How to clean a cap without damaging it?

How to maintain and clean your cap?

If you’re like me and often wear a cap to work in the field or play sports, you know how quickly it can get very dirty! Dust, pollution, dirt, sweat, there are many stains to wash off a cap!

Here are some practical tips and tricks that I have tested and which work really well for cleaning a cap.

1. How to wash a cap by hand?

Cleaning by hand is undoubtedly the safest way to wash a cap without risking damaging it.

1. Fill the sink or basin with warm water and add a little liquid dish soap.
2. Soak the cap directly in soapy water and using a brush or cloth rub the stains.
3. Rinse the cap with water and let it air dry or better on the clothesline.

You can replace the dish soap with detergent or even liquid Marseille soap which will be gentler on the fabric and material of the cap.

2. Clean a cap in the dishwasher

Now for a grandmother’s tip which consists of washing a cap directly in the dishwasher!

1. Place the cap on the top rack in the dishwasher (the top drawer) with nothing else inside.
2. Choose the fast and less hot cycle to wash the caps.
3. Remove the cap from the dishwasher and continue air drying.

This grandma thing can only be used with a plastic cap and without cardboard in the palette.

To dry a cap, there are not a thousand solutions! Drying in the open air is the only way to avoid damaging and deforming a cap.

1. Fill the inside of the cap with paper or a plastic bag so that it holds its shape well.
2. Place the cap flat on the table with no heat source nearby to prevent it from shrinking.

If the weather permits, you can dry the caps directly on the clothesline.

4. Remove sweat and perspiration stains

Depending on the color of your cap, sweat and perspiration stains may be more apparent and difficult to clean.

Here’s a trick to unfasten a sweat-stained cap:

1. Soak a cloth in a mixture of water and ammonia and rub the sweat stains.
2. Rinse with water and repeat if sweat stains remain on the collar of the cap.
3. Air dry the cap to finish cleaning.

5. Other tips and tricks for caring for a cap

• Never use the washing machine! Regardless of the type of cap and its material, it should never be cleaned in the washing machine. It may come out completely deformed and permanently damaged.
• How to reshape a cap? Line the inside of the cap with white tissue paper and place it gently under a hot steamer (a kettle for example or an iron).
• Watch out for oily hair! If you have greasy hair, you absolutely must avoid wearing a cap, because you risk staining it with sweat and grease.