Washing hatsWe’ve done a few posts about washing and caring for your hair – but caring for your hairCOVERINGS is just as important!  If you don’t know what to do, you could end up ruining a favorite item.  Last summer, a bird pooped on my navy tichel with lurex stripes (yet another reason to love covering – at least it ended up on a tichel instead of my hair!).  Without thinking, I threw it into the regular laundry.  It came out shrunken, faded, and with broken lurex threads poking out all over the place.  Clearly, I need to be more careful with my washing methods.

How often you wash your headgear is up to you.  The sturdy cotton pretied that I wear to the gym gets thrown in my regular laundry pretty often, and it does just fine.  Bandanas can go that way too.  But most of my tichels are too delicate for that kind of treatment.  For Israeli tichels (especially those with lurex or fringe), and pretieds or headbands with beads or stones, you want to handwash them with cold water and maybe a little bit of shampoo or Woolite-type gentle detergent.  Do them one at a time, since colors may run.  To dry, lay them flat on a towel.

Wool hats and headbands can get similar treatment.  Handwash gently with lukewarm water and a detergent that says on the bottle that it is safe for wool – baby shampoo can be used in a pinch.  Don’t use hot water or swish it around to much or you might end up with a teeny little felt hat instead!  To dry, roll it up in a towel to squeeze out excess water, then let it air-dry; this could take a while, so be prepared to wait until it’s ready to be worn.

Felt hats can be brushed with a soft-fiber brush; get one designed for this purpose.  You can gently rub spots with a soft cloth or sponge (like a makeup sponge): dilute a bit of ammonia (for dark hats) or peroxide (for light hats) in water to moisten the cloth or sponge.  If it’s significantly stained or smelly, take it to a professional.  Brushing and buffing off stains with a soft cloth works for straw hats as well.

Comment if you have any useful laundry tips to share!

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