The cowboy hats are a classic of the American fashion and history. Hat suffers severe battering whether you are cleaning out a dusty cattle ranch in Texas or you are in a country music festival in Nashville. The high quality western hat has a crisp look that can easily be destroyed by the dirt and weather elements, and sweat. It is important to know how to clean a cowboy hat so as to take care of your investment and keep your individual fashion. A good hat that is taken care of will last decades provided one takes proper care and attention that it requires. The cleaning process is a threat to many people since they are afraid of spoiling the shape or the fragile material. Wearing a favorite accessory can be easily maintained with the help of right tools and simple techniques at home. This is the ultimate manual to provide you with all the information on the daily care of hats. You will get to know the most effective particular techniques of various hat materials and the way to deal with off-putting stains. Hat keeping is a proud culture that takes into consideration the art of the western wear industry. Continue reading in order to learn how to keep your headwear in a good shape in the next several years.
How to know what your cowboy hat is made out of.
You have to first get the material of your hat right before you begin scrubbing. Cowboy hats are usually designed in the two major types of materials that include felt and straw. Hats made of felt are usually made of good animal fur such as beefer or bunny. Fur is a very durable fabric that is inherently waterproof thus suitable during colder seasons or during functions including formalities in the whole country. Wool felt is cheaper and much more fragile as far as it has to be treated kindly since it shrinks easily when it becomes very wet. The undisputed choice during the hot and humid American summers is the straw hats. They provide the required breathability and lightweight comfort in the outside. But straw is a natural material which is brittle and may crack when handled roughly or when exposed to very harsh cleaning chemicals. To clean the material you have to use a cleaning method that perfectly fits the material so as not to cause a disaster. Wet cloth on a fine fur felt hat will leave permanent water spots and stiff synthetic brush that can be used on a straw hat may end up snapping the fine woven fibers. When embarking on any large cleaning project, it is always important to look at the manufacturer label in the leather sweatband to ensure you follow certain instructions in taking care of it.
Necessary Cleaning Utensils of your Hat.
You need not spend lots of money to have a special equipment to maintain your hat in a brand new condition. Probably you already have the majority of the needed equipment stored in your house. The only item of concern is a soft bristled horse hair hat brush which is indispensable in day-to-day maintenance. In case you are the owner of the two kinds of hats light and dark felt, you must have two separate brushes ideally. Dark hats are to be used with one brush and light hats with another one so that there would be no accidental transfer of colors. An ordinary lint roller or a plain masking tape would be ideal in removing the floating dust and the wandering pet hair. A set of microfiber wiping clothes (clean) will also be needed to clean smooth surfaces and address any cases of accidental liquid spillages. A mild dish soap or a shampoo that is mild and is used on baby is the best when dealing with dirt that is hard to remove like sweat stains on the inner band. You may wish to invest on a special dry hat cleaning sponge that is used to remove dry dirt on felt hats without having to use water. A portable garment steamer is exceptionally useful in re-shaping your hat and also in freshening the material when they are thoroughly cleaned. The tools should be kept in one specific place in order to have them ready at all times to do some quick touch-ups after a day out.
How to Clean a Cowboy Hat (Felt).
A felt hat is delicate to clean and very much time-consuming. The first thing that you should do is to take off the loose dust on the surface with your horsehair hat brush. This should always be brushing in a counter clockwise direction beginning at the front of the hat and going all the way round the brim and the crown. This particular direction is in keeping with the nature grain of the animal fur felt and the minute fibres appear incredibly smooth. Wipe clean up any other stubborn hair or irritating fuzz that the brush did not get with your lint roller. In the event that the hat has dry loose dirt on it you can make use of a dry hat sponge to wipe the surface dirt. The minute scuff marks are removed by rubbing little with this special cleaning sponge. Wet stains have to be dealt with in a completely different manner so that they are not irreparably damaged. When you spill any liquid on the felt hat, dry it first at the room temperature before its application. The high powered hair dryer should not be used or kept close to a space heater since artificial heat will soon contract the felt material. After the spill that occurred accidentally dries brush the area to ensure the powdery residue is lifted. A dry microfiber cloth can be used to dab the area slightly using a slightly damp cloth in case a stubborn stain is present. Wet the felt to the fullest extent. You must always leave the hat to dry naturally on an appropriate stand of the hat in order to maintain its natural shape to the latter.
On how to clean a Straw Cowboy Hat.
Straw hats are far easier to clean although they need an extra attention to ensure that the weaved fibers do not break under pressure. Begin by wiping the hat thoroughly using a clean dry microfiber cloth in order to take off the loose dirt and pollen. A soft-bristled brush can be used to sweep dust that is embedded in the weave in the crevices with a lot of depth. Wipe using the brush and make sure not to fray the straw and spoil the protective finish made of lacquer. To get even deeper cleaning with a damp cloth can be carefully used. Add a couple of drops of non-detergent dishwasher to a small bowl of warm water. Wet your cloth by dipping it into the water with soap and squeeze it with a lot of force until it is hardly wet. Wipe off the straw surface in smooth circular motion gently. Pay attention to those parts where dust accumulates most such as deep crease of the crown and outer edges of the brims. Clean the remaining soap with a totally different cloth that has been moistened using clean water only. The hat should be totally dry before it can be worn out again. It should be put standing on a hat stand in an open room and not where the blazing sun can shine. The exposure of the straw to direct sunlight may cause the straw to hard-bake and crack and unravel in the long run.
