Our Top Ironing Tips

Looking smart, well groomed and fresh means it pays to be handy with your iron and it needn’t take up much of your time when you know what you’re doing.

Here are some great ironing tips to ensure you and your clothes are looking tip top!

1. Check the wash label to ensure you are using the right amount of heat for the fabric you are ironing. Very delicate or man-made fabrics may be pressed using a damp cloth, like a tea towel, in-between them and the iron plate.
2. Use your ironing board correctly. Get it at the right height so that you are not stooping, as this will quickly become uncomfortable. Use the full length for sleeves, trousers and dresses. The tapered end is there for you to do shoulders, arm holes and those hard to reach crevices with the tapered end of the iron.
3. Iron your clothes inside out where you can, it will help reduce that ‘shiny’ effect you sometimes get on fabrics.
4. Use long straight strokes. Too much fussing and wiggling the iron about could stretch the fabric out of shape and actually put in creases that will be hard to iron out!
5. Use the weight of the iron in a flowing motion, rather than putting all your weight behind it. If you don’t, again, you could risk stretching the fabric and simply exhausting yourself!
6. If you are in a hard water area (Not sure? Check out our hard water post for more great tips) use boiled water to fill your iron. This will help reduce limescale build up that blocks the iron and reduces its efficiency. And, always keep your iron plate CLEAN.
7. Iron around buttons and decorative bits and, if it’s a shirt, start with the collar, then cuffs and work out.
8. Most everyday items only need ironing on one side; however, if you put aluminium foil under the cover of your ironing board this will have the effect of ironing both sides at once as the foil reflects the heat back!
9. Never iron dirty clothes, the heat could well set the stain and it may not come out in the wash.
10. 100% cotton? Use the spray and/or steam function on the iron to slightly dampen the cloth for a crisp, flat finish.

Finally, if you make a scorch mark by holding the iron on the the fabric too long, you may be able to save it by using some white vinegar. Dip a clean cloth in to the vinegar and wipe over the stain.

Ironing is not everyone’s thing and many of us simply don’t have a lot of time in a busy week. If this is you, just give us a call and let our expert team take a load off your mind… Shirt service a speciality! Pick and delivery available, just contact us for more information.