Early Fashion...remember this?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Circa. 1970's. Crusty Old Bats!!

Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.

Just out of curiosity, how did one wash their cap if it got soiled? And were you able to get a new one if it got ruined?

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

You could buy a new one with your school.....and they could be dry cleaned

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Does anyone know if there's a company that cleans/restores nursing caps that have yellowed? I would really like to spruce mine up and then put it in a display box. I did do a google search, but I couldn't find anything. My school closed nearly 20 years ago, so I can't get another, and besides, a new one would have the sentimental feel of the old one.

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Does anyone know if there's a company that cleans/restores nursing caps that have yellowed? I would really like to spruce mine up and then put it in a display box. I did do a google search, but I couldn't find anything. My school closed nearly 20 years ago, so I can't get another, and besides, a new one would have the sentimental feel of the old one.

I would think that any place that restores old wedding gowns and things of that nature could also do a nursing cap. Might be worth a shot.

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Crusty ol' bat here. I graduated in the 1970's too. I worked in orthopedics and kept knocking my cap off whenever I had a patient in traction. A couple of times, my cap hit the traction frame and landed in a loaded bedpan.:yuck: So much for grace and charm!

I graduated in the early '80s and started my career in real "whites," including including white hose and my cap. I never had any problems with the cap when I worked in orthopedics. My cap was, fortunately, fairly small and sat close to the head; maybe your cap was one of the big, clumsy ones.

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Just out of curiosity, how did one wash their cap if it got soiled? And were you able to get a new one if it got ruined?

Every nursing cap, regardless of the specific design, can be unfolded into a flat piece of fabric. The simpler designs can simply be unfolded, laundered, ironed/starched, and folded and secured back into shape. Lots of nurses used to clean their own caps. For the ones that are too elaborate in design to be easily disassembled for cleaning, most hospitals used to hve at least one drycleaner in town that was familiar with dealing with the nursing caps that were common in that community (I'm sure that's not the case any more, since caps have, sadly, become so rare).

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I graduated in the early '80s and started my career in real "whites," including including white hose and my cap. I never had any problems with the cap when I worked in orthopedics. My cap was, fortunately, fairly small and sat close to the head; maybe your cap was one of the big, clumsy ones.

If I stick my cap on my head, I can get HBO and Cinemax.

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If I stick my cap on my head, I can get HBO and Cinemax.

I can water the cows and horses out of mine LOL

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This thread gave me the opportunity to share this......

I TRIED several times to post a link to the pages itself, but Medscape is being a bear it seems!!! I'm a member so I guess I got to it easily, but still can't link to it??

Anyway, go to medscape.com and register, OR you can put the words " nurse cap slideshow" into Google and you can pull up the pages individually. It's a three-part series. And I have no idea why I can't link you directly to it, but there it is :(

Honestly, I thought the slideshow was just beautiful, and who knows....there might VERY well be some of our own AN people on it! ;)

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Specializes in Maternity.

We could only wear whites dresses or skirts, no pants. I don't miss uniforms at all but I do miss the feeling of that support hose. Just the feeling of support..not wearing the hose. My nursemate shoes were great at the time. My Danskos are better though.

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Just out of curiosity, how did one wash their cap if it got soiled? And were you able to get a new one if it got ruined?

To clean a Kay's or other "Perma-Starch" cap:

From Kay's Caps:

NEED NO STARCH - WASHING INSTRUCTIONS

IF SLIGHTLY SOILED:

1. Rub clean with small hand brush, soap and warm water

2. Run off soap under faucet

3. Dry flat on towel - do not wring. Ironing is optional

4. DO NOT USE BLEACH.

IF BADLY SOILED:

1. Wash in warm soapy water

2. Scrub clean. Rinse and dry as above

3. Iron with moderate iron.

DO NOT DRY CLEAN. CAP WILL DISINTEGRATE!

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Dontcha wonder what the thing is made of if it DISINTEGRATES with dry cleaning....?

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