboard-like material and we know very well what happens to cardboard when it gets wet! Other caps brims are made from plastic form. So, there is a word of caution; do not wash the caps in hot water when using the washing machine or dishwasher. The heat, steam, hot vapor, or dry cycle (call it what you like) will destroy the hat. Always remember to NEVER use a dryer to dry your hat; you risk damaging the sweatband, crown, panel and loosening the stitching or seams. Combining different colored clothing can also discolor the cap's fabric all together. Therefore, issuing the washing machine really worth it?
If you took the step mentioned earlier in pre-treating your hats with a fabric protector like scratch guard spray, then it is suggested you first start by using mild soapy water or cleaning detergent using minimal water on the cloth, lightly scrubbing the stains away with a soft damp cloth. Repeat as necessary. This procedure is especially recommended if they are good quality baseball caps such as the New Era 59FIFTY, Adidas baseball caps or even fedora and cowboy hats.
Never use bleach for severe mark stains, instead try targeting only the specific problem area with a fabric cleaner, a mild laundry detergent or using some type of steam to take away the dirt. For stubborn stains, submerging inexpensive baseball caps in warm water is acceptable, just make sure the brim of the cap is plastic, in any case, most new baseball caps have a built-in plastic form. You can test the type of brim the cap has by simply tapping the top of the brim and hearing a solid and strong sound. If the caps brim bends easily it’s most likely a cardboard material. Also, when hand washing the hat, use a soft brush and be very careful not to scrub or brush the hat's material too hard to avoid damaging the hat's fibers and threads.
Finally, installing the Caps Dome Panel Shaper right after rinsing the baseball cap is essential, since submerging the whole cap in water may alter the shape. The experts recommend you let your baseball cap dry out naturally instead of using a cloth dryer or hair dryer to help minimize shrinking, especially if the material is made of wool. To help maintain the contour of your baseball caps, we recommend you always install the Caps Dome Panel shapers or at least the Caps Crown inserts when storing them away. Finally, for difficult wrinkles a light steam apparatus should do the job (e.g. Tea Kettle). As the old saying goes "Saying you don't look good in a hat is like saying you don't look good in shoes!" We sincerely hope this information has been very useful to you, go ahead and share it with your family and friends!
