Washing Your Cap

Caps are a fantastic trendy accessory that can be used for all sorts of occasions. Maybe you wear a baseball cap on the running track, a flat cap while shopping, a skipper’s cap with your autumn coat or a trucker cap at the club. No matter what type of cap is your favourite, the requirements for washing it are the same. It’s important to get your cap clean without destroying its shape. Most caps are made of cotton or nylon, but there are also caps in other materials, such as wool or velvet. Different caps might therefore need to be washed in different ways. Here we give you some suggestions on how to wash your cap.

WASHING YOUR CAP IN THE WASHING MACHINE

Lots of people want to wash their cap in the washing machine – it’s just so easy! And many caps can indeed be washed in the washing machine. What determines this is the material your cap is made of.

• Most caps have visors made of hard or soft plastic. These caps generally tolerate being washed in the washing machine. However, if the visor is made of hard pressed paper, do not wash your cap in the washing machine. Check this before deciding how you want to wash your cap.
• As mentioned, another important aspect is the material the rest of your cap is made of. Various types of cotton fabric and nylon are quite durable materials that can usually be washed at 30° or 40°. However, we recommend that you run your cap though a delicate washing program with a shorter spin cycle to reduce the risk of damage to the visor.
• If possible, avoid using a spin cycle at all.
• Also choose a detergent for washing delicates that is suitable for the colours of your cap. Detergent for delicates is gentler on the fabric and reduces the risk of your cap becoming discoloured.

WASHING YOUR CAP IN THE DISHWASHER

Another slightly odd but tried-and-tested method that works well is to wash your cap in the dishwasher. This way it’s easier to keep the cap in shape as it does not spin around inside the dishwasher.

• Position the visor in the plate rack or on the top shelf of the dishwasher, but make sure you don’t put any bowls covered in tomato sauce in with it.
• Use a detergent that does not contain bleach (unless your cap is meant to be white, of course).
• Set the dishwasher to run a program with as low a temperature as possible.
• When the wash cycle is complete, do not wait for the drying cycle. Instead, remove the cap when rinsing is complete and let it drip dry. Otherwise, the heat may cause the cap to shrink.

WASHING YOUR CAP BY HAND

If you have a cap made of a more delicate material, such as wool, then it’s best to wash it by hand. Then you can skip over the parts that are not so dirty and concentrate on scrubbing away the stains. After all, better safe than sorry. There are several ways of washing a cap by hand.

• You can scrub the cap clean using carpet shampoo and then wipe it with a damp cloth.
• Another way is filling a basin with lukewarm water and some washing-up liquid. Then scrub your cap clean using a sponge and rinse out the washing-up liquid with cold water.

DIFFERENT METHODS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF STAINS

If your cap is not particularly dirty but only has a few stains, it makes sense to concentrate on those. How you go about it depends largely on what kind of stain it is.

• You can scrub away grease spots using washing-up liquid and water.
• Scrub from both the bottom and top using a sponge or toothbrush.
• When the stain seems to have gone, leave the washing-up liquid to work for about four hours.
• Then rinse the washing-up liquid out properly.
• If you have makeup stains on your cap, you can mix washing-up liquid and baking powder into a paste that you can scrub gently with. This works particularly well on blusher stains.
• For foundation stains, you should act immediately as it quickly penetrates and settles into the fabric.
• Start by massaging a more powerful shampoo or shaving foam into the stain. Then rinse it off and wash the cap as usual.
• Either in washing machine, in dishwasher or by hand.
• If the brown/beige colours do not come out, you can also try soaking the stain in medical disinfectant. This will fade them.

DRYING YOUR CAP

To ensure that your cap retains its shape, it’s best to:

• let it drip dry. Avoid tumble dryers and airing cupboards, as they can damage the plastic in the visor and cause your cap to lose its shape.
• Try to “pad out” your cap as if it were sitting on a head while drying. This reduces the risk of the fabric sagging.
• There are actually various drying racks for caps that you can buy, but if that feels like overkill, we recommend stuffing it with newspaper instead.
• To prevent the newspaper ink from staining the cap, put it in a black hat or pillowcase that you are less worried about.
  
  

That’s a wrap for a clean cap!