Knitted hats are a practical solution for the off-season and winter. Many people value them because they are easy to care for. However, wool products with a high content of natural fibers require special treatment. If you wash and dry them without following the recommendations, they will very soon begin to look worn out or even shrink.
Rules for washing woolen products
Main postulate: Before you start washing, you should carefully study the label. If it is not there, then they rely on the composition and appearance of the accessory. Very dense knitting from strong threads requires a completely different approach than loose knitting. If you can try washing the first option in a machine, then the second option is definitely not.
Also shape should be taken into account. Hats that must retain it, otherwise they will become unwearable, are cleaned by hand. At the end of the procedure, they must be placed on a blank or an inverted jar to avoid deformation.Initially, shapeless things do not require such careful and scrupulous handling, unless they have fluffy pile.
Important! Wool hats are washed separately from clothes made from other materials.
What you should never do:
- wash and rinse in water of different temperatures (sudden changes must be avoided, as this will cause knitted items to shrink and become rough);
- dry by clinging to clothespins;
- soak for a long time;
- soak in a highly concentrated cleaning solution;
- use brushes and sponges with an abrasive coating;
- use hot water (it should not be higher than 40 degrees).
When it comes to soaking, housewives often deviate from the rule. If the stain is old or specific, then the headdress is placed in a basin filled with a warm soapy solution (prepared using shavings of laundry soap or a liquid product intended specifically for wool). Additionally, vinegar or hydrogen peroxide is added to the water. Proportions: 2 tablespoons of substance per 5 liters of water.
Important! The duration of soaking should not exceed 30–40 minutes.
By hand or by machine?
Depends on the type of yarn. Cashmere and angora are washed exclusively by hand. Less delicate options, which also contain artificial threads, can be tried in the machine. Before being placed in the drum, the hat is placed in a special case.
Machine wash instructions:
- suitable mode: “wool”, “delicate”, “hand”;
- temperature: 30 degrees;
- you need to give up spinning;
- the minimum number of revolutions is set.
Rules and notes for hand washing:
- soft water is used;
- you can rinse and soak with vinegar (2 spoons per 5 liters) or glycerin (1 teaspoon per 10 liters);
- During washing, the walls of the hats do not rub against each other; the surface is touched with the palm of your hand;
- spot washing will most likely lead to the formation of pellets in the area that was washed;
- rinse the product in 4–5 waters (running water is not suitable, you need to use water collected in a basin).
What means should I use?
Chemicals with a bleaching effect are prohibited; granular powders should also be avoided.. If the latter do not completely dissolve and settle inside the fibers, then during washing this will lead to disruption of the integrity of the hairs. Because of this, pellets will appear.
Capsules and liquid products are suitable for machine washing. Manual cleaning is carried out using shampoo, laundry soap shavings (just rub the bar on a grater) or washing gel. When choosing a product, rely on the type of yarn. Mohair, cashmere and angora require the use of baby shampoo. It is harmless and acts more delicately than products for adults.
Important! It is necessary to use colorless and odorless laundry soap. Wool easily absorbs foreign odors and is difficult to part with.
If the hat comes with fur trim, then the latter is cleaned using a home remedy based on salt (3 tsp), ammonia (1 tsp) and water (0.5 l).
What to do if the hat has additives?
The higher the content of artificial threads, the less capricious the product is to care for. If their presence is significant, it is permissible to use hot water (60 degrees). There is an exception to the additive rule. Acrylic requires careful handling, the use of antistatic agents and soft water no warmer than 30 degrees.
Washing a hat with a pompom
There are fewer difficulties with a pompom made from wool threads.They are fixed, so the structure of them will not fall off or fall apart during washing, unless you deliberately pull or tug on it. Soaking shouldn't do much harm either. If there are concerns about the safety of the appearance, then add vinegar to the water. It will protect the villi from discoloration and coarsening.
Problems arise only when the hat and pompom do not match in color. In this case You must first test the paint for durability. If one of the parts of the headdress sheds, then you will have to wash it in 2 stages: first the hat itself, and then the pom-pom.
To prevent water from wetting a part that should remain dry, they resort to 2 solutions:
- tear off the pompom (after drying, reattach it);
- wrap the pompom with cellophane or cling film so that the protection does not lead to crumpling.
In the latter case, you need to strive for the vacuum effect. Water and air should not have access to the headgear. To reduce risks, the entire hat is not placed in the basin. Soak only the lower part and make sure that the wrapped top does not have points of contact with water.
These methods are also suitable for a hat with a fur pompom. However, such products require a different approach in terms of drying. To eliminate the possibility of fur getting wet - this can cause a long pile to “go bald”, and a short one to wrinkle and lie unevenly - you have to resort to a hairdryer, which is generally extremely undesirable in the case of knitted items.
Important! If you need to “update” the appearance of a white fur pompom, just wipe it with cotton wool soaked in hydrogen peroxide.
How to dry it properly?
In general, woolen items should not be dried on or near heating appliances or with a hair dryer. Because of this “neighborhood” they can sit down. However, you cannot do without the use of technology that speeds up the drying process if you have a fur trim. Accessories with such additions must be dried as quickly as possible, otherwise the wet part will saturate the dry part.
Use a hairdryer to dry a hat with a fur pompom. He is put on the most gentle regime. Cold air flows provide a more adequate and gentle effect.
Regular knitted hats are dried differently. Useful notes and recommendations:
- do not twist or squeeze the item;
- do not use rollers;
- After washing, place the hat between 2 highly absorbent towels;
- after water stops flowing from the headdress, put it on a mannequin, blank, ball or an inverted 3-liter jar.
If the hat is double-sided and the back side can be removed, then during the drying stage between towels you need to remove this back side. Without doing this, you will wait much longer for drying..
There is another approach to drying wool hats. According to this popular method, the wet item needs to be wrapped in a bag and placed in the freezer for several hours. After exposure to cold, the accessory will become fluffier.
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