How to Clean a Wool Hat is a complete guide for how to clean a woolen hat.

What do sweat stains, body oils, grease marks, watermarks, and dirt have in common?They can ruin your felt cowboy hat, wool felt fedora, or vintage pork pie.The key to keeping your hat clean is to spot clean it consistently and to use as little liquid as possible so you don't damage its shape.

Many felt hats are made of wool felt, which is created by applying heat, moisture, and pressure to wool that melds the fibers together.The instructions in this post are for cleaning wool felt hats.It is recommended that fur felt hats be professionally cleaned.

If you need to clean hats made from other materials, check out our other cleaning guides.

Prevention is the best way to protect your wool felt hat.One of the best ways to keep your hat looking great is to brush it after each wear.You can use a toothbrush, hat brush, and lint roller.This will keep the felt smooth.

The key to keeping your hat in pristine condition is to store it properly and clean it regularly with a lint roller, brush, or even tape to ensure dust never settles in.Adding a little dish soap can help if water isn't enough.Baking soda, corn starch, or baby powder can be applied to the stain if this still doesn't work.Rub the powder in and let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb the oil.If the stain is still there when you brush it away, repeat the process a few more times until it lightens, or move on to the next section.

Dousing your felt hat in water will ruin its shape and look.If the stain is bad enough that you won't wear it anymore, then proceed!

First, remove any decorations and hat bands, then spot clean it to remove as much dirt and debris as you can, and then let it sit for 10 minutes.

Do a quick test to make sure dousing won't ruin the hat.To wet a small section of the hat, make sure the color doesn't run and the fabric stays intact.Prepare your water and douse it if the test goes well.

Place a bowl or sink with cold water and a small amount of soap in it.Once this is done, dunk the hat and let it sit in the water for about 30 minutes.After you rinse the hat under cold water, place it on a dry cloth and remove any excess water.Allow the hat to dry in a dry area away from the sun.