Sanitizing used hats?

[retrofashion]

I put a hat I recently got in the freezer for a week and now it seems to have shrunk. Is this usual? I'm a 7 1/4 and the hat is a 7 7/8 and was slightly lose on me and now it is quite snug around my head.
Is this reversible?
Thanks.

 

[Uncle Vern]

Great trick if it works. Just don't store it on top of the frozen fish.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I will, of course, presume that you did this with the intention of seeing if the hat would shrink, and that this is not your normal system of hat storage....

 

[retrofashion]

I did this because it is an used hat, so I was trying to kill any moth eggs and other things that were "living" in the hat. I got that tip from these forums.
I didn't want it to shrink, but apparently it did. I didn't know the freezer trick could cause shrinkage. Now I’m worried to shrink it farther when I try to re-bash and clean it.
Maybe it will slowly go back to normal as the leather warms up again? Is leather prone to shrink in cold conditions?
I just got it out of the freezer so it is still cold.

 

[bolthead]

Cool trick, if it lasts.....did you have it in plastic or anything?

 

[retrofashion]

Yes, I had it in a plastic bag and squeezed the air out as suggested here on the boards.
What lasts? The shrinkage? That wasn't the intention at all as I said above.
Why all the rolling eyes as if I did something stupid? I got this idea from several threads and posts here. Several people recommended the process.

 

[Andykev]

I put a hat I recently got in the freezer for a week and now it seems to have shrunk. Is this usual? I'm a 7 1/4 and the hat is a 7 7/8 and was slightly lose on me and now it is quite snug around my head.
Is this reversible?
Thanks.

You said the hat is a "7 7/8". Do you mean 7 3/8? Hat sizes go in the 1/8 inch size...so there is about a 4 or 5 size difference. Like a Medium to Extra Large.

It should not have shrunk that much. Cold will cause the leather sweatband to contract slightly, just like heat will cause the leather to expand slightly. With a good hat stretcher/heated/ or steam, you can increase a hat by a full size. In my experience, the hat that you stretch eventually reverts back to it's original size, or close to it.

I suggest you have the hat properly sized to you, if it is a good vintage or quality hat.

About freezing the hat to kill moths? Never heard of it. The felt of a hat is usually the "food" of the moth/eggs. First, if there is no visible damage to the felt, such as moth divots/nibbles...you can be fairly certain that the old vintage hat is not a "host" for hidden vermin

In all my 50+ hats gotten long ago on Ebay, I simply brushed and steamed the hats. Never had a problem with moths.
Now, moths and SILVERFISH continue to be a threat in my home, but being alert and caring properly for the hat, protecting it in a hat box, and frequent inspection and brushing seem to keep the bugs away.

 

[Prairie Shade]

Standard Procedure

Done it many times, no problem. Who wants to wear a frozen hat? Let it come back to room temp and then try!!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Freezing a hat - or clothing, fabric, whatever - will kill most creatures living there. There are some insect embryos that can take freezing, then hatch out . . . but most can't. Freezing is the method used by many Museums who deal with textiles to rapidly kill anything living in whatever stuff they get in.

I recommend it for small items of vintage clothing - ties and the like.

Never heard of a hat shrinking under these conditions, though.

bk

 

[Andykev]

Freezing

I know that you can freeze insects, but I have not done so. I have used the sealed hat box/moth balls as a great preventative.

Here is an excellent link which gives outstanding photos, procedures, and "all you ever wanted to know about moths". This is a must read for all.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/INSECT/05599.html

 

[Prairie Shade]

Well!!

If its good enough for Mind Stolls, its good enough for me!!!:eusa_clap

 

[Prairie Shade]

OH CRAP

MINK MINK not mind!!!!!!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[jake_fink]

Fresh hats taste must better than frozen.

 

[EricH]

Depending on the actual before and after sizes, a size change one size down requires shrinking 1/2 Inch. Dropping a size in this case would involve shrinkage of about 2 % . I doubt cold alone is the cause. If the inside of the freezer is very low humidity, perhaps it simply dried out the sweat. That would be a cold temp version of intentionally shrinking a band. Some leather conditioner and a good stretcher should do the trick.

Just a thought.

Eric

 

[bolthead]

I'm just wondering how I can shrink a hat down one full size? [huh]

 

[retrofashion]

Yes, as it turns out, it has got back to it's normal size once it got to room temperature. I guess the leather band must have got tighter with the cold. I'm glad it’s good now since I would hated to lose the hat as I took forever to finally find the hat I wanted. High crowned, thick ribbon and very light gray.
Thanks to everybody for your comments.
Now I want to redo the bash and completely reshape the hat, as it's a little out of shape. So I guess it's from the freezer to the tea pot.
Although I have heard some saying you should remove the lining for the procedure of steaming the hat to reshape it? I'm not sure I should touch that lining as there is a clear plastic covering the top of the lining and it makes a plastic cracking noise when touched, so I guess it is either dry or maybe it is supposed to be that way?. I also have some small golden plastic-ish debris in the lining all the time. I shake it out and clean it but then I get more after a little while. Must be coming out from somewhere under the lining. Any ideas of what it could be?

 

[bolthead]

"Although I have heard some saying you should remove the lining for the procedure of steaming the hat to reshape it?"

Don't know if this is true or not, but I use a tea kettle to steam and reshape/bash all of my hats, and I never once have removed any of the linings....never had a problem yet.

 

[BrotherBob]

Never mind...

I saw the title and thought this was about something else. I knew a girl whose Beaver froze one time, and it went back to normal when it thawed out, also.

Bolthead,

I have a real tea kettle and my brown fur felt fedora is a little out of whack. I'll have to try it tomorrow.

What's your closest town? I'm originally from Delaware a/k/a DuPontia.

 

[Brinybay]

I did a search but couldn't find anything about this. I know from browsing the forum that at least a few of you buy or have bought used hats.

My question is, do you do anything to sanitize them before wearing them? Lest you think I'm being overly squeamish, I have to relate a story from my childhood that has stuck with me all these years.

c1959, I was in a thrift store with Mom. Browsing some of the stuff, I came across an old WWII Civil Defense helmet. How cool! So naturally I tried it on and strutted up to show Mom. No amount of whining and begging would convince her to buy it, so back it went.

To our horrors, we later discovered it was infested with ring-worm. The Health Dept retrieved and tested the helmet and confirmed it was the source.

To this day, I'm very leery of trying on used hats.

So I said all that to ask this, is there a proper way to sanitize a used hat? What methods or products are used, or do you take it to a pro? Are most corner cleaners able to clean/sanitize hats?

 

[NonEntity]

I, too, am a hygiene fanatic, and here's what I've successfully done with suspect clothing:

Put the hat inside a plastic garbage can liner bag, get as much of the air out as you can without crushing the hat, seal it up tight, and leave it be for a week.

Living things are aerobic--they need air--and this should kill any nasty organisms making a home on the hat.

There are cleaning products on the market made just for hats, but I would shy away from them as they can stain felt and remain embedded in it, which creates a new set of problems.

You can have a professional clean and block a hat--definitely don't let a "corner cleaner" do it--but I don't know whether or not even pros would use anything that truly "sanitizes" it in terms of killing mites, ringworms, and the like.