Hat Care Guide: How to Clean, Store and Reshape Felt and Straw

A good hat asks for very little. Most of the damage we see across the counter comes from three habits: setting a hat down on its brim, leaving it in a hot car, and trying to fix a problem with too much heat or water. Avoid those and a decent felt or straw will outlast several pairs of boots. Here's the routine we'd follow ourselves, starting with the easiest daily step and working up to the jobs best left to a hatter.

Brushing felt the right way

Felt has a nap, a direction the fibers lie in, much like the pile on velvet. Brushing with the nap lifts dust out without roughing up the surface. Brushing against it drives dirt in and leaves a fuzzy patch that never quite lies flat again.

• Use a soft hat brush, natural bristle if you have one. Use a lighter brush on light colors and a darker one on dark felt so stray bristle dye doesn't show.
• Hold the hat by the brim, not the crown. Pinching the crown at the front is how the felt there wears thin over the years.
• Work counterclockwise around the hat, starting at the front, in short, light strokes. Do the crown, then the top of the brim, then the underside.
• Brush after each wear if it's been somewhere dusty. Dust that sits in felt for weeks is harder to move.

For lint and pet hair, a lint roller pressed lightly works fine. Skip tape on light felt, since adhesive can leave a mark.

Rain, sweat and the sweatband

Fur felt handles a shower better than people expect. If you get caught out, shake off the water, then turn the sweatband up so it stands out from the crown and both can dry. Set the hat upside down on its crown, somewhere at room temperature, and leave it alone overnight. Don't use a hair dryer, a heater vent or the dashboard. Fast heat shrinks a leather sweatband and can warp the brim.

Straw is less forgiving. Shantung straw has a finish that helps it hold shape, but a real soaking can soften it and let the brim droop. If a straw gets wet, blot it with a towel, reset the brim gently by hand and let it air dry the same way. Then try to keep it out of the next storm.

Sweat is the slow killer. Salt and oils work into the sweatband and then into the felt above it, which is where that dark ring comes from. After a hot day, flip the sweatband out and let the hat breathe for a few hours before you put it away. A damp cloth with a little mild soap can wipe a leather sweatband, followed by a dry cloth. Hats with an absorbent band, like the DRI-LEX sweatband in the Golden Valley, still benefit from the same airing out.

Tip: if you sweat heavily, rotate two hats. A sweatband that gets a full day to dry between wears lasts a lot longer than one that never does.

Storage and travel

The rule is simple: never rest a hat flat on its brim. The weight of the crown slowly pushes the brim out of shape. Set it upside down on the crown, hang it on a hat rack by the crown, or keep it in its box.

• Keep it cool and dry. A closet shelf beats an attic or a garage. Heat and humidity both work against felt and straw.
• Keep it out of the car. A rear window ledge or dashboard in summer can shrink a sweatband in an afternoon.
• Keep it out of direct sun when you're not wearing it, since bright light can fade dark felt over time.
• Use the box. Every hat we send ships in a crush-proof box, and that box is the best travel case you'll own.

On a flight, the safest place for a hat is on your head. If you have to stow it, set it upside down in the overhead bin with nothing on top of it. In a car, put it upside down on the back seat, not under a jacket. A felt like the Open Road 6X, with its shorter 2 3/4 inch bound brim, is a little easier to travel with than a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, but the same rules apply.

Careful steam reshaping

Steam can lift a dented crown or relax a brim that has curled the wrong way. It can also ruin a hat in about ten seconds if you get carried away, so go slowly.

1. Bring a kettle to a gentle steam. Keep your hands clear of the spout.
2. Hold the area that needs work a few inches above the steam for a few seconds at a time. You want the felt warm and pliable, never wet.
3. Shape it with your fingers, then hold the shape while it cools. Felt sets as it cools down.
4. Repeat in short passes. If it isn't moving, stop. More heat is rarely the answer.

Keep steam away from the sweatband, the liner and any glued trim. Straw needs even more caution: a light pass can relax a stubborn bend, but too much moisture weakens the weave. Try a single short pass near the brim edge first. A tall crown like the 5 inch cattleman on the Rancher 10X Straw, which also has eyelets for airflow, is best reshaped by someone with a proper block if the dent is deep.

Cleaning a faux-fur party hat

Disco cowboy hats live a different life. They get glitter, spilled drinks and a stranger's hairspray, usually in the same night. Our Plush Party Faux-Fur hat is shaggy faux-fur over a bell crown, and it needs gentle handling rather than western-hat tricks. Check any care label inside first. If there isn't one, this approach is a safe start:

• Shake it out and pick off glitter and confetti by hand or with a lint roller pressed lightly.
• Spot clean with cool water and a drop of mild soap on a cloth. Dab, don't scrub, and don't soak the whole hat.
• Let it air dry upside down on its crown, away from heaters and direct sun. No dryer, no hair dryer.
• Once it's fully dry, comb the pile out with a wide-tooth comb so it fluffs back up.

Store it with nothing pressing on top, or the fur will mat in the shape of whatever was sitting on it.

When to see a professional

Some jobs are worth paying for. Take the hat to a hatter if any of these come up:

• A deep stain or a sweat line that has spread into the felt.
• A brim that has warped badly or a crown that has collapsed after a soaking.
• A sweatband that has shrunk, cracked or started coming loose.
• A full recrease into a different style, which needs proper blocks and steam equipment.
• Anything on light felt like silverbelly, where a mistake shows more.

Good fur felt can be cleaned, reblocked and fitted with a new sweatband more than once, which is part of why it's worth buying well in the first place. Look after your cowboy hats with the basics above, and the hatter becomes a once-in-a-while visit instead of a rescue.