Learn me: stains on my hat

I really like my hat. This may surprise all of you, but I'm not generally overwhelmed with compliments in public. The hat is one of two exceptions, so I know it's not just me.

I had it for only a few years, but it has developed this really nasty stain. I'm not sure from weather or sweat or what, but there's a pretty distinct line separating dark from light.

My initial thought was to coat the whole thing in mink oil but I've heard that will destroy cotton so I'm looking for another option. I am happy to consider waterproofing, although I don't need it to be waterproof, I just need it to be all the same color.

I've already tried washing it by hand with dish soap and also with hand wash laundry soap, it didn't change anything.

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Any hat shops in your area that do blocking and cleaning?  I found a place called Alexander Hats in Gastonia, but search results are cluttered with ads for places that sell ball caps.

Since it's a Stetson, I'd think the factory must have a customer support line that may be able to help.

I used shampoo on fabric baseball caps in the past with good success. It was a simple process. I fill the sink with warm water, add a generous amount of shampoo to make suds, then dunk the hat, rinse, repeat, scrub it with a wash cloth, and finally rinsed all of suds out of the hat. I don't know if I would do that to a Stetson. I would worry about ruining the shape. 

My go to is soaking overnight in Oxyclean, possibly more than once til the water doesn't flow brown when you pour it out. It works great with baseball style caps.

For a shaped hat like that I would probably find a nearby Cavenders/western wear/Hat maker and ask them about cleaning. My guess would be they either offer cleaning, or will be capable of reshaping it after a home soak in Oxyclean, but I wouldn't risk losing the form of the hat til I checked with a pro 

My wife works at a western store were she was trained to shape hats to the owner's taste using steam, I wonder if a good steam clean would clean without damaging.  Habe you talked to a dry cleaner?  Talk to Stetson about a replacement?

Brad Wesley lookalike.  4 out of 5 internet experts agree that stains in the hat are bad for your sleep.

Hi Brian,

Thank you for reaching out.

That's really a nice hat you have and I agree with you that it will surely give you compliments!

With the stain, we have here tips on how to care for and clean your hat.

• Store your felt hat upside down on its crown, on a clean surface or in a hat box to keep the brim from flattening out.
• Remove dust and loose dirt with a soft brush, starting at the left side of the hat and brushing counter-clockwise.
• Avoid exposing your hat to the heat from stoves, radiators, lamps, car windows and enclosed cars in the summer. The combination of the heat and perspiration will shrink the sweatband.
  *** If your hat gets wet, shake off the excess water, and turn down the “self-conforming” leather sweatband. This will allow the hat to dry naturally.
While the hat is wet, don’t let the brim touch the surface and don’t place it near heat. Heat can reactivate the felting process and cause shrinkage.
• To keep perspiration from penetrating the fur felt, occasionally turn down the leather sweatband so it can dry out. -Should your hat, (if it is light colored) become spotted with water or grease, you can clean it with a little baby talc or corn starch - not liquid cleanser, please!
• To put on or remove your hat, hold the brim in front and back, handle the crown as little as possible.
• Your hat will last a lifetime if you follow these important instructions.

I deeply apologize as we don't have the information on other methods of cleaning stains with the hat.

We would recommend is to seek out a local hat shop or professional that may be able to assist you with cleaning services.

Please let us know if you have further questions.

Thank you,

Mary

Stetson Customer Support

I am not going to be able to justify paying someone to clean my $40 hat.

I doubt shampoo will work where dish soap and laundry soap have failed

Oxyclean is an interesting option. How bleach-y is it?

LOL, the care instructions they gave you are for their most popular felt cowboy hats. Your hat is woven cotton. It's a sweat stain. Best thing to do is sweat on the rest of it.

In reply to tuna55 :

The hats I've used it on came out no more bleached than all the age and sun they absorbed had already done, and with such a light base fabric already I doubt you'd notice a color change after the sweat gradient is gone.

You could probably even soak it brim down and get away without reshaping, though reshaping at a local place should be pretty reasonable compared to a full cleaning

jimgood said:

LOL, the care instructions they gave you are for their most popular felt cowboy hats. Your hat is woven cotton. It's a sweat stain. Best thing to do is sweat on the rest of it.

Exactly

In reply to tuna55 :

It isn't bleach-y. Active ingredient is the same stuff that is in dishwasher powder. I throw it into my laundry without caution. 

I went to Stetson's website and started looking for your hat.  OMG the day is not long enough, lotsa stuff just under Outdoor Hats.

For $40 go buy another close enough to your and then fiddle with cleaning yours up.

Apparently Oxyclean is just a brand of laundry stain remover. I have "Shout", so I used that last night preceding a wash in both dish and hand-wash laundry soap again. It's drying now, I'll post an update soon.

Pretty clean!

Results speak for themselves! Looking good again. 

I was about to suggest just a long soak in a sink of warm water with about a teaspoon of tide powder disoved in. I've also used Oxyclean with good results. After soaking, refill the sink with clean water and let it soak the same amount of time again. I have a white baseball cap that still looks brand new because I do that every few months.

A clean hat makes you look years younger.  See?  Compliments already!!  =~ )