My mother left behind quite a few hats and I am trying to figure out the best way to clean them. Some are straw (summer), wool (winter), cotton (spring/summer) and caps. Some have feathers, beads others have bands around them. I'd really like to concentrate on the inside rim. I'm not really looking for a service I'd rather do it myself. Any suggestions on cleaning products and how-to would be appreciated.
Interesting question! I know basecaps are usually seen as a no-wash, because the visor is often made of cardboard and even if you did succeed in keeping the shape of the rest of the hat, the visor might cause problem (though I've seen people suggesting washing basecaps in dishwashers!) I'm not too much of a hat person -- I'd be scared to wash a straw hat, but I would just try to wash the inside rim with an old toothbrush or something. There is probably a better way, but this is what I'd try. Now, as for the wool. Washing it in the machine, even on a cold setting, might not be a great idea, because there is a chance it would felt. Maybe you have a setting on your machine extra for wool, though, in which case you could use this instead of handwashing. Knitters, after finishing the product they knit, usually soak them in a no rinse liquid soap for around 30 minutes, then they press the hat in a towel, getting as much of the wet away as possible, and then they let it rest/dry in the shape they want it (process known as blocking, check it out on youtube!). If it dries the wrong way, then it might take the wrong shape, so this is the one thing you should be careful with!
I try to scrub my hats with netted bags or laundry scrubs. I simply soak them in soapy water for around an hour or two. After the soaking's done, I rinse twice before soaking them in fabric conditioners. After that, I rinse them again before putting them inside the tumble dryer.
That's a pretty interesting question. I have quite a few hats too. I use to have a bunch of fedoras, now I have a whole lot of snapbacks. Every time one of my hats would get a little dirty I would take a toothbrush with a little water and gently scrub the hat. I had a fried who used those Wisk detergent cloth pad things too. He said they worked well, but I was always skeptical about them.
Hot water and sap will do the trick, that is how I get my hats all cleaned up. Not too hot though cause that might affet the colour of your hats.
Could you explain 'sap'? Is it from a tree 'sap' or is this something that you can purchase, if so, where? Also what do you use to apply it, toothbrush as others have mentioned, or something else? Thanks.
