How to wash baseball cap without ruining it

• It's safer and more effective to wash baseball caps by hand.
• Air-drying ensures the cap preserves its shape.
• The fabric of the cap matters and can inform if it should be spot-cleaned only.

If you wear a baseball cap often, chances are it looks and smells the part. A gentle cleaning every so often will remove dirt and sweat stains. Depending on how often you wear your cap, this could be weekly or a couple of times a year.

One general rule of thumb: Skip the washer and drying machine — both are not ideal for cleaning baseball caps. Likewise, you should avoid any products with bleach in them.

Here's everything you need to know.

The best way to wash a baseball cap

Roman Peysakhovich, the CEO of the commercial cleaning company Onedesk, recommends washing your baseball cap by hand for the best results.

1. Soak the hat. Fill up a clean sink or bucket with cool water and add a couple of drops of a mild laundry detergent (with no bleach). Create suds by gently agitating the water and soak the hat for 10 minutes.
2. Rinse thoroughly. Run the hat under cool water to wash away dirt and any remaining detergent. Pat it dry with a clean towel. You can gently squeeze the hat to remove excess water, just avoid twisting the brim or anything else that may bend the cap out of shape.
3. Reshape and let air-dry. Reshape the hat and stuff it with something so it dries in the right form. You can use a towel, crumpled up tissue paper, a small bowl, container, or ball. Never throw your hat in the dryer.

Quick tip: To keep your hat free from dust and dirt, use a lint roller. Ideally, you should lint-roll your hat any time it needs a quick touch-up.

How to clean a really dirty baseball cap

If your cap looks like it slid into home plate, you'll want to pretreat any dirt or sweat stains before soaking with a stain remover like OxiClean.

Make a cleaning mixture and spot-test it on an inconspicuous area on the cap to make sure it won't cause any damage or discoloration.

Apply the mixture directly to the stains with a small brush and scrub gently in a circular motion. Then, soak the hat, checking after 15 minutes if the stains need further scrubbing. Remove the hat from the water, rinse it thoroughly, then reshape and air-dry in the same manner as above.

When to spot-clean a baseball cap instead

Some baseball caps aren't suited for soaking and should be dry-cleaned or gently spot-cleaned instead.

For example, vintage caps made prior to the 1980s often have a cardboard bill, which will become warped if it gets soaked. If you're not sure how long your hat's been around, simply tap on the brim. If it feels solid and doesn't bend easily, it's a plastic brim. If it bends easily, it's a cardboard brim.

Due to the form and shape of its crown, consider just spot-cleaning New Era's 59Fifty caps. You should also consider just spot-cleaning the wool, vintage-style caps from Ebbets Fields Flannels.

To spot-clean a baseball cap, use a small brush and some mild cleaning detergent and scrub gently, blotting any excess liquid immediately.

Quick tip: Take extra care around stitching and embroidery when spot-cleaning, as you could loosen the stitches if you scrub too hard with a brush.

What about the dishwasher or washing machine?

Avoid cleaning your cap in the dishwasher or washing machine, as you run a very high risk of ruining the hat. While you can technically wash a hat in a dishwasher or washing machine, the safest bet is to hand-wash and air-dry.

Insider's takeaway

Generally speaking, you can make quick work of cleaning a baseball cap by soaking it in water with mild detergent and gently spot-cleaning where necessary. But some caps — particularly vintage-style caps, and hats made of wool, suede, or leather — are more suited for gentle spot-cleaning.