The toughest color in the clothing world to clean as many people know is the color white. Even in the world of hats it is no different. But, there are some ways to clean a white hat and have it still look fabulous.
There are several materials used to make hats some actually require you to take them to a professional cleaner, where others can be done at home. Several styles of hats can actually be cleaned in your dish washer on the top shelf. Many people find this to be silly but it is quite effective.
1) Place the cap on the top rack of the dish washer.
2) Use a small amount of powdered detergent. Approximately 1 teaspoon of detergent. This will keep the bubbles from forming to greatly in your unit.
3) Using the normal washing cycle is the best to use on hat. Make sure that you air dry the hats, this will protect the material from being broken down or quite possibly from melting. This is due to the high use of special plastics that are used in the creation of many pieces of clothing.
If you are worried about using a clothing detergent in your machine, there are other cleaners that work great. Oxgenated cleaners, vinegar and also color safe bleaches work best. Many find that using standard bleach on white hats can actually turn them yellow.
If you have a stain on a white hat a good way to get rid of it is to simply place a small amount of lemon juice on the stain and place the hat in the sun. Depending on the depth of the stain, it could take several hours. After leaving the hat in the sun, simply wash the hat as instructed above. If the stain is on a ball cap or other cloth materialed hat, you can actually use some of the stain removers on the market before placing in the dish washer, this can be a good effective way to remove the stains as well.
The dishwasher works great on ball caps, straw/plastic hats, bonnet style hats as well. If you own a fedora, it is best to have the hat professional cleaned at a dry cleaning establishment or check for a specialized shop in your area that may take care of the hat for you.
If you are unsure how the material will react, simply do a small test on the underside of the hat. By placing a small amount of hot water and cleaners on a small interior area this will help you to determine the best way to properly clean your white hat.