How to Wash a Baseball Hat So It Doesn’t Lose Its Shape
Updated: Apr. 19, 2024
Has your favorite baseball cap seen better days? Follow these simple steps on how to wash a hat without ruining it.
If baseball is America’s national pastime, then baseball hats are the country’s unofficial uniform. We buy more than 400 million a year, according to a 2024 market-research report. But as much as we love to wear them, most people don’t have a clue how to wash a hat. “People have concerns about how to wash baseball caps because they are afraid of ruining them,” says Jennifer Ahoni, a principal scientist and fabric-care expert for Proctor & Gamble. “This is especially true for a hat you have a connection to—perhaps a vintage item or a hat that represents your favorite sports team.”
Even if you’re otherwise confident about how to do laundry, you might be worried about how to deal with baseball hats—and rightly so. Because they have structured bills, they can easily lose their shape. As a result, you’re probably wondering if it’s OK to toss baseball hats into the washing machine and dryer, or if there’s a better way to handle funky smells and sweat stains.
That’s exactly why Reader’s Digest consulted two experts in the world of fabric care, Ahoni and Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy on HGTV and Discovery+. “If you take care, it’s possible to wash a baseball hat and keep it looking great,” says Ahoni. Below, we’ll tell you exactly how to clean a hat thoroughly and safely.
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About the experts
Reviewed for accuracy by: Mary Marlowe Leverette. |
What you need to know before washing your hat
Before you start spraying or scrubbing, go through the checklist below. According to Ahoni, doing the following goes a long way toward preventing potential damage.
- Determine the age of your hat. Why does it matter? Some older or vintage hats are likely to have bills made of cardboard (not the more modern and durable plastic used today). Submerging a hat with a cardboard brim in water could cause the hat to lose its shape.
- Check the care label in your hat. “Care labels provide guidance on whether your hat should be spot-cleaned only or can be washed by hand or machine,” Ahoni says.
- Make sure to pre-treat any stains, including sweat stains. Give your hat a once-over before doing a full wash. A concentrated pre-treatment will make stain removal (and washing, in general) much more effective.
How to hand-wash a baseball hat
Because baseball hats can lose their shape with a lot of jostling and manipulating, hand-washing is your safest bet. Experts say you can wash a hat in the sink using the same detergent you use to clean clothes, with a few tweaks. Here’s what Ahoni recommends.
Supplies you’ll need
- Laundry detergent
- Cold or lukewarm water
- Toothbrush or other cleaning brush
Directions
- Pre-treat stains with a dab of laundry detergent. Use your fingers or an old toothbrush to work the detergent into the stained area. Let the detergent work for at least 10 minutes before you wash the hat.
- Fill a basin or sink with cold to lukewarm water.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of laundry detergent per gallon of water.
- Without rinsing off the detergent you used to pre-treat the stains, place your baseball hat in the solution. Allow it to soak for up to 30 minutes.
- Next, gently rub your fingers on the soft part of the baseball hat, creating agitation to remove the soils. Use a toothbrush or larger cleaning-specific brush to gently clean the bill.
- When done, rinse the entire hat with cool or lukewarm water to remove any remaining detergent. Repeat until suds are no longer visible.
- Inspect the hat. Repeat the above steps, as necessary, for remaining stains.
- Air-dry the baseball hat on a clean towel or drying rack. Make sure it is fully dry before wearing it again.
| ♦ Pro tip |
| To treat sweat stains, Richardson recommends using 2 tablespoons of a powdered oxygen bleach, such as OxiClean, dissolved in 2 cups of hot water according to the label instructions. Fill a sink with cool water, and add the bleach solution. Soak the hat in the water for 10 to 15 minutes, gently scrub the stained spots with a soft-bristled brush, rinse with clean water, and repeat with a fresh solution until the stains are gone. Then wash the hat with detergent as you normally would. |
How to spot-clean a baseball hat
Don’t ignore stains until the next time you launder your hat. It’s a much better idea, says Ahoni, to spot-clean soils as they happen. Here is her preferred method for treating stains on a baseball hat.
