Cleaning & caring for umpire equipment

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Last year I ran into umpires who wore hats on which the ASA letters were particularly "dirty". I finally realized that it was the pads from their masks which stained the letters and the only way I could figure out how that happened was the umpire was using some type of polish or oil on the pads.

Anyone else ever run into something like this?

I have an older hat and I cant get the letters clean. I washed it in a washing machine, scrubbed them and still they stay dirty. I think it just comes from the long weekends of sweat/rinse/dry for tourneys because I dont use polish or oils on my mask, just soap and water occasionally. I dont wear it anymore but I had hoped to salvage the hat and gave it the college try.

[bkbjones]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

I have an older hat and I cant get the letters clean. I washed it in a washing machine, scrubbed them and still they stay dirty. I think it just comes from the long weekends of sweat/rinse/dry for tourneys because I dont use polish or oils on my mask, just soap and water occasionally. I dont wear it anymore but I had hoped to salvage the hat and gave it the college try.

I have VERY CAREFULLY used a bleach pen on the white letters of one cap that was really bad and it worked. It was risky, I think, because the bleach could have bled. ;Course the loss would have been what, $12. However, they do make laundry pens with concentrated detergent that could get the muck off the letters.

[BretMan]

It's been a couple of years ago- and I think it was on this forum- since someone posted their sure-fire method for getting their hats clean. This sounds goofy, but I tried it and it really worked.

Wear your hat into the shower. Lather it up with whatever shampoo you normally use. Rinse well. (You might want to skip the conditioner!)

A couple of the hats I tried this on were "out of the rotation", as the white lettering was dirty enough that I didn't consider them presentable. They turned out with clean, crisp white lettering that really surprised me! They're back in use.

You'll be amazed by the amout of crud that rinses of the hats, creating a veritable mud puddle in the tub. Being on your head lets you scrub a little harder without deforming the hat and helps it keep it's shape. You might need to take it off and rinse out the inside, like rinsing out a bowl, a couple of times.

When you're done, and the hat is still wet, you can reshape it a bit if needed. Let it air-dry overnight and you're good to go.

[JEL]

The hats are easy, if you don't object to the "folded look". The wife anf I throw ours in the wash with the pants and compression shorts, using Spray an Wash on the letters if needed. After the rinse cycle, fold them to dry.

[scottk_61]

Originally Posted by BretMan

It's been a couple of years ago- and I think it was on this forum- since someone posted their sure-fire method for getting their hats clean. This sounds goofy, but I tried it and it really worked.

Wear your hat into the shower. Lather it up with whatever shampoo you normally use. Rinse well. (You might want to skip the conditioner!)

A couple of the hats I tried this on were "out of the rotation", as the white lettering was dirty enough that I didn't consider them presentable. They turned out with clean, crisp white lettering that really surprised me! They're back in use.

You'll be amazed by the amout of crud that rinses of the hats, creating a veritable mud puddle in the tub. Being on your head lets you scrub a little harder without deforming the hat and helps it keep it's shape. You might need to take it off and rinse out the inside, like rinsing out a bowl, a couple of times.

When you're done, and the hat is still wet, you can reshape it a bit if needed. Let it air-dry overnight and you're good to go.

What he said, works like a charm

[wadeintothem]

Originally Posted by BretMan

It's been a couple of years ago- and I think it was on this forum- since someone posted their sure-fire method for getting their hats clean. This sounds goofy, but I tried it and it really worked.

Wear your hat into the shower. Lather it up with whatever shampoo you normally use. Rinse well. (You might want to skip the conditioner!)

A couple of the hats I tried this on were "out of the rotation", as the white lettering was dirty enough that I didn't consider them presentable. They turned out with clean, crisp white lettering that really surprised me! They're back in use.

You'll be amazed by the amout of crud that rinses of the hats, creating a veritable mud puddle in the tub. Being on your head lets you scrub a little harder without deforming the hat and helps it keep it's shape. You might need to take it off and rinse out the inside, like rinsing out a bowl, a couple of times.

When you're done, and the hat is still wet, you can reshape it a bit if needed. Let it air-dry overnight and you're good to go.

Man, if this is a goof.. I'm coming after you bretman.

I wouldnt mind salvaging this hat.

[BretMan]

Ha! Nope, I really read this on a discussion board back awhile ago and I really tried it and it really worked.

I guess that your mileage might vary, depending on just what kind of gunk is on your hat. If you try it, Wade, let us know how it turns out.

But it would be kind of cool joke if there was some chemical reaction that turned your hair green or something!