Tips for Washing Your Baseball Cap

If you are like most people today, you probably own one or more baseball caps that you wear for a variety of different occasions. If you are a baseball cap lover, you probably don’t like leaving the house without your favorite ball cap, but after days and weeks of constant use, you may notice it begins to look a little worse for the wear. There will come a time when you see that your favorite baseball cap has accumulated dirt, especially on the inner part that comes in direct contact with your forehead and hair.

Many people wrongly believe that baseball caps cannot be washed. This can be a pretty depressing thought if a particular hat has sentimental value to you. Before you throw that grungy (and probably smelly) ball cap away, there are some corrective measures that you can take to clean it up.

Unknown to many people, a baseball cap can be washed. There are simple steps that you can take to bring your dirty baseball cap back to life, but before you start cleaning, you should remember a few things:

• Do not launder your baseball cap in the washer – Most residential washing machines have a center agitating column which is not good for your baseball cap. Drying a baseball cap in the dryer is also a bad idea because the tumbling motion may deform the shape of your cap.

• Do not wash your baseball cap in the dishwasher – Many people advocate the washing of a baseball cap in the dishwasher because they think that doing so is safer for the hat. Unfortunately, many dishwashing soaps contain bleach, which will ruin the color of your baseball cap. Dishwashers also typically get hotter than is safe for your cap’s fabric.

• Never use bleach in cleaning your baseball cap – Bleach can do irreparable damage to a colored baseball cap, so avoid it at all costs.

The best way to wash your baseball cap is by an old-fashioned hand washing. Hand washing your baseball cap can be done through the following steps:

1. Fill a sink or bucket with warm water. Remember that the water is supposed to be warm and not hot.
2. Add a tablespoon of laundry detergent, preferably a stain-fighting one, to the sink or bucket.
3. Spot-clean the baseball cap, paying attention to the more problematic areas. You can use a small scrubber or a toothbrush for this purpose. Be extra careful when brushing the area with threaded stitching as you could damage the thread.
4. Let your baseball cap soak in the water with detergent for a couple of hours. After an hour of soaking, check the baseball cap to see how the stains look. If you notice spots with a stubborn stain, use the brush again to spot wash the problematic areas.
5. Rinse the baseball cap with warm water.
6. Pat the baseball cap down with a towel. This procedure will rid it of excess moisture.
7. Air dry the baseball cap on a mannequin head or even a coffee jar to ensure that it will not crinkle up, ruining its shape.

By the time your baseball cap gets dry, it will look similar to a brand new one.

If you have to clean a wool hat, remember that it is more delicate than a hat made of cotton or other fabric. You have to be gentle if you use a brush; scrubbing too hard can make wool get matted. Also, make sure that you don’t leave wool hats soaking in water. It’s better if you spot wash them with a moist washcloth. To dry a wool hat, pat it gently using a towel. You can also put it on and let it air dry, which will allow the woolen hat to conform to the shape of your head.

You might be fond of wearing baseball caps as it is included in your fashion statement. Do you find hard in washing them? Have you experienced having your caps faded after cleaning them? You might need to read this infographic that provides tips on how to wash your baseball caps.