how to clean a sweat stain out of a fedora

[Rich Johnson]

I have a Kepler Fedora, and by now it has gotten severly sweat stained, all the way to the top of the band in front, and part way down the brim and sides. Is there any way to clean the sweat stains out of it?

[Chewbacca Jones]

Not sure about the felt, but the ribbon might be a simple fix. Use water you can trust and a clean toothbrush. Wet (don't soak) the entire ribbon evenly. If you don't cover the whole thing, you'll end up with a water mark. Gently scrub the ribbon with the tooth brush. Let it air dry, and repeat if you find that you missed a spot or two. If it doesn't really help, then you more drastic measures may be needed... as well as somebody else's advice. The same MIGHT work for the felt, but the scrubbing part would make me nervous.

[Michaelson]

Just tossing this personal experience out there..... I received as a gift a hat that had the same kind of sweat stain through the ribbon/felt. I used a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alchol and wiped the stain off the surfaces, then allowed it to completely air dry. The key word was 'wiped', don't soak it. Just wipe it. It completely removed the stain, and left no residue behind.

Offered for your consideration.

Regards !Michaelson

[Rich Johnson]

Great, I will try it.
My fedora cant look any more worn than it is so it wont hut unless I remove dye.
Funny, I have always worn good quality cowboy hats growing up and up to a few years ago when I found a good fedora I could afford. My cowbody hats were always black, and I wore them in the same hard work and sweat situations,(all the time) and theynever got that sweat stained, and I owned them much longer than the fedora. I went to the western hat store with my fedora and they said there was no solution to sweat stains, live with it.
Ille report back on my results soon.

[Michaelson]

Of COURSE a Western hat store will tell you that. They want to sell you a new hat!

Regards! Michaelson

[Texan Scott]

I think that the 'sweat stain' as we know it is the presence of salt residue on the band, etc. I would say maybe it is calcium chloride, but that may not be right.

[Michaelson]

Here's a western hat shop that doesn't seem to concerned about cleaning sweat stains from felt hats....

http://www.pbhats.com/RENOVATION/Default.htm



Regards! Michaelson

[Rich Johnson]

Ok so here is my Fedora before starting. It look pretty nasty.



And then after using alcohol and a very soft cloth in several appliations. The alcohol soaked all the way through eventually but got alot of the stain and dirt out but left the hat like this...


Then I did a few courses with standard foaming felt hat cleaner and it left it looking like this...


The hat came out pretty good. I just finished it a couple days ago. It looked so good again my wife acctually told me to wear it last night for our ten year anniversery pictures. She said everybody sees me in that hat so I might as well wear it for our portraits.

But alas, I am working in the National Guard this week here in town on a practice emergency drill and my wife called me. She said to sit down. This is what I found when I got home today....


The dog got my fedora.
There are deep teeth impressions and the band and bow are ripped up.
I think my beloved fedora has seen its last adventure. I may have to hang it up for good.

[Michaelson]

Well, letting the dog eat the hat is yet another way to get the stain out. I hadn't thought of that one......

Seriously, the ribbon and bow and be replace, but I can't tell by the photo how chewed the felt is. I'd suggest this needs the help of a professional now, and it's a good enough hat to be worked on too.

Something to mull over.

Regards! Michaelson

[Rich Johnson]

Ive contaced Keppler for help. He lives near me.