Clean Hat

[JMN]

Guys,

Midseason and I cannot stand to wear my hat for one more game without cleaning it. What is the best way to clean your hat without shrinking it?

I have a wool caps and one of the new synthetic stretch types. In the past, I think my wife just threw them in the washing machine on gentle and air-dried them, but I know some guys clean them in the dishwasher?

What have you veterans found to work best?

[Mike Simonds]

I hand wash my caps in the kitchen sink with luke-warm tap water and Wool-lite...

Seems like it works pretty well... I use one of those kitchen sponges with a scrub-side to gently clean around the sweat-band...

Of course, they say dry-cleaning only on the label, but I've never met anyone that actually did this for their caps.

On a related subject, over here we've been fortunate to have dry weather so far... I just air-dry my flag and bean-bag (they get a little damp from the sweat, etc because I tuck them into my waist-band of my knickers)... But do any of you have any ideas for cleaning those items?

Plus, how do I get a really good shine on my shoes? Besides asking my dad who used to be in the Marines...

[BulldogMcC]

Bean Bags and flags, use Oxi-clean. Just let them soak for a couple of hours then hang dry. I hate to support infomercial items, but the stuff works great to get out the stains of mud, grass and dirt.

You can always cheat with your shoes because you won't have a marine sergeant looking at them. You can use the liquid wax to get them right color, then use pledge or other spray on wax to get them to luster. The luster won't last much past the coin toss, but neither will a true spit shine once you expose them to a football field and players with spikes. If you really want a thick layer of wax on your shoes that will not flake off, you have to do it a layer at a time.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally posted by Mike Simonds
Plus, how do I get a really good shine on my shoes? Besides asking my dad who used to be in the Marines...

Leather Luster. (.com)

[1AAUMP]

Just put it in the top rack of the dishwasher - works great!

[RazorRef]

yep, the dishwasher on cold is what I use. I also put my hat in a washable hat holder to make sure my brim stays straight.

[GBFBUmp]

I follow Mike's regimen, wash in the sink with mild laundry detergent and I hang it on one those Children's pants hangers with the clips, by the bill to air dry. I do use a Chlorox bleach pen on the white piping, that seems to work well to keep them bright.

As for the shoes, I use Armour All wipes (yep, the ones for your tires) I clean them up then use one wipe over both shoes. Get that nice shine for the coin toss, but as stated above, pretty much any shine is gone after that.