How to treat Stubborn Stains and Sweat.
The most typical and annoying thing about cowboy hats to their owners is the sweat stains particularly in the blistering hot summer seasons. The sweatband in the hat is capable of absorbing moisture and body oils on your forehead naturally which can later find its way completely through to the exterior of the hat material. The solution to this irrevocable damage is to wash the sweatband periodically. Fold the inner sweatband upwards and outwards making certain that the delicate hat material is clear. Add in a cup small volume of mild baby shampoo to warm water. The leather or fabric sweatband can be cleaned by rubbing a soft cloth or soft-bristled toothbrush on it to make it appear clean. Rinse off the soapy suds using a clean damp cloth and leave the band turned out till it is dry. In case a straw hat already has salty sweat permanently stained on it that you can attempt wiping the outside with a mild solution consisting of an equal part of water and white vinegar. This is a natural acidic solution which is used to dissolve safely the dried salt and heavy oils of the sweat. A severely stained felt hat must by no means be taken to a professional hat cleaner, but should be taken to him. The coarse household chemicals will violently deprive the fur of its natural oils of waterproofing and forever ruin the color as well as the luxurious feel.
How to keep your hat clean: Proper Storage.
Cleaning hat is really just half the battle since it is much longer kept clean and in shape when it is well stored. Always make certain not to put your cowboy hat on the back seat of your hot truck, or carelessly put it on a flat table. Having a hat lying down on its brim will eventually distort the shape that has been well made and it will end up appearing extremely messy. Your hat should always be kept upside down with a big hole on the top. This particular sitting posture serves to safeguard the outer rim and also enables the inner sweat band to be air-ed in the right way after wearing it throughout the day. A wall mounted hat rack or a solid wooden hat block is the ultimate best investment as a safe long-term storage. One thing you should put into serious consideration is having your hat safely packed into a box of protective cardboard hat provided that you intend to keep it locked up over a long period of time. A special box is a very safe way of keeping the sensitive material safe against heavy dust and mistakes of crushing into the small compact closet which is already crowded with items. Make the place of your main storage reasonably cool and as dry as possible all the year round. Unsafe moulds can be grown quickly in high humidity of the air surrounding it as well as excessive heat being trapped can permanently shrink felt or break costly straw. Spending an extra few seconds to put your hat away in the right place each and every day will literally cost you hours of fruitless cleaning time in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequency of cleaning my cowboy hat? Brushing a hat after using it in a brush should be done in an honest way as it will easily remove the dust and other everyday debris. A thorough deep cleaning will normally be required once or twice in a season that largely depends on the frequency of the outing as well as the natural perspiration rate.
May I put my cowboy hat in the washing machine? Putting any form of cowboy hat in a washing machine or an automated dishwasher should never be done by any means. Both the felt and straw hats are vulnerable to extreme heat, which will forever ruin the shape and thin material through the aggressive mechanical agitation, and too much water.
How would I go about it should my felt hat get caught up in the rain? Upon getting indoors shake off the heavy water as soon as possible. To dry the hat, the inner leather sweatband should then be turned outwards and the hat placed upside down on the top to be air dried at normal room temperature. Hot radiators and blow dryers are not artificial sources of heat that can be used to dry clothes that are slow to dry.
May I apply dry clean solvent on my hat? Ingreatly you must not make use of rough chemical dissolvers on your headgear. They are able to discolour the natural material seriously and violently destroy the internal structural stiffeners that keep the hat shape together in an ideal manner. Always use natural cleaning techniques that are mild or seek the advice of an experienced one.
What do I do with a hat that a cowboy has crushed? It is smart to use a handheld garment steamer where warm steam is sprayed at the deepest part that is crushed. The warm dampness makes the hard stuff soft to touch so that you could quite easily shape it back to its original clean form using merely your bare hands.
Final Thought
Wearing your preferred western clothes does not necessarily mean that you will have to go through a frustration and time-consuming task. It is the knowledge on how to clean a cowboy hat effectively that guarantees that one always looks as good as possible whether going to a local rodeo or on a casual night out on the town. The amount of time you can prolong the life of your favorite fashionable accessory and save a lot of money is enormous once you literally use the tools of the household and show utmost respect to the fragile material. The mere daily routine of brushing in a few seconds and safely storing the used toothbrushes will automatically ensure that deep stains are not formed or the structural damage is severe. It is important to keep in mind that such delicate natural materials as fur felt and woven straw require a huge amount of patience when handling. Keep off of solid chemical cleaners and noises like artificial heat at any cost to save on cost of investment. The hat is much more than a mere garment since it is a proud symbol of a manly and traditional American culture. Greatly cherish your own equipment and it will most certainly pay you in long years to come.
