Do you ever find yourself jealous of other people’s crisp and fresh clothes? That’s totally normal, but definitely not necessary. You don’t have to be the odd one out, with dozens of wrinkles and creases in your clothes.
With these top ironing tricks and tips, you can make ironing easy, effective and dare we say — fun.
Spritz Your Shirts
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.
Use Your Dryer
If you have just a couple things that need ironing, you can use your dryer instead. Spray them with some water, toss them in the dryer and leave them for a few minutes. The heat will create steam from the water and smooth out the wrinkles. This is a great ironing hack if you need to multitask.
Wash Smaller Loads
We know that doing big loads is convenient, but it’s not super effective. If you do smaller loads, you need to do less ironing! The steam and heat in the machine has more space to pass through your clothes, reducing wrinkles and creases.
Shake It Out
Between the washing machine and the dryer, give your clothes a shake. This helps to untangle them and untwist clothes so they don’t get wrapped up and wrinkled in the dryer.
Iron in Order
This one will please all you organised folk. You can sort your clothes from delicate and less wrinkled, to sturdier and more wrinkled.
Your iron gets hotter as you go, which prepares it for tackling the more stubborn garments. It also means you don’t have to wait for the iron to cool down between clothes that require different temperatures. This is a top ironing tip that you’ll use for life.
Say No to Circles
You might be surprised by this one. We all watched our parents iron in circular motions, but guess what? It’s no longer in fashion!
Ironing in circles causes scratches and it can ruin the fit of your clothes. Use long straight strokes in the same direction instead. This will prevent you from stretching the fabric.
Say Yes to Steam
The next ironing tip is to say yes to steam! If you can’t get a wrinkle out, no matter how hard you’ve tried, you need to turn on the steam. You’ll see the wrinkles disappear before your eyes.
Check Your Board
Hate ironing because your ironing board sucks? Time to get a new one. Having a decent board can make all the difference in ironing. It makes it easier and protects your clothes if you have a good board.
Clean Your Iron
A dirty iron can leave marks on fabrics and snag the material. Whenever you notice rust, marks, dirt or stickiness, it’s time to clean your iron. Use a cleaning solution, or mix together equal parts distilled white vinegar and water, and with a cloth, clean down the plate.
You might also need to clean the interior of your iron. To do this, use a cleaning solution, or mix together equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Pour it into the water tank. Either press the self clean button, or press the steam button repeatedly.
Afterwards, fill the iron up with clean water and press the steam button to get out any remnants of the solution. This prevents limescale build up which can be damaging on your clothes.
Vinegar: Your Iron’s Best Friend
Who knew irons had a best friend? Well, they do — and it’s vinegar.
There are a few ways to use vinegar when ironing. Try one of these ironing tricks!
- Remove creases: Mix together equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Put it in a spray bottle. Spray the garment, then use the iron to remove the creases.
- Remove shiny areas: You know those shiny areas you get on your clothes from irons? Vinegar can help. Use your spray bottle to dampen the garment, then iron as normal. Of course, check your iron is clean first.
- Prevent yellow marks: When you’re done ironing, use your solution to spray collars and underarm areas to prevent sweat stains.
- Clean your iron: Follow the tips above to clean your soleplate and the inside of your iron with equal parts vinegar and water.
Iron on Your Favorite Fragrance
You can make your clothes smell good by adding perfume to your water tank. Just add a drop!
When you start ironing, you’ll notice the wonderful smell. Now, all your clothes will smell of your favorite fragrance all the time.
Blow Dry Your Dress
Another hair tool that will come in handy for an ironing hack is your blow dryer.
Use a spray bottle to spritz water onto the clothes. This will soften the creases. Hold the clothes tight, lying flat or hanging up, and use the hair dryer to blow hot air onto the wrinkles. This will remove them in a short amount of time.
This is super useful for skirts and dresses because they can be difficult to iron. Plus, it’s good for delicate fabrics. You shouldn’t really be ironing silk and wool, so a hair dryer can do wonders here!
Spray Bottle & Sun
For a more hipster way at tackling wrinkles, this ironing trick can help!
This one is particularly useful if you’re away on vacation without an iron. All you need to do is spritz the clothes with water and hang the garment out in the hot sun. If you don’t have a spray bottle, use your hands or a bottle to splash some water onto the clothes.
