Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board How Do You Clean a Synthetic Hat Without it Shrinking?

I had to buy a new R.E.I. Sahara Cape Hat after washing and drying the one I used to have last week. I had washed it in the past but I couldn't remember if I washed it cold or warm. I do know I made a mistake putting it into the dryer this time as I had never done that before. So I'm not sure if it was only the dryer that did it or if it was also the warm water. I prefer to use warm water when washing as it does a better job getting out the sweat stains and smell than cold water. But I don't want to have to go back to R.E.I. to buy another hat if I shrink the one that I currently have.

The hat is made of the following: The label reads: Crown 100% nylon and the Sweatband 100% Coolmax polyester.

1. whatever the care instructions label on the hat says.

2. Sweat is the only thing that holds my hat together, shrinkage would not be the issue...disentegration would.

I have never heard of nylon or polyester shrinking.

You must have a really hot dryer. That might start to melt the synthetic fabric. I hang dry all my synthetic gear. Dries pretty fast, anyway.

Right Star: Take the hat back to REI. If it does not meet YOUR HIGH STANDARDS, return it for a refund or replacement! 100% GUARANTEED! Just don't stick your next one in the dryer. I wash my hats by simply dunking them in water and air drying them.

I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my question. I wish R.E.I. had included a care instructions label. The new one I bought doesn't have one either. One thing I've learned is that I'm not going to dry my new hat in the dryer the way I did my old one. I'm going to air dry it from now on.