Ironing may not be your favourite way to pass the time, but it’s the key to looking good. With these top ironing tricks and tips, you can speed up your ironing, make it effortless and easy.
Remember not every single item of clothing you wash needs to be ironed. Some clothing can be taken straight off the washing line or pulled out of the dryer, hung on a hanger and put straight away after a good shake.
What fabrics don’t need to be ironed?
Never iron sequins, velvet, or screen-printed clothing. Also, some fabrics are labeled “non iron” or “wrinkle resistant,” usually polyester and nylon.
Fabric condition can help decrease creases when washing your clothes but remember fabric conditioner is not required for all items.
Check care labels
Check the care labels in the garments and then split into temperature piles. start with the coolest temperature and work your way up.
- Low-temperature: Acetate, acrylic, nylon
- Medium-temperature: Polyester, silk, satin, wool
- High-temperature: Linen, cotton, denim
Planning your ironing will save you time and prevent accidental melting or scorching.
Be prepared
Check the plate of your iron is clean, any stickiness can cause damage.
How to clean your iron
Use a sturdy steady ironing board with a good width that has a good rest area for your steam generator iron and a linen rack. When ironing position your board to be the height of your belly button. It is vital to keep a good posture when ironing.
Use a well padded ironing board cover and change once it starts to get burnt marks as these can cause damage to the plate of your iron. Most covers can be washed too, so add this task into your seasonal cleaning planner.
If you don’t have an ironing board, you can still iron by using a sturdy flat surface like a table or work top and prepare it correctly using an ironing blanket or thick cotton towel as a liner.
Invest in a good steam generator iron as this really will speed the process up and you will be surprised at the amount of time you save.
If you don’t have a steam generator iron before ironing, spritz your shirts with water. This ironing tip will help you get out stubborn wrinkles. Perhaps your iron even has a spritz option. If it does, use it! Once the item is dampened, iron as normal. The combination of water and heat will tackle wrinkles easily.
Grab some silver foil simply place a sheet of foil under the cover of your ironing board. The foil reflects heat, smoothening out the underside of your clothes as you run the iron press on the top side.
Top tips
Iron delicate fabrics inside out such as, silk, satin, linen and corduroy and also on items that sometimes are left with shine. This shine effect is most noticeable on dark colours.
You should iron fabric lengthwise to prevent stretching.
When ironing shirt collars, cuffs or pockets that are double the thickness of fabric, iron on the inside first and then on the outside to smooth any final wrinkles.
Always remember to keep the iron moving. Stopping at any point could burn your clothing.
If you can hang the items straight onto hangers after ironing, folding them when hot can create creases which will set in.
When you are done
Keep your iron away from small children, irons can get very hot and cause injury.
Let your iron cool off and empty any water from the tank before you put it away.
Ironing is easy, why complicate it? Now that you’re privy to these convenient ironing tips and tricks, go ahead and try them. Don’t forget, the key is using the right iron so it is definitely worth investing in a good one and make it fun, listen to music or set the ironing board up so you can watch television.
