Hat Care Tips: Cleaning a Felt or Straw Hat

Depending on how often you wear your hat, it will eventually develop some stains through daily use. The most common ways a hat can get dirty is through spills, dirt, and grease/oil that happen to fall or penetrate into the hat body. Hats are designed to resist the elements due to the fur being extremely compact and the shellac that is used to stiffen it.

With that said, a horsetail bristle brush can remove most of the dust and dirt built up on the surface. To properly clean your hat, brush in a counterclockwise direction starting from the top of the crown then move onto the sides still keeping the same motion. Then begin on the brim making sure you also brush it in a counter clock-wise motion. Next face the inside of the hat towards you and now you have to brush in a clockwise motion. This technique is used to brush in the direction of fibers and to prevent lifting them and could possibly ruin it's neatness.

If a light brush does not happen do the job, then I recommend cutting up a piece of a fine sandpaper such as 400 or 600 grit. Use the sandpaper on the area that has the stain and very lightly rub it in circles until it comes off. You will see fur fly off from the sanding, but do not worry because pouncing is a vital step in the hat making process anyways. You can possibly over-sand the area so make sure you do not continue if it does not go away in a couple of passes. Pastel colors usually do not show that you passed it over with sand paper, but dark colors have a tendency to do so. Old pastel-colored hats will have slight discolorations that a sand paper might reveal too much spotting, leaving the rubbed out area very visible.

Water stains can also make the hat dirty since it water is still able to permeate regardless of the water proof properties a beaver fur felt has. Soak it in a puddle of water enough and the water seeps in, so stains can definitely still show. If your hat gets wet, let it dry completely first (around 24 hours or more) then brush off whatever you can and sand on tough spots. I recommend purchasing a water repellent spray to avoid it all together and they work incredible for these cases. Twister and Scout are both brands that sell a spray, both work just choose whichever is best priced for you.

Your hands and skin from your forehead can buildup oils that later on displace onto the hat if not careful. Leather sweatbands do a good job of repelling oils and sweat from seeping into the crown, but you can not trust mesh or fabric will do the same. There is not much to do about oils from regular wear when they start showing, especially straw hats. When in doubt, it is best to take to a professional for a cleaning.

Straw absorbs everything in comes into contact with, so most stains are permanent. You can take off dirt and dust with a baby wipe/ non-toxic wipey and pass it all over. Do not aggressively wipe it or else you will be taking off material, especially if the shellac layer of an area is already deteriorated.