TikTok user shares life hack for cleaning dirty hats: ‘Been doing this for years’

A TikTok user is earning millions of views with her hack for how to clean a hat without throwing it in the washer.

The video, posted by user Emily Mathis (@emily_.mathis), is just the latest cleaning hack to go viral on the app. In recent weeks, TikTokers have also shared their tricks for cleaning a pan with baking soda, making “homemade” air fresheners for cars and sweeping the floor without a dustpan.

Mathis’ clip, which now has nearly 5 million views, shows how to clean a hat with a simple soak in the sink. She starts by filling her sink up with hot water.

@emily_.mathis

Hat cleaning hack 🤪 ##cleanfreshhype ##hathacks

♬ Spongebob – Dante9k

Then she adds a mixture of dish soap, liquid laundry detergent and powdered laundry detergent.

After that, she stirs everything together and lets her hats soak before later rinsing them to remove the soapy mixture. In theory, the trick helps rinse out stains and sweat without damaging the hats in a washing machine.

Many TikTok users praised the cleaning tip. Some said they’d had plenty of success doing it themselves.

“Been doing this for years,” one user wrote.

“I do this in my laundry room sink,” another added.

Others were less impressed. Some suggested that the trick would actually damage the hat bills, claiming they are made out of cardboard. However, almost all new hats use some form of plastic or cotton in the brim, meaning they’re safe to wash.

But is Mathis’ hack worth the effort? That’s another question entirely.

“Now this looks like too much work,” one user wrote.

“Dishwasher works great too,” another suggested.

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