How to clean a felt hat yourself at home

Increasingly, women (and men too) choose hats and bonnets as headwear. They can be worn with classic coats and raincoats, as well as with youth jackets. But it happens that they bought something, but they don’t know how to clean a felt hat at home. And I also don’t know what kind of care is required for felt products.

Our grandmothers remember effective cleaning methods. This is someone who knew how to wear a hat with grace and took care of it without waiting for it to become dusty or greasy. Of course, you can always take it to the dry cleaner. But the service will cost almost the same as what you paid for the headdress upon purchase. And if you consider that you need to clean it constantly, then no amount of money is enough to keep it in order.

There are items in a woman's wardrobe that you should not skimp on: a handbag, shoes, gloves and a hat. These things must be expensive (or original) and of very high quality. Always spotlessly clean and matched in style and color. Since they are not cheap and are bought for more than one season, we will collect tips and recommendations for cleaning hats from dust and dirt.

Secrets of care

Caring for felt is not difficult, as is cleaning it from dust, dirt and stains. It would seem that what could be left from water splashes? But no, if the drops are not immediately cleaned from the felt, they will leave untidy whitish marks.

The content of the article

Secrets of care
Dust removal
The hat got caught in the rain
Cleaning from dirt
Additional Tricks

It happens that during the season the hat will not be worn at all. This circumstance does not cancel timely cleaning. Felt is very delicate: specks of dust and specks are attracted to it like a magnet and become firmly embedded in it.

A dusty hat will not make a woman elegant, will not give her charm, and will rather turn her into a laughing stock. And the man in the dust-gray headdress gives the impression of an unkempt loser. A completely bare head is better than a dusty, wrinkled or dirty hat on your head.

Felt Felted wool, which is shaped on special blocks. You can't just pick it up and wash it. Whatever the shape of the hat, it requires careful cleaning and drying.

That's why:

Rule number one. Before placing a felt hat on your head, make sure it is spotlessly clean and has not lost its original shape.
Rule number two. During the off-season, the hat is stored in a hat box. If there is none, wrap it and stuff it with paper. It should lie on the shelf of a lockable closet, royally free (without the proximity of bags and suitcases that could crush it).

Attention

Before putting it away for storage, it is necessary to clean the hat. Exactly the same as before the season, taken out of a box or from a closet shelf.

Now let’s figure out how to clean them, so that the pretentious thing that makes us irresistible does not turn into a shapeless pancake due to improper care.

First of all, let's take into account some points:

Felt doesn't get wet easily, but it really doesn't like dampness.
Wearing a hat in the rain is not recommended. Or you will have to protect it from precipitation with an umbrella.
Immediately upon returning to the room, you will need to shake off and carefully remove the moisture with a clothes brush in the “pile” direction.
Now you need to dry the hat and only then put it on the shelf until the next time you go outside.
It is clear that it cannot be crushed either dry or wet.

Cleaning the lining

The lining quickly gets dirty as it comes into contact with the scalp, face and hair. It also needs to be cleaned.

Washing is the most effective way to clean the lining of a hat. The lining fabric needs to be torn off. However, this method requires skill. If they are not there, it is better to use dry cleaning.

A method in which you don’t have to remove the lining:

take 100 milliliters of water and ammonia, mix;
wet the gauze bandage with the solution;
turn out the lining of the hat and process it evenly;
wait for the fabric to dry and return it to its original place.

Advice! If there are stains on a hat that are difficult to remove, it is better not to clean them yourself, not to spoil the headdress, but to seek help from the nearest dry cleaner.

Dust removal

Wherever this headdress lies, it will definitely collect dust. Every time you pick up a fedora, shake it off, brush it off, or blow off the dust. It’s a matter of seconds, but this will prevent dust layers from accumulating.

An already dusty hat will require a little more time to clean. But a vacuum cleaner at low speed or a soft brush does an excellent job of this task.

A stale dusty hat needs more serious measures. Coarse dry salt or pure bran will perfectly clean it from dust. Then you need to shake it off properly.

