How to Wash and Clean a Santa Hat – The Right Way

How to Hand-Wash Santa Hats?

Whether it is fleece, faux fur, velvet, or a felt, all of them are delicate fabrics; hand-washing is the safest and gentlest option for cleaning and washing. Let’s see how to do this.

Materials Needed:

• A bucket, tub, or sink
• A mild detergent for hand wash

Instructions:

Step 1: Add Mild Detergent to the Tub

Mix a little bit of soap or mild detergent with cool or lukewarm water in a wash tub or in the sink to make the cleaning agent. Too much soap will lead to a build-up in the fibers and make it less soft.

Step 2:  Soak the Cap in the Tub

Dip the hat in the soapy water. Gently rub the fabric in your hands for about 5 minutes, with more attention given to areas that tend to accumulate more dirt. If your hat has stubborn odors and stains, leave it to soak in the water for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 3: Rinse

Rinse it with cold water until you get clear water.

Step 4: Dry

Air-dry it on a hanger or drying rack, away from harsh sunlight. Sunlight can cause pilling. Once the hats are dried, comb or brush them to keep them soft and fluffy.

How to Machine-Wash Santa Hats?

If you plan to machine wash your Santa hat, there are few things that you’ve to be extra careful about. 

• ALWAYS make sure you put your hat inside-out before throwing it in the machine. 
• NEVER wash your hat along with items such as towels and sheets. They are the main bad guys that can cause pilling.
• Say a BIG NO to bleaches, harsh detergents, fabric softeners, and conditioners. They will kill all the softness from your cute Santa hats.

Materials Needed:

• Mild or natural detergent

Now to wash in the machine, follow the steps below:

Instructions:

Step 1: Insert the Cap in The Mesh Bag

Always keep your hat inside a mesh bag to be on the safer side and don’t place the hat directly inside the machine. The spinning and rotating of the machine can damage the fabric.

Step 2: Use Cool Water

Use cool or lukewarm water. Hot water can cause damage to the fabric, degrade its quality, and your water-resistant hat will no longer remain water-resistant.

 Step 3: Use a Gentle Cycle

Set your machine to the gentle cycle to keep the fibers soft and fuzzy.

Step 4: Air Dry

Air-dry the hat and make sure NOT to dry it under direct sunlight.

We know many of you are skeptical about the detergents or soaps available in the market, whether they are chemical-free or safe, etc. If you are someone like that, check out this DIY natural detergent:

DIY natural detergent – baking soda (1/4 cup) or hydrogen peroxide or vinegar (1 cup).

The oxygen in the water will react with these to form bubbles that will help remove the dirt. Vinegar, being an anti-bacterial, helps remove dirt and eliminates stinky smells, if any, just make sure to rinse it well.

Spot Cleaning 

If your Santa Hat is not dirty or stinky but only stained in 1-2 places, you do not need to wash the entire hat. A spot cleaning will solve your problems. Let’s see how.

Materials Needed:

• Any Mild Detergent
• Soft Sponge
• Paper Towel

Instructions:

Step 1: Pretreat Stains

Use a soft damp sponge with a dab of soap or mild detergent and gently work on the stains in a circular motion. Leave it on for about 10 minutes. 

Step 2:  Air Dry the Hat

Using a paper towel, blot out the soap from the hat and air-dry the hat.

Post drying, if you see pilling on the hat, which usually occurs when the fabric is over-rubbed, use a lint roller to brush down the fleece/fur/velvet/felt. If you don’t have a lint roller, you can use a normal razor and gently run it over the hat without making any cuts on it.

To keep your Santa hat soft and fluffy, comb or brush the hats once they are air-dried. You can use a natural bristle brush and blow-dry on a cool setting. Now, if you don’t find the right soap or are not confident with using soaps on your favorite Santa hat, we have another fool-proof, handy trick for you. Want to know what? 

It’s the good old vinegar, the best stain remover, especially for spot cleaning.

• Take equal parts of water and vinegar.
• Using a cotton ball, gently dab this mixture onto the stain.
• Allow it to dry completely before using the hat again.

How to Wash Sequin Santa Hat?

Don’t we all love a bit of glitz and glimmer on our Santa Hats? Of course, we do. But with embellishments and sequins come a bigger task of keeping them clean. 

Good News! 

We’ve promised to help you leave all your Santa hat troubles behind, so we have solutions to this one too!

The first thing is to FORGET about machine washing your sequin Santa hats. NEVER EVER DO THAT. If the stain or dirt is in a localized area, you can always go for a spot cleaning instead of washing the whole hat.

And if you are planning to wash the whole hat, there’s nothing like a gentle hand-wash. Let’s see how.

Materials Needed:

• A bucket, sink, or tub
• Mild Laundry soap

Instructions:

Step 1: Add Detergent to the Tub

In a bucket, sink, or tub, add lukewarm or cool water. Stir in a small amount of mild laundry soap until its dissolves well in the water.

Step 2: Soak

Carefully soak in your Santa hat and gently whirl it for about 5 minutes. 

Step 3: Rinse the Cap

Once the dirt is removed, remove the hat from the tub or bucket and rinse it under cold water. If there is still dirt left, repeat the process until the water becomes clear.

Step 4: Dry the Santa Hat

After taking the hat out of the water, the most immediate reaction is to wring it, just like we do with all other clothes.

But you’ve got to resist doing it here, or you’ll end up pulling out all your sequins from the Santa hat.

Just let the water drip out of the hat for a few minutes and lay it down on a clean flat surface or a towel. If you are hanging the hat for drying, make sure you do not leave it till it’s dried completely since the weight of the water can change the shape of your Santa hat, it’s best to dry it laying flat.