There is a category of people who do not wear hats even in the most severe frosts in order to preserve their hair. Others think that hats don’t suit them. When a mother says to her child: “Put on your hat!” is a manifestation of love and care. Anyone who neglects to wear a hat in cold weather risks getting hypothermia of the head and throat. Also, walking without a hat has a negative impact on the condition of your hair.
In fact, choosing a winter or demi-season headdress with taste does not take five minutes, but the time spent is worth it.
Various configurations and styles, fur and knitted, designer and very simple, you can choose a hat to suit every taste and budget.
In addition, with the help of a headdress you can skillfully correct the shape of your face and then it will become your favorite decoration.
But, often, owners of beautiful hats are faced with another time-consuming and difficult task: how to clean a hat at home so that it does not lose its shape, color and size.
Why does this need arise? It happens that the dry cleaner does not take a product made from natural materials for fear of spoiling it. The condition of the scalp and oily hair can greatly stain the inside of the hat, and the product needs frequent cleaning.
Knitted hats
The hat, woven from synthetic threads, is washed in a washing machine, placing it in a special clothes bag. Choose a gentle mode and a temperature not higher than 30-35 degrees. It is better to choose a special liquid detergent. And thanks to the bag, the hat will not stretch. Do not use machine drying or spinning to prevent the product from losing its shape. Items containing natural ingredients cannot be washed in a machine, only by hand with shampoo or a specialized powder for wool and cotton threads. It is necessary to wash and rinse in cool water, no temperature changes. If the contamination is significant, the hat can be soaked for a short time by softening the water with vinegar. Pay attention to the chosen detergent; if it contains bleaching additives, then washing the hat in it is prohibited. The original color and appearance will be hopelessly damaged. Leave the washed item to drain and carefully blot it in a terry towel. Do not twist or wring out. After washing, a fluffy mohair hat is tied into a bag and placed in the freezer for several hours. As the water freezes, it forms ice crystals in the weave. Then the product is dried and acquires magnificent volume. If a wool hat has a distinct shape, it is usually a feminine piece matched to a coat. Dry the product in a stretched form, for example, on a jar of the appropriate diameter.
Rules for washing woolen products
The main postulate: before you start washing, you should carefully study the label .
If it is not there, then they rely on the composition and appearance of the accessory. Very dense knitting from strong threads requires a completely different approach than loose knitting. If you can try washing the first option in a machine, then the second option is definitely not. also worth considering the shape . Hats that must retain it, otherwise they will become unwearable, are cleaned by hand. At the end of the procedure, they must be placed on a blank or an inverted jar to avoid deformation. Initially, shapeless things do not require such careful and scrupulous handling, unless they have fluffy pile.
Important! Wool hats are washed separately from clothes made from other materials.
What you should never do:
- wash and rinse in water of different temperatures (sudden changes must be avoided, as this will cause knitted items to shrink and become rough);
- dry by clinging to clothespins;
- soak for a long time;
- soak in a highly concentrated cleaning solution;
- use brushes and sponges with an abrasive coating;
- use hot water (it should not be higher than 40 degrees).
When it comes to soaking, housewives often deviate from the rule. If the stain is old or specific, then the headdress is placed in a basin filled with a warm soapy solution (prepared using shavings of laundry soap or a liquid product intended specifically for wool). Additionally, vinegar or hydrogen peroxide is added to the water. Proportions: 2 tablespoons of substance per 5 liters of water.
Important! The duration of soaking should not exceed 30–40 minutes.
By hand or by machine?
Depends on the type of yarn. Cashmere and angora are washed exclusively by hand. Less delicate options, which also contain artificial threads, can be tried in the machine. Before being placed in the drum, the hat is placed in a special case.
Machine wash instructions:
- suitable mode: “wool”, “delicate”, “hand”;
- temperature: 30 degrees;
- you need to give up spinning;
- the minimum number of revolutions is set.
Rules and notes for hand washing:
- soft water is used;
- you can rinse and soak with vinegar (2 spoons per 5 liters) or glycerin (1 teaspoon per 10 liters);
- During washing, the walls of the hats do not rub against each other; the surface is touched with the palm of your hand;
- spot washing will most likely lead to the formation of pellets in the area that was washed;
- rinse the product in 4–5 waters (running water is not suitable, you need to use water collected in a basin).
What means should I use?
Chemicals with a bleaching effect are prohibited; granular powders should also be avoided . If the latter do not completely dissolve and settle inside the fibers, then during washing this will lead to disruption of the integrity of the hairs. Because of this, pellets will appear.
Capsules and liquid products are suitable for machine washing. Manual cleaning is carried out using shampoo, laundry soap shavings (just rub the bar on a grater) or washing gel. When choosing a product, rely on the type of yarn. Mohair, cashmere and angora require the use of baby shampoo. It is harmless and acts more delicately than products for adults.
Important! It is necessary to use colorless and odorless laundry soap. Wool easily absorbs foreign odors and is difficult to part with.
If the hat comes with fur trim, then the latter is cleaned using a home remedy based on salt (3 tsp), ammonia (1 tsp) and water (0.5 l).
Hat with pompom
If the pompom is knitted, then it is washed together with the hat, and after drying, combed using an animal hair comb. Stuck threads are pulled out with a knitting needle. You can’t do this with a fur pompom; it is torn off and sewn onto a clean base. Sometimes this is not possible, but it doesn’t matter. Cover the fluffy pompom with a thick plastic bag and tie it tightly so that water does not penetrate under the bag. Carefully wash the hat itself by hand, rinse, dry, untie the pompom and shake the product.