Dust mixed with sweat on the inside of the crown is removed with a mixture of salt, ammonia and table vinegar. The proportions are approximately as follows: 1 table spoon of salt, half a spoon of ammonia, the same amount of 9% vinegar.

Wash by hand

Felt products require washing when the surfaces are significantly soiled. Particular attention is paid to children's toys, which need to be kept clean. To maintain their shape and pleasant texture, wash them by hand.

Felt toys should preferably be washed by hand.

Sequencing:

Fill a basin with water heated to 30˚C.
Dissolve a safe detergent in it.
Having lowered the felt toy into the liquid, gently squeeze it, avoiding vigorous friction.
Any stains found can be cleaned without pressure using a soft brush.
Heated water is also used for rinsing. Its temperature ranges from 20 to 30˚С. Replace up to three times until the toy is completely free of soap residue. Cold water cannot be used for rinsing, as after it the felt becomes hard and its surface loses its soft velvety quality.

Spinning is carried out by lightly compressing the product. Twisting is not allowed.

If you need to wash a beret made of high-quality wool felt, which is prone to shrinkage, adhere to the following recommendations. Having prepared a solution at a temperature of 30˚C with a gentle detergent, immerse the headdress in it, straightening out all the folds as much as possible.

Leave for a quarter of an hour. Then wash, carefully rubbing the surfaces. Rinsing with warm water is performed identically to washed felt toys without twisting.

How to wash a felt beret

The hat got caught in the rain

If your hat is soaking wet, you have a problem. It is unlikely that you will find a special blank in your house, so a three-liter jar, turned upside down, will do. This way the hat is less deformed when drying. You can also pull a round hat onto a ball of a suitable size or use an inflatable balloon.

Although dry felt repels water, prolonged exposure to a damp environment or rain will not do it any good. Heavy rain will soak through the thickest felt in a few minutes.

No matter what kind of rain (drizzle or drizzle) your hat gets caught in, take care of it as soon as you get home.
Shake off by hand.
Brush off any remaining moisture and leave to dry near a heat source. Use a three-liter jar to prevent the brim of your hat from drooping. At home, this is the most affordable way to keep in shape.
After drying, the brim and crown can be smoothed with a brush in the direction of the pile.

Washing in a washing machine

For woolen and wool-blend felt, machine washing is not recommended, since products made from this material are not able to regain their shape after being in water for a long time.

If necessary, you can wash felt parts and items made from this material if it is based on synthetic fibers.

Algorithm of actions:

Pour detergent into the container of the machine.
Select a gentle mode with the shortest washing period.
The temperature is set to 30˚C.
The rinse and spin mode is turned off or the lowest speed is selected. Rinse by hand in heated water, as in hand washing.

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Felt items can be washed conveniently in special bags.

It is convenient to wash felt items in special bags in which they will experience less friction. They are purchased or sewn from thin, light-colored cotton textiles. You can use a pillowcase.

Cleaning from dirt

It is better to take an expensive branded hat made of thin felt to the dry cleaner along with the instructions that come with it. Because you can clean heavy dirt or stains only when you are sure that you won’t spoil anything. A hat made of thick felt can still be cleaned from dirt and stains yourself. But the elegant white hat may not withstand experiments.

Advice

In any case, no matter what you use to clean the hat, apply your chosen product to the inner, most inconspicuous part and see how the material behaves.

Now let’s look at what other available tools will help you clean your hat at home.

Cleaning with soapy water

If the hat has not been properly cared for and is already dusty and dirty before it gets wet, matters become more complicated.

Make a soap solution (LOC from Amway is best - it does not leave streaks). Dilute a few drops of the product in water (Lok should be added to water, and not vice versa, so as not to foam too much).

Apply with a sponge over the entire surface and leave for several minutes.
Using a hard sponge or soft brush, rinse with light movements.
Rinse off with clean water. You can use water from a shower head, but very quickly. Do not keep under running water, there is no need to rinse thoroughly.
Shake off excess moisture.

