There are certainly many approaches to washing a baseball hat, but which is the best? Well I cant tell you Ive tried all the ways to do it, but I can tell you which way has worked best for me in my many years of playing baseball and caring for dirty hats.

The First thing anyone shoulddo is simply look at the tag on the inside of your hat to see what material makes up the stinky hat in front of you. This is a pretty good start for the cleaning your hat because the tag will give you the best tips. It will say what the hat is made of and give you standard instructions for washing. Now, if you dont have the tag left in the hat or it is unreadable, dont panic. Most new hats are either one of the following:

Cotton twill:

This is a strong and durable material and has that "cotton" look and feel to it because we all know with baseball hats - the older it is the better it looks and feels to wear.

Cotton polyester:

These fabric blends are tough, bright and most often times color fast.

Jersey mesh:

This particular material is a durable, colorfast knit and a cinch to wash.

Wool: This material is most certainly warm, but can shrink in water and/or in heat situations.

Now for the washing.

Always use a washing machine and NEVER a dishwasher. Dishwashers are made to wash dishes NOT fabric and can cause damage do to the high heat at which they wash.

Make sure to put something else in the washer with the hat, preferably the same (or close) color. This will soften up the washing cycle and make the environment more delicate for your hat. Make sure to pre-treat the liner or headband with an enzyme based laundry pre-spray before washing. Use the cold water setting, warm is also ok, but NEVER hot water. AND NO BLEACH!

Once the hat is washed it must air dry. Putting your hat in the dryer will destroy all the time you spent molding the hat to your head. I recommend for the drying part that you look for a plastic hat mold. They are out there and very cheap. They ensure that the hat keeps its form through the drying process. Not critical, but if you can get one it will make a bit of a difference in the end result. Thats it its very simple happy washing!