Neoprene items can be kept for many years in good condition if handled with care. To help you understand how to look after your hood, here are some helpful hints:
- Neoprene will crease. Deep creases do not come out. Store your hood safely on a mannequin head or hung up by the straps.
- Do not shove your hood in the back of a draw, the bottom of a kit bag, leave it under heavy things, let a bio cat sit on it, or let a dog attack it. It will be permanently damaged.
- The metal rivets are coated with rust-proof paint, but it’s still best to avoid long-term exposure to salt water. If you do swim in the sea with your hood, rinse it thoroughly afterwards.
- Wet and messy play is not a problem, just rinse your hood under the cold tap afterwards. If you’ve used a product with strong dye that has transferred, wash with thick bleach then rinse thoroughly.
- Dirty marks that don’t come out with a rinse alone can be removed by scrubbing with soft cleaning wipes like Mr Muscle Floor Wipes with Citrus, and then rinsing thoroughly with water immediately afterwards.
- You can machine-wash your hood if you want to, on a cold wash, and you can use detergent. Remove it immediately after the cycle has ended to avoid it being left in a funny position for some time, which may cause creasing. Let it drip dry. Don’t wring it out.
- If you want to pack your hood to travelling, for pup hoods with regular ears, put the printed side of the ears together (turning one inside out), tuck them inside the face poking out of one eye, and pad the snout with socks (clean or dirty) or other padding. This is how your hood should have been posted to you (except for the dirty socks bit)
No matter how carefully you treat your hood, you may still get creases over time. Don’t be upset about it. Consider it the hood’s ageing process.
Following these instructions should ensure that your gear lasts for many years.