If necessary, correct the shape with your hands or use a special hat block (if you are the lucky owner of one) or a jar and leave it to dry.

It is not advisable to use washing powder or a solution of simple soap, since to wash it off you will need to literally rinse the hat in water. After this, it will be extremely difficult to return it to its original shape.

Ammonia

Most stains on a felt hat come off with ammonia. Contaminated areas are wiped with its solution.
You can use tobacco infusion (for dark felt).

Both can leave a persistent, unpleasant odor. Leave it to air in the fresh air without trying to overpower it with perfume. The mixture turns out to be deadly. It's better to air it out first.

Ammonia perfectly breaks down most types of contaminants. Most types of stains lend themselves to it. Usually, ammonia is enough for felt; there is no need to prepare complex compositions for removing stains. It can be mixed with semolina, bran, starch. Thus, mechanical cleaning is added to the properties of breaking down grease stains.

Modern stain removers such as Vanish can cope with complex stains on felt, but it is better to first check the reaction on the inside of the crown.

What kind of fabric is it and what is it made from?

The name felt fabric comes from the French word feutre and is a type of felt, which is a non-woven material obtained by felting wool or fluff.

The modern assortment is represented by different types of felt, in which synthetic fibers are used, giving the material new properties.

Classification:

Wool felt. Material made from natural fibers (most often sheep or goat wool is used) is used for small products. It is capable of deformation and emits a specific unpleasant odor when damp. During use, pellets form on the surface.
Wool blend. In this variety, approximately half of the composition is acrylic and viscose fibers. When touching the skin, there is no irritation characteristic of clean wool. The textile is smooth, soft, has a wide range of colors, but is unstable during prolonged contact with moisture. May fade and lose shape. Suitable for making decorative parts and small items.
Acrylic. It has gained popularity due to its good elasticity, strength, low thickness, and a variety of rich colors. This felt is easy to clean, does not fade, and retains its shape. Allows you to make things of various shapes and degrees of complexity.
Polyester. Due to the strength of the fibers, it is one of the most wear-resistant varieties. Popular for making bulky items - bags, cases, toys.
Viscose. It is characterized by high strength. It is recommended for creating small design details and decorations, since it can lose its shape after washing.

What does felt fabric look like?
The main area of application for felt is handicrafts. They make toys and decorative elements to decorate a variety of products. Felt hats, bags and shoes are popular. Elastic, durable varieties are suitable for upholstery of upholstered furniture.

For creativity, we offer modeling felt, which when wet becomes plastic and allows you to model any shape. The created configurations are saved after drying.

Among the advantages of felt are environmental safety and ease of processing. It is important for needlework that the cuts do not fall off. This allows you to create appliqués, various brooches and other decorative details.

Attracts good wear resistance, wide color palette. This material retains heat well. The main disadvantage is loss of shape if not properly cared for.

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Felt fabric has many advantages

Additional Tricks

Raindrops and melted snowflakes can be easily removed if you simply hold the headdress over a pan of steam and smooth it over the pile with a soft brush.
The dusty hat is first brushed, then held over steam and then brushed again.
Our grandmothers used bran to remove yellowing from light felt hats. They can be bought in small packages at the supermarket. Or in markets where they sell feed for horses and cows along with potatoes and carrots. They can give a few handfuls “for nothing.”

The hat has become noticeably scuffed and folded. What to do?

Such defects are removed with fine sandpaper. Use it to treat problem areas on felt. It is clear that this must be done carefully and gently. An alternative is fine salt, the crystals of which act on the pile no worse than sandpaper. However, it is necessary that there is not a drop of moisture on the hat at the time of cleaning. Salt is poured onto the stain and rubbed with a soft cloth. Then the hat is thoroughly shaken off.

It's great that now you can see girls in cute hats. Hats suit everyone, without exception. Another question is that the classics of the genre require appropriate shoes, outerwear and accessories. However, felt hats have become more democratic; they look great with jackets and down jackets. This is worth taking note, because you can choose your own style of hat for any type of face, which cannot be said about knitted hats.

