Clumsy Waiter, Greasy Salad Dressing, and my hat.

[Yimmy]

So while out for dinner before a show on Tuesday night, the waiter upended his tray of salad on my person. The hat was resting comfortably in the next unoccupied seat, but still managed to get a huge glob of ranch dressing on the brim. Careful removal of the majority of it did pretty well, but it's still has an oily spot. Then manager immediately offered to cover my cleaning costs, which was very much appreciated. Question is, how would i go about locating the best place to clean an older fur felt hat?

Specs: 7 1/2 Royal Stetson, dark dark charcoal gray. Sweet purple and white liner. Gift from my awesome girlfriend.
I just got this one a couple weeks ago, too.

It's only a tiny bit darker in that spot than everywhere else, but because it's oily, i'm sure it'll continue to get worse, unless i can get it cleaned properly. Thanks for the ideas in advance!

yimmy

 

[zetwal]

My sympathies on the spill. Others will tell you where to take/send it. I just wanted to welcome you to the Lounge.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Gaaa! What a bummer. Does the Henry the Hatter store in Detroit do cleaning? Maybe they do?

On a side note, I was in a Chinese restaurant years ago and saw a waiter lean over and accidentally pour the bowl of egg drop soup he was holding into a woman's open purse on the floor. He leaned over to get something off the table and that whole bowl of soup went RIGHT in that woman's purse. I don't think even a drop went on the floor. It ALL went into that purse! Let's just say the customer was not happy.

Edit...

Just looked at the Henry the Hatter website and they do offer cleaning and blocking.

https://www.henrythehatterdetroit.com/

 

[newspapercowboy]

Ouch

 

[Cliffnopus]

Are you sure she didn't order soup to go??


Seriously though, that must have just about ruined the purse and its contents.

Cliff

 

[scottyrocks]

Guys, could he possibly dip it into some naptha as a DIY? Its on the brim so he wouldnt have to submerge the whole hat.

 

[zetwal]

Guys, could he possibly dip it into some naptha as a DIY? Its on the brim so he wouldnt have to submerge the whole hat.

I would not recommend that. For best results the hat would need to soak in the naphtha bath for some time. And just soaking the brim may cause part of the hat to be cleaner than another. Doing it this way may also push dirt to the edge of the cleaned area. I think that getting the whole hat cleaned would most likely produce the best results.

 

[GamaH]

That is a rather lovely hat.

 

[Aerol]

Optimo in Chicago is the go-to guy for this.

 

[EggHead]

I feel for you! A few weeks ago my 6-year old decided to help me with my Sydney. It just that he forgot to wash his greasy hands after lunch. Since I was in a hurry for a meeting I grabbed it without looking and only noticed grease and crumbs when I took it off at work.
I used a brush to clean most of it off. Now my hat has character!

 

[Mr. Paladin]

I would not recommend that. For best results the hat would need to soak in the naphtha bath for some time. And just soaking the brim may cause part of the hat to be cleaner than another. Doing it this way may also push dirt to the edge of the cleaned area. I think that getting the whole hat cleaned would most likely produce the best results.

I agree with this. I have tried to spot clean with naptha before and got just those results each time. I send mine to Optimo for cleaning and repairs; they do very good work and are quick on the return.

 

[scottyrocks]

I would not recommend that. For best results the hat would need to soak in the naphtha bath for some time. And just soaking the brim may cause part of the hat to be cleaner than another. Doing it this way may also push dirt to the edge of the cleaned area. I think that getting the whole hat cleaned would most likely produce the best results.

So noted.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Just a thought - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but what about something like K2R spot lifter? I've always heard it's made to pull oils out. But man, what a bummer - surely the restaurant offered to pick up the cleaning bills, right?

 

[Yimmy]

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone. The manager was quick to offer to cover the cleaning bill. i'll make a couple of phone calls, and can't wait to see how it looks when it comes back cleaned. and thanks for the welcome!

 

[randooch]

That's a bummer, Yimmy, but Optimo will make it all okay, maybe even better.

Umm, do you have a hat to wear while that one's away? (Voice of hat devil in your ear . . .)

 

[zetwal]

I'll make a couple of phone calls, and can't wait to see how it looks when it comes back cleaned.

Good! Please let us know how it turns out. Hopefully it will look even better than before.

 

[dogrocketp]

Definitely consider Optimo. They do very fine work. A couple of ebay sellers send everything valuable to them, and post it when they sell.

 

[John in Covina]

Coleman Camping fuel (white gas) use that as a the spot remover. Dab don't rub.

 

[Yimmy]

As a matter of fact, i DO have something to wear in it's absence. It arrived just this morning. Scored a beautiful Dobbs Twenty from the bay, listed as brown, but arrived in a beautiful olive. The box is pretty bashed up, but the hat is in amazing shape. Similar style to the stained Stetson. It'll keep me happy while awaiting the return of the sauce-beset lid from the cleaners.

(still working on getting my color balance where it belongs, it really is a lovely dark olive.)

 

[zetwal]

As a matter of fact, i DO have something to wear in it's absence.

Great! you can beat that ...