Mink hat
A natural mink hat cannot be washed in the usual way. The thing is that both large sheets of fur and strips are greatly stretched during production. If you intensively wet the inner surface of the fur, the skins will wrinkle when drying, deforming the product. If the hat gets your hair dirty, it means it's pretty dirty. Sometimes it is enough to tear off the lining and wash it. Or replace it with a new one. Then they inspect the product from the inside, checking for holes and moth bites. Fix problems, if any, extending the life of the device. Fur is conditioned only with natural ingredients, for example, wheat bran. Take two glasses of bran and brew with an equal amount of boiling water. Leave for a few minutes, drain off excess moisture and begin cleaning. Gently and carefully rub the wheat mass over the fur, not missing a single fragment. Then comb with a comb and shake. The fur item is dried by stuffing it with fabric or wrinkled soft paper.
How to wash a fur hat
Cleaning a fur hat or a hat knitted from a fur ribbon is the most difficult task at home. It is recommended to peel off the lining and wash it separately. And the fur part cannot be immersed in water - after that it will shrink very strongly, and the hat will have to be thrown away.
Long fur can be cleaned mechanically by combing it with a special brush. Short fur, such as a mouton, can be wrapped in damp gauze, and then shaken well to dislodge the dust stuck between the hairs, which will settle on the gauze.
If mechanical cleaning is not enough, you can use traditional stain treatment methods. The easiest one is to use shampoo. Pour a little into the water and whip up the foam. Then scoop some foam onto a sponge and gently scrub the fur, being careful not to wet the base of the hat.
To remove old grease stains, it is recommended to use gasoline with potato starch. The substances must be mixed to form a paste and applied to the stain. Then let it dry and comb the powder out of the fur.
A solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide also helps clean the fur. Add a teaspoon of peroxide to 200 g of heated water. Add a few drops of ammonia there. Using a spray bottle or cotton swab, moisten the fur with the mixture. After drying, comb it well.
The answer to the question of how to wash a mink hat at home has also long been found. It can be cleaned with bran. You will need 1.5-2 cups of wheat bran and approximately the same amount of boiling water. Pour water over the bran and let it swell. Drain off excess water and apply the resulting mixture to the cap. Then comb the fur well and shake it.
Talc or potato starch will help restore the whiteness of light-colored hats. They need to be applied to the fur and then combed out. You can treat the white cap with a swab moistened with hydrogen peroxide and water in a 2:1 ratio.
Felt hats
Berets and felt hats in light shades are cleaned of sweat and dust stains with the following solution. Mix five tablespoons of acetic acid in equal quantities with ammonia. Add one and a half tablespoons of salt to the resulting liquid and stir. Then soak a clean, non-fading rag with the resulting mixture and carefully clean the sensitive material. Wipe dry.
Clean greasy and greasy areas with a cotton pad soaked in purified gasoline. When dry, the product does not smell of anything.
In general, felt hats get dirty very quickly and look untidy. In order not to wait for such drastic measures, the hat is updated every two weeks. Steam the felt over a boiling kettle and remove dirt with a dry brush.
Useful tips
Before washing, treat contaminated areas with soapy water. This will simplify the general cleaning process.
Talc or starch will help renew the whiteness of light-colored products. Lightly sprinkle the hat with powder and wait 15-20 minutes, then shake it out thoroughly.
To protect hats made from natural materials from moths, use special products or sachets during storage.
Fur can only be combed with a wooden comb. In this case, you need to act carefully and carefully so as not to tear the pile out of the adhesive base.
For any material, hand washing is the safest way. The machine should be used only as a last resort in case of severe contamination.
Products made from genuine leather
Hats and caps can be made entirely of leather or with leather inserts. It will cost a tidy sum of money to have them cleaned by a cleaning service. Thrifty owners of expensive items clean such hats with onions. To do this, cut off a wide onion ring and rub the cut on the product. As the bulb becomes dirty, a new layer is cut off. Then the leather product is sent to the balcony to air. The shine and cleanliness are amazing.
How to extend the service life before washing
You need to protect your fur and wool items from moths. To do this, in the closet where hats are stored, they lay out means to protect against an unexpected guest. This could be orange peels or orange essential oil. Lavender, mint, eucalyptus or geranium oil will also repel moths. Saturate pieces of fabric with aroma and place them in the corners of the shelves. You can place an open vessel with oil where it will not fall.
If the long fur of the product gets very wet due to snow, it should be dried with a hairdryer; the battery can ruin the color and reduce the life of the hat.
The same applies to washing; fur items should not be hung near heaters. But be sure to shake and comb with a wide-tooth comb.
Hair stains the inside surface of hats, so you should not forget about head hygiene during the cold period. If frequent washing with water is undesirable, then you can use dry shampoo or talcum powder for the scalp. Do not overuse styling products.
So, a hat is not a luxury, but a necessary part of every person’s wardrobe. We all want to be beautiful, clean and neat. Therefore, we stock up on wheat bran for cleaning a mink hat, and look for potato starch in the kitchen supplies for cleaning fur. We take gasoline from the garage, which is necessary to clean grease stains on felt fabric.