However, purchasing a felt headdress is obligatory. It will require simple but regular care to ensure it always looks perfect. From time to time the question will arise about how to clean a felt hat at home. How to store it correctly and what care is needed. But we already know all about this, as well as the fact that all these measures will not require special efforts and expenses.

Bleaching felt products

Hydrogen peroxide can be used to clean the yellowish tint that sometimes appears on light and white felt hats. The mixture is prepared in the following proportion: 3 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide and 1 tsp. ammonia. Using a brush, yellowness is removed.

If yellowness affects a large area, then ordinary bran or semolina can correct the situation. The groats must be thoroughly rubbed in from the outside, and then thoroughly beaten out from the back. After this procedure, the hat will be like new.

If after all the cleansing operations the white color has faded a little, then talc can help. Sprinkle onto the surface of the product and clean it with an anti-lint brush.

It is also possible to use sodium hydrogen sulfate to bleach felt. 15 g of powder is diluted in a liter of water. Then chalk is added here. You need to get a mixture like thick sour cream.

This solution is applied to the hat with a brush, then dried, after which the remaining chalk is removed with a brush.

Universal options

Not all women are supporters of a style that conveys the atmosphere of the twentieth century through the prism of modernity. Sweatshirts, jeans and T-shirts are popular right now - so why not create a statement look with a fedora?

A combination of skinny jeans, a loose sweater with original colors, sneakers and a hat will make a girl irresistible at any party or on a regular walk with friends.

You can create a charmingly arrogant look by combining a felt hat and a leather jacket.

But not all products that are in demand in the twenty-first century will look spectacular with a felt hat. Experimenting with UGG boots, wide “rapper” jeans and sweatshirts will not end well.

Removing grease stains

It is best to remove such stains as soon as they are discovered. Then the fat will not have time to be absorbed into the fabric and it will be much easier to remove. There are several ways to do this:

Take a dried bread crust and wipe the problem area with it.
Sprinkle the stain with salt and after a few minutes, remove with a hard sponge.

Stubborn dirt is much more difficult to remove

. Here you can use the following methods:

Take a little gasoline and, soaking a napkin in it, carefully blot the dirty area.
You can also mix gasoline with a small amount of potato starch. The area of contamination is treated with this paste-like mixture. After drying, it is removed with a brush.

The stains remaining after cleaning are removed with lemon juice diluted in water.

How to clean a suede hat at home

Suede, as a true derivative of genuine leather, requires its own approach. It gets dirty quite easily and in order to maintain the respectable and noble appearance of the material, you need to clean a suede hat at home as often as possible. But at the same time much more delicate.

You can also clean hats with complex material textures, such as suede, using simple and available means. Imagine that you can put in order not only a hat, but also gloves using these methods.

What will you need? A brush - an ordinary clothes one, a school eraser - preferably neutral white, and a simple set from the pharmacy - ammonia and magnesium. Don't forget about bran, soda and vinegar, they can be found in every kitchen. Rubber gloves are a must. With these simple things you can tidy up any model.

Suede is very capricious, its main problem, which appears literally out of thin air, is glossiness.

Villi, do not forget that this is the inner surface of the skin, tends to fall off and become confused even from any touch, and any glossiness is guaranteed to promise a stain.

In this case, a clothes brush and a school eraser will help us; any suede model should be pre-cleaned with their help.

It is important to clean not only along the pile, but also against it. Are there any stains left? We take out ammonia and gasoline - the one that is intended for lighters, and not for cars, is best suited - it is more delicate

Clean the model from dust with a brush and go gently (but against the lint) with an eraser. Under no circumstances should you get such a hat wet, but you can prepare a gentle solution to remove difficult stains. Water at room temperature, soap - preferably baby soap and without fragrance (it can be rubbed on a regular kitchen grater) and half a bottle of pharmaceutical ammonia - that's two tablespoons. You need to mix all the ingredients in equal proportions.

