An impeccably ironed clothing offers more benefits than making you look proper and orderly. For instance, ironing your clothes kills off the germs that are probably lingering unnoticed on the surface. Ironing also preserves the quality of the fabric, boosts its texture on the skin, and enhances its color.
While there is a vast pool of flat irons available in the market, sometimes even the most expensive, cutting-edge one still falls short of straightening the wrinkles on your apparel. You may probably think that the equipment is defective or simply inefficient. However, that is not always the case.
In most scenarios, it’s not the flat iron you brought that is ineffective – it’s how you do the ironing itself! Some wrinkles in the clothes are too challenging that you may need some ingenious hacks to finish the job. If you ever had problems straightening those annoying wrinkles for a while now, it is time you try these fantastic ironing tips that will make the process fast and easy.
1. It All Starts with the Washing Part
Did you know that the number of clothes you wash simultaneously can contribute to wrinkling build-up on your clothes? When the machine is packed with your laundry, the clothes won’t tumble more freely. The clothes would naturally tangle with one another until you end up with a heap of intertwined shirts and shorts, creating a nightmare of wrinkles.
The most logical way to avoid it is to wash the clothes in small batches to ensure that they can move freely within the machine. Doing so also cleans your clothes more effectively, as water, heat, and steam can all move evenly throughout your laundry. The process spares you from laborious ironing later on since fewer wrinkles are likely to set in this way.
2. Give Clothes a Nice Shake
If your using a dryer, the most effective way to maximize it is to give each piece of clothing a nice shake before transferring your laundry from the washer. Doing so helps untwist and untangle the clothes, leaving no room for wrinkles to build up later. It also drains excess water, which makes the process quick and energy-efficient.
3. Hang the Laundry Right Away
Another subtle way to avoid laborious ironing later in the day is to hang the clothes straight out from the dryer. It helps the fabric ‘breathe’ and allows the temperature to straighten it up naturally. Hanging them also employs the force of gravity to help stop the wrinkles from setting in.
4. Organization is the Key
Being organized is an important characteristic that dramatically improves your performance. Before you start ironing, you can try to note what clothes should go first and what should go last. If you think about it, it will not only save you energy and time from constantly recalibrating the heat of the iron to suit the fabric, but it will also help you avoid mistakenly burning a delicate dress.
5. Moisturize the Clothes
Wrinkles are unavoidable. If you are stuck with many wrinkles that have already settled on your clothing, you may want to spritz the fabric while ironing. You would probably think that this trick is just some gimmick invented by your moms, but it is actually pretty effective! Steam is the arch-nemesis of wrinkles, and moisturizing the clothes with a spray of water or a specialized ironing spray can smooth out the surface in no time.
6. Strokes are Essential
The strokes you make are essential when ironing your clothes. You won’t spot it at first, but constantly ironing the clothes opposite the orientation of the dress’ fabric could damage it in the long run. An excellent way to work around it is to make parallel or straight-line strokes following the material’s orientation and avoid doing circle strokes. After all, you don’t want to end up scratching your priced dress.
7. Have a Nice, Sturdy Board
Good luck ironing those wrinkles off your clothes on a lousy, crumbling board. You wouldn’t believe how a nice, sturdy ironing board can dramatically make everything way more manageable. You won’t even have a problem finding one, as there are tons of options available in your local store and even online.
If you are in a small living space, you still won’t have any issues acquiring one. Ironing boards for small spaces are also a thing now, and you can purchase them in just a few clicks on the Internet. Just make sure that your ironing board has a nice and smooth cover and a sturdy body.
8. Practice Maintaining Your Iron
At some point, your iron plate may end up with some dirt build-up which is pretty expected. Regularly checking your iron plate saves you from unnecessary troubles (such as stains) in the future, especially with your whites. Iron plate cleaners are commercially available, but you can only make yours at home using simple home ingredients.