Tricks for Cleaning Baseball Caps

Baseball caps can get dirty quickly when they are worn on the field. Throw in dirt and dust, pine tar and resin, not to mention sweat or even rain, and suddenly a formerly pristine cap can look grungy. Washing a baseball cap can be tricky since you want to keep the integrity of the shape of the brim. Employing a few tricks can clean up the cap and help it retain its shape.

  1. Cap Washing Cage

    • A cap washing cage is a device which was specifically designed for washing baseball caps. The baseball cap is fitted into the dome-shaped cage, which also has a section for the brim. The cage is then secured. The cap can be placed in the washing machine or dishwasher on a warm-water setting with detergent. When the cap comes out, it retains its shape better than if it has simply been tossed in the washing machine or dishwasher. You should not wash wool caps using this method.

    Hand Wash

    • Certain baseball caps, such as wool caps, should be washed by hand in cold water with a mild detergent. To determine what the baseball cap is made of, check the tag found on the inside of the hat. Fill the sink with cold water, add a splash of mild detergent, and dunk the hat in the water several times, submerging it for a minute or two each time. Repeat the action in a sink filled with just water (no detergent) and allow it to air-dry. Washing the wool cap by hand will protect the cap from shrinking.

    Restore the Brim

    • After a baseball cap has been washed, the brim has a tendency to return to the original flat brim form. To avoid this, after washing, place the brim of the hat around a large plastic cup. Secure the brim with several elastic bands. After the hat has dried, remove the elastics from the plastic cups and the brim will have again obtained the curved shape from before the washing.

    Air-Dry

    • Avoid placing the baseball cap in the dryer. Between the heat of the dryer as well as the tumbling action, the shape of the baseball cap as well as the material will be ruined. Instead, place the hat on a towel and allow it to air-dry. Avoid placing the hat in the sun to dry. The sun may have a bleaching effect on the color of the cap.

    Bleach

    • Avoid using color-safe bleach on white baseball caps. Some people try to use bleach on caps which are predominantly white with some stitched lettering. However, even though the bleach is color-safe, it may have a "yellowing" effect on the rest of the baseball cap.