How To Wash A Baseball Cap – Right Ways in 4 Simple Methods

BASEBALL CAPS – we can live, breathe, eat and do almost any activity in our favorite baseball caps. Suns or rain, they’ll protect you like no other. You want to look classy or cool, there’s a baseball cap for every occasion, but this leads to a very troubling situation. You already know it, and that is why you’re here reading this article right now. How do you wash baseball caps or can you wash baseball caps are questions haunting you right now.

But worry not, we love baseball caps, and we love you because you own one. So, we’ve put together this amazing guide that’ll help you understand all about cleaning and washing your baseball caps. We know cleaning and washing aren’t the most exciting of jobs to do, but hey, we’ll try our best to make the process fun for you. We’ll show you how to wash your cap by hand or in the washing machine. Check out this article to see how to wash a baseball cap in the dishwasher.

So ready to have some fun? Oh yes! Let’s get our dirty caps and soaps out and give them the long-due shower that they deserve!

Can You Wash a Baseball Cap?

Of course, you can! 

Baseball caps are one of those that you can wash without worry. They include baseball variants like snapbacks, dad hats, flat bills, fitted hats, trucker caps, etc. 

They’re usually made of cotton, cotton twill, jersey mesh, cotton-polyester blends, acrylic, etc. All these materials are known for their tough and durable nature and can withstand any washing, as long as you’re careful about it.

What to Know Before Cleaning a Baseball Cap?

 1. Check the Care Label

There are so many baseball caps, and sometimes it can be overwhelming to know what kind of cap you own and how to wash them. That’s where your cap’s care label comes in handy. They have all information – from the cap’s material, safe washing methods, special instructions, warnings, etc.

So, when in doubt, check your care label.

2. AVOID Chlorine-Based Bleach

We might need to use bleach to brighten dull caps. But whenever you do that, always ensure you don’t use a chlorine-based bleach but only an oxygen-based one. Chlorine will damage the fabric of your cap.

3. Check the Brim of Your Cap

Your baseball cap brims can come in 2 ways – plastic or cardboard. If your cap’s brim is plastic, you can take a sigh of relief because they can be washed by hand and by machine.

But if you have a cardboard-brimmed baseball cap (most caps before 1983 were cardboard brimmed), then your washing methods are slightly limited. Because cardboard will disintegrate when in contact with water, your only bet is to do a spot clean on them or take them to an expert.

It brings us to the question – how do you check whether your cap’s brim is cardboard or not? 

It’s easy. Tap the brim of your cap, and if you hear a hollow sound, it means the brim is made out of cardboard.

4. Check for Color Bleed

Many times, your baseball caps will be dyed, and if dyed baseball caps are washed, there are chances they may bleed color. If they do, then washing with water can get tricky, and you may have to stop your attempts at getting them cleaned at home and take them to a professional.

To check if your cap bleeds color or not, you need to do a spot test.

Wet a light-colored cloth in mild soapy water and rub it gently on an unnoticeable area of your cap. If any dye deposits on the light-colored cloth, your cap is bleeding color, and if there is no deposit, you are safe and can move ahead with washing your caps.

How To Wash A Baseball Cap

How to Hand Wash a Baseball Cap?

Hand washing is the safest and guaranteed method to get your baseball caps washed and cleaned. There are two ways you can hand wash the caps – a quick clean and a deep clean method depending on how stained your cap is.

How to Wash Baseball Cap in the Washing Machine?

How to Wash Baseball Caps in the Dishwasher?

A lot of you may have heard that dishwashers are a bad choice for your hats and caps. Well, that could be true for most of the hats and caps, but in the case of baseball caps, a wash by a dishwasher is absolutely okay as long as you follow the instructions correctly.

But, yes, if you own a cardboard brimmed cap or a cap that’s label specifically suggests not to clean by a dishwasher, then you shouldn’t.

Check out our complete guide on how to wash baseball caps in a dishwasher.

How to Wash a Mesh Trucker Hat?

Mesh hats or trucker hats are a type of baseball caps, and they are also strong, durable and can bear most of the washing methods.

If you want to know how to clean mesh hats in detail, check out our complete guide here.

How to Wash Dad Hats?

Dad hats are a popular cool vibe giving baseball caps. Dad hats, made of cotton, cotton blends, and canvas, make them an easily washable cap variety. They can be hand-washed and machine-washed.

But if you want to know how to wash dad hats most quickly and easily, we have a complete guide ready for you.

How to Wash Wool Baseball Caps?

In all of the baseball cap varieties that we discussed, the wool cap is the delicate one of the lot. Wool, a fragile material, needs to be treated with extra precautions – like avoiding hot water to wash them as it will cause warpage. 

There is also detergent specifically made to wash wool like Woolite. Ensure you use that instead of any random detergent.

Check out our complete guide if you want to know all about washing and cleaning wool baseball caps.

How to Wash a Flat Bill Hat?

Yet another baseball cap variety, a flat bill can be washed easily at home if appropriate precautions are taken.

If you own a flat bill hat, don’t forget to check out the complete washing guide here.

How to Wash a Fitted Hat?

If you want your fitted hats to remain perfect, you’ll need to wash them at some point in time. And like we said, we’ve got you covered on washing methods for all kinds of baseball cap varieties.

So, if you want to know in detail about the what’s, why’s, and how’s of washing fitted hats, you’ll want to check out our complete guide on them.

How to Wash a Hat with a Hat Washing Frame?

If you are new to the concept of a hat washing frame, then you are at the right place. A washing frame helps protect caps while they are inside a machine or a dishwasher.

If you want to know more about hat washing frames and how amazing they are, we suggest you go through them here.

How to Clean a Baseball Cap That Says ‘Do Not Wash’?

Many times, you might come across labels that read ‘do not wash.’ So how do you wash such hats and caps? 

The first thing you need to do is understand what kind of material your hat is. E.g., if you have leather, straw, suede, or any other fragile material, you might want to try DIY dry clean methods first. If that doesn’t help, you can always do a spot clean on these hats and caps.

But if you have caps made of cotton, cotton blended, polyester, acrylic, or other sturdy materials that come with a ‘do not wash’ tag, it is merely a hint that you need to be extremely careful. You can always try out a spot clean or a gentle hand wash.

 Never go for a machine or dishwasher method in such situations.

How to Eliminate Bad Odors from Your Baseball Caps?

Your caps rest on your head for a long time, and it’s bound to get stinky. You can get rid of the stink with a normal wash or a machine wash most of the time. 

But if it’s a stronger smell or if the smell persists even after a good wash, then you can try adding a few drops of vinegar to the soap solution that you use during the wash.

How to Care for Baseball Cap?

Always keep your caps in a hatbox so that they are in a dry and clean place. You can also throw in a lavender sachet to keep the caps fresh while not in use. Never store your caps in plastic covers or bags as they have little air movement inside that can cause yellowing or promote mildew growth.

Most people, including you and us, tend to throw caps just about anywhere in the house or even leave them in a car. And that’s disrespectful to your caps. Direct exposure to heat and light will dull your caps and also damage their fabric.

Final Thoughts

We can’t live without our baseball caps, and that’s final. But not cleaning and washing them is detrimental for both you and the cap. In this article, we have explored all possible baseball cap troubles like decoding how to wash baseball caps, the best way to wash baseball caps, etc.

So, if you have stinky baseball caps lying in your house, it’s time you picked them up and gave them a good wash!