How to Wash a Hat

There comes a time in any trucker hat’s life when you realize it needs a good wash. You naturally toss your hat into washing machines, and sure, it comes out cleaner, but it also comes out misshapen, frayed, and with a twisted hat brim. 

Can you wash trucker hats? The answer is yes, but the washing machine isn’t the way to go (unless you have a hat form for washing machines). Unlike beanies and knit caps, which can be machine washed inside a garment bag, trucker hats need a little more care. Here’s how to wash a hat, clean it's brim, and get stains out of all your ball caps.

How to Clean a Hat or Baseball Cap

What’s the best way to wash ball caps and trucker hats? The answer depends on how dirty the hat is. For a clean but sweaty baseball cap, take the following steps:

1. Fill a sink with cold water.
2. Add a drop or two of laundry detergent.
3. Submerge the hat in the water and swish it around to create some suds.
4. Soak the hat for 5-10 minutes.
5. Gently squeeze most of the water out of the hat, taking care not to twist the brim.
6. Hang to dry or reshape the hat and place it on a towel until dry. 

If your hat is thoroughly stained with sweat and dirt, follow these additional steps: 

1. Put on a pair of bleach-resistant cleaning gloves.
2. Fill a sink with cold water and add a color-safe bleach, measuring according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. To remove stains, dip the hat into the bleach, apply a few drops of laundry detergent to the stain, and scrub gently with a soft toothbrush. 
4. Soak the hat in the bleach mixture for an hour.
5. Squeeze excess water from the hat without twisting the brim.
6. Dry off with a clean towel, and either hang dry or let dry on a towel.

For extremely dirty hats, you may need to purchase a hat form for washing machines. Be aware that while hat forms will help your hat retain its shape, repeated washings may fray embroidered logos. 

How to Wash Embroidery on Hats

Hand-washing is the best way to clean hats with embroidered logos. After soaking your hat, gently scrub the stained embroidery with a drop of laundry detergent. Be gentle to avoid damaging embroidery threads.

How to Reshape Baseball Caps

Over time, baseball caps and trucker hats can lose their shape, especially if you’ve tried to clean a hat brim too aggressively. Fortunately, there are a few ways to reshape a hat, including steaming the hat and using a spray bottle. 

To reshape baseball caps with steam, fill a pot with water and heat it until it produces steam. Be sure to keep your hands and face away from the steam while reshaping the hat since hot steam can cause severe burns. You may want to wear heat-resistant gloves. 

Place the hat in the steam, allowing it to make contact with all sides of the cap. The hat fabric will quickly soften. Remove the steam and gently reshape the hat with your hands. If the hat gets too damp, let it dry a little before continuing. 

If you’re not keen on the idea of working with hot steam, you can try the spray bottle method, which works best for trucker hats that are only mildly misshapen. Lightly spray the hat with water, especially the hatband. Set a hairdryer to its medium setting and partially dry the hat.

When the hat is still slightly damp, put it on your head and wear it for the rest of the day. As the hat dries, it should reshape itself to match your head shape. 

With a little care and attention, your hats will last for years.