Supplies you’ll need
- Cotton or microfiber cloth
- Warm water
- Laundry detergent
Directions
- Dip the corner of a cotton or microfiber cloth in warm water, and dab the stain to remove as much of it as possible. Move to a new section of the cloth each time you blot so you don’t transfer dirt back onto the hat.
- Apply a small amount of a high-quality liquid detergent on the stain (just enough to cover it). Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Using a toothbrush dedicated for cleaning, gently rub the stain.
- To rinse, dab the spot with the corner of a damp cloth until it is no longer soapy.
- If the stain remains, repeat Steps 2–4.
- Air-dry on a clean towel or drying rack.
Do you really need to wash a baseball hat?
Yes! While stains are the most noticeable issues, baseball hats are exposed to many of the same soils that can make your clothes dirty and smell bad over time. In one day, according to Ahoni, our bodies produce an entire liter of sweat, 40 grams of sebum (an oil produced by our skin that can cause acne), 2 billion skin cells and 10 grams of salt—and that’s when you don’t hit the gym!
“We don’t think about it, but some of that sweat, sebum and dead skin is produced on our scalps and ends up on our hair,” Ahoni says. If you’re wearing a hat, these substances are transferred to the fabric and build up over time. And that’s not all that can end up on our hats: Hair products, makeup and germs also get transferred to hats. Because of these soils, make sure to consider fully washing your baseball hat regularly, even if it it’s not sporting any visible stains.
How often should you wash a baseball hat?
How often you wash a hat depends on how frequently you wear it. “There is no universal answer,” says Richardson. But Ahoni does have a few guidelines:
- If you wear a hat daily: Wash it weekly.
- If you wear a hat every few weeks: Wash it at least once a month.
- If you wear a hat only a few times a year: Wash it when you notice visible stains or odors.
Something to keep in mind, though: You can sweat up to a liter of fluid daily, and some of this can end up in your hat. Sweat is mostly water, but the fats and proteins in it can break down into small, very stinky molecules and produce a body-odor smell, says Ahoni. The bottom line: It will become an issue over time, which is why you need to wash your hat with a high-quality detergent designed to remove both visible and invisible soils.
Between washes, Ahoni recommends refreshing your hat with an antibacterial spray. She recommends Tide Antibacterial Fabric Spray for its bacteria- and odor-killing properties.
Can you machine-wash a baseball hat?
You can … but it’s not the best idea. Hand-washing reduces the amount of friction, agitation and heat your hat will be exposed to, which will help it last longer than if you just tossed it into your washing machine.
However, says Ahoni, “if you are in a pinch or you have a hat that you are not concerned about looking great, and the care label allows for machine washing, you can wash using a delicate or gentle cycle in a washing machine.” As an added precaution, you can use a mesh laundry bag or special cage that holds the baseball hat in the washer.
Can you wash a baseball hat in the dishwasher?
While some people rave about this popular online hack, the chances that you’ll ruin your hat are high, so it’s not worth the risk, according to fabric-care expert Mary Marlowe Leverette. Dishwasher detergents are harsh, she explains, and often contain bleaching ingredients that will strip the color from a hat. Plus, the high water temperature needed to sanitize dishes can shrink or warp the hat. It’s a much safer option to follow the steps above and use a proper laundry detergent.
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. For this piece on how to wash a baseball cap, Jill Waldbieser tapped her knowledge as a home and cleaning writer, and then Mary Marlowe Leverette, a fabric-care expert with more than 40 years of experience, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We also relied on reputable primary sources, including Jennifer Ahoni, a scientist at Proctor & Gamble, and Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy and author of Laundry Love and House Love. We verified all facts and data and backed them with credible sourcing, and we will revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Jennifer Ahoni, fabric-care scientist at Procter & Gamble; email interview, Jan. 17, 2024
- Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy and author of Laundry Love and House Love; phone interview, Jan. 14, 2024
- Cognitive Market Research: “Baseball Cap Market Report 2024 (Global Edition)”
Originally Published: September 22, 2021