You will need a soft cloth and a regular dish sponge. Using a sponge, lightly rub the suede in a circular motion. Without letting it dry, lift the pile up with a brush. And be sure to dry it at room temperature, and then tidy it up using the same clothes brush. Just smooth out the fibers by gently combing them.

What to do if the straw hat has turned yellow

Over time, due to frequent wear or prolonged storage in the closet, the straw hat begins to turn yellow. To wash the white cap, restore whiteness and get rid of yellowness, use hydrogen peroxide 3%. To do this, take a teaspoon of the product and warm water and mix.

First, wipe the surface of the cap with a dry soft brush, and then evenly moisten the material with the prepared mixture. When the product is slightly dry, iron the cap through damp gauze.

Lemon juice effectively removes yellowness. Take the juice of one lemon and spray from a spray bottle over the surface of the product. Leave to dry naturally. Alternatively, you can cut the lemon into halves, remove the peel and rub the lemon pieces evenly over the hat.

The accessory is left for 40-45 minutes and then washed with a brush and warm water, avoiding excessive wetting. Then the hat is dried with a cloth and ironed through a damp white cloth.

Instead of lemon, you can use 3% hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Take two tablespoons of the ingredients and mix. Wipe the cap with the composition and iron with a very hot iron through damp gauze or cloth.

Cleaning stains

If stains appear on a soft surface (this is a common occurrence in homes with small children), do not rush to wash it. A cleaning agent for upholstered furniture, preferably foam, is a good choice as a cleaner.

If you need to clean an expensive item, first try using the product on an inconspicuous area, checking to see if it disturbs the color, surface texture, etc.

First, remove dust and surface dirt with a vacuum cleaner, then apply cleaning foam to the stains with a brush or sponge, leave to act for about 15 minutes (read the instructions), vacuum again, and brush. Instead of special foam, you can use foam from baby soap.

A good stain remover is vinegar diluted in water 1:1. The effect of the solution also needs to be tested on a hidden area, since the acid can change the shade of a soft surface.

Detergents

You can make your own detergent that does not harm felt products.

You will need to turn a bar of baby soap into shavings on a fine grater. Place it in a glass liter jar and carefully pour boiling water over it. Leave under a terry towel for an hour and then stir until smooth. The resulting soap mass removes dirt well and preserves the brightness of the colors.

From the range of ready-made detergent compositions for felt items, it is recommended to use liquid or gel ones.

They quickly dissolve even in warm water and can be completely rinsed, especially when the procedure is carried out in several steps. This approach ensures that there are no whitish streaks and will be visible after drying.

For colored felt, it is important to use brands with the appropriate markings to prevent strong leaching of the coloring pigment.

Washing gel

The following types of concentrated gel are suitable: Chirton, Gallus, Meine Liebe, Wellery Delicate color, Sion, Kao Emerl and others.

We store it correctly - we use it for a long time

Proper storage is the key to long-term wear. The ideal place to store felt products is a thick cardboard box. It is recommended to stuff the inside of the hat with paper and wrap it in fabric.

Basic rules for wearing felt hats:

You should not hang a felt hat on a hook for a long time. Otherwise, it will simply lose its shape.
Felt hats should not be worn in rain or snow.
Wipe with a brush in the direction of the pile, then stretch it onto a glass jar to dry.
If the hat has become shabby and lost its appearance, then steam will help restore youth. After that, be sure to stroke the pile with a brush.

If the above methods do not help, then chemical special products come to the rescue. Stain removers are presented in a large assortment. Read the terms of use first and be sure to follow them. Remember that you can immediately assess a person based on the condition of the headdress. Therefore, take care of your hats. The main thing is to know how to clean a felt hat at home.

Like all items of clothing, as a result of regular wear or, conversely, long-term storage in the closet, hats often lose their attractive appearance. Alas, felt is a rather easily soiled material, so information on how to clean a felt hat will be useful to many.