With the UK experiencing unusually hot weather and upcoming holidays planned over the summer, many of us will likely be reaching for a trusty cap to keep ourselves cool and protected from the sunshine.
But like many of our clothes in the warm weather, they can quickly become dirty from wearing them for long periods of time, especially if you’ve been sweating. If you’ve got children, you might also find that as the summer school term comes to an end, their caps have started to look worse for wear. Instead of replacing them or throwing them in the washing machine, there’s a simple cleaning method using a few household items you likely already have.
Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean, is a homecare guru often appearing on This Morning where she shares her cleaning tips and tricks.
She also regularly posts on her Instagram account, and recently shared a video revealing how to clean dirty and yellow hats after a holiday by using a combination of bicarbonate of soda, washing up liquid and water.
In the video, Lynsey said: “I’ve mixed up a little pasta using bicarbonate of soda, washing up liquid and a drop of water.”
She then used a toothbrush to apply the paste and give her cap a “really good scrub”.
Once the mixture has been applied and you’ve scrubbed it into your cap, leave it to get to work on tough stains for up to an hour. Then rinse your cap under cold water before leaving it out to dry in the sun.
As bicarbonate of soda is a gentle abrasive, it’s effective at removing tough stains without damaging the fabric. The surfactants in washing up liquid also help target stains and remove them.
Sunlight is an effective and natural way of removing stains too, especially in lighter fabrics, thanks to the UV rays which can break down the chemical bonds that cause stains.
A natural bleaching agent, sunlight also sanitises surfaces and removes odours.
Lynsey showed the before and after of her grubby cap, which looked almost brand new after being left to dry outside in the sun.
While Lynsey said this method will leave caps “fresh, clean and ready to wear again”, it’s important you don’t leave your cap outside in the sun for too long, as this increases the risk of exessive bleaching and discoloration.