You love wearing your baseball caps. But lately, some of them have started looking washed out. Is there any way to solve the problem of fading caps?
Over the years, fading is bound to affect the dye in your cap. Slowly but surely, its vibrancy lessens. Faded color is very hard to restore. By figuring out what causes the loss of color in your favorite headwear, you could, feasibly, protect your hats against fading.
Here, we're going to take a look at why that brilliantly colored hat of yours is a little less brilliant than it used to be, and how to stop or slow the fading process.
The dye in fabric tends to break down the more it is exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun. Particularly if you're preventing sunburn by wearing a baseball cap, this could be a problem on a regular basis. Individuals wearing caps during sporting activities will often experience this problem, too.
Prevention: Whenever possible, keep your hats, and yourself, in the shade. Remember, UV rays are present whether it's a cloudy or sunny day. Additionally, if you leave your hat in the car, don't put it in direct sunlight.
When trying to remove a stain, it is not recommended that any kind of brush – like a toothbrush – be used. Color loss and fiber wear are accelerated by scrubbing. Also, your hat will lose color more readily if you use hot water for cleaning.
Prevention: With a clean cloth, gently blot a stain if you need to.
Make sure that whatever you're using to clean your hat with is color and fabric safe. Never bleach your colored hat.
Prevention: If possible, on an inconspicuous place, test the color fastness of your cap before using any cleaning product.
Particularly if you play sports in your baseball cap, menacing sweat stains can be a recurring problem. Isolated patches on your hat become visibly damaged when you sweat through the fabric. The reason – the acidity of fresh sweat. It turns to alkaline as it breaks down and dries. The sensitivity of a dye to this reaction will determine how fast sweat stains appear.
On brighter colored hats, this can appear as yellow staining. On darker hats, the dye may bleed or change hue. Unfortunately, it also means that your baseball cap will be more prone to splitting or getting holes because the fabric weakens.
Prevention: Truly, there isn't much you can do about this. If you're going to be participating in a strenuous activity and the weather is particularly warm, you may set aside a couple of old beater hats to wear for such occasions. Proper hat cleaning methods may be of some use here, as well.
This covers at least two fading causes:
While on the topic of proper hat cleaning methods, if you choose to throw your hat in the washing machine, doing it too often will fade the color. You may have noticed this with some of your favorite clothes/outfits that you end up washing on a regular basis.
Prevention: Again, using color safe detergent, short and gentle cycles, and cold water is highly recommended – if you must wash the entire hat.
Washing your favorite baseball cap in the dishwasher may not be the best method, but it is done by some individuals. You should never use dishwasher soaps because they contain harsh chemicals and, frequently, bleach.
If your cap is already faded, shop Hat Heaven for a brilliantly colored, new hat. We have an impressive array of styles, designs, manufacturers, colors, logos, or plain hats available.
