Yes, you too can wash your ball caps. I’ve been doing it for years. Don’t be shocked, you can wash them. And it’s super easy. I know I’ve told people and they are always surprised that it’s ok to do that!
Now, I wouldn’t do this with a precious autographed hat or anything like that. But for your everyday ball cap, that you wear in the summer, and get all sweaty, oh yeah! Gets rid of the sweat stains, and then the hat smells nice and fresh again.
OK, step one. Pretreat with a stain remover. I do the inside band and then anywhere on the outside that is dirty or has sweat marks.
This is the stuff I use. And, I LOVE it!! Just an fyi, I am not being paid for promoting this product (but I should be!).
Here are all the hats before being washed:
After they are all sprayed, let them sit for 5 minutes and then toss them in your washing machine.
I usually throw in a few lighter items of clothing. T-shirts, golf shirts etc. Not things like towels or jeans. I guess I just add stuff because I always have lots of laundry. Always {sigh}!
Now for the setting. When you wash your ball caps, use a short cycle. On my machine the short cycle says 35 minutes on the dial (but I swear it has never been faster than 45 minutes). My machine lies to me. Especially when I need to leave the house and it says 1 minute left. It’s like sports. That one minute lasts at LEAST 5 minutes. But, I digress.
I use my regular detergent (powdered Tide). And I use cold water.
Then I take out the hats. They usually look like this.
No need to panic. Just hand shape them and let them dry. DO NOT put them in the dryer. DO NOT forget them in the washing machine. They do need to be shaped and then they dry well. And they are clean. And, they smell good!! Nothing worse than nasty smelling ball caps.
Nervous I am steering you wrong? Take a couple of your old dirty stinky hats and just try it! You’d be amazed! Of course use common sense laundry rules. Sort your colors. Don’t wash white with red. We have all experienced what happens when you do that : ( ! Do NOT use hot water or you may shrink them. Yes, washing in the machine can be a little hard on your hat. If you have a special hat you want to keep for 10 years, don’t do this. But, if you just want your regular old hat to be clean again, go for it!
I use the dishwasher. No shaping required.
After washing my baseball caps, I stretch them out over a 1-gallon paint can and let them dry. This takes out all the wrinkles.
Steve Bolton
bolton.s-c@comcast.net
I always place an appropriate sized rubber band on the bill after removing from washer, keeps that shape perfect for the cap.
I wash baseball caps in the washing machine all the time. They come out clean but need reshaping a little. I have a styrofoam head (Hobby Lobby) and I just shape them on that to dry. Real easy and nice and clean.