Ironing is one of those things that seemingly can’t be avoided; we all hate it, we all dread it, but in order to ensure our clothes look crisp and sharp, it’s a necessity.
Or is it?
The short answer is ‘no’. There are alternatives! As you’d expect from a website called ‘Garment Steamer Reviews’ we’re all on-board the steam train, but there are other ways you can de-wrinkle clothes, too.
First, please indulge me in a quick rant about how much I hate ironing.
Why Ironing is the Pits
1. Ironing is Sooooooo Boring
This is the most fun you can have with a standard iron. 12/10 would give a treat. (Iron isn’t plugged in. Dog is safe. Don’t write in.) What ironing actually looks like.
2. Ironing is Dangerous
3. It Dulls the Mind and Breaks the Spirit
This graph shows the brain activity of people ironing. The study was carried out by the Diagnostic Medicine team at Princeton-Plainsboro hospital.
So we all agree – ironing is awful and there has to be a better way. Well, there are 7 better ways.
7 Ways to Iron Clothes Without an Iron
1. Make Use of Your Existing Equipment
You can use a flat iron/hair straightener to get rid of creases on a shirt collar – handy if you’re going to wear a jumper on top.
And you can use a hairdryer as an ersatz fabric steamer – blast crumpled areas and let the heat melt the creases away.
What else creates steam? How about a kettle? Or that quaint old cottage-style teapot you unleash once a year. Make yourself a tea, and while the steam is piping out, use it on your fabrics.
Another option is a pot – you could use it to boil some water. Tip out the water then use the bottom of the pot like you would a normal iron. I can see how that’d be useful if your iron broke, but at the same time it sounds a bit insane. Still, it’s some good out-of-the-box thinking.
2. Use Your Bathroom as a Sauna for Clothes
Hang your wrinkled dress on the towel rack, close the bathroom door, take a hot bath or shower – the steam should tease out those creases.
You can get a similar effect from the good old ‘spray and hang’ method. Spritz the shirt with some water then hang it up. As it dries it might just straighten out.
Another variation on this theme is to sop the wrinkled area with a damp towel or cloth and then let it hang to dry. Simples!
3. Tumble Dry Ice
Ice cubes in the dryer? Is this the ramblings of a crazy person? Yes. But a crazy person with NO CREASES.
Why does it work? The ice soon heats up in there, melts, turns into steam. If you haven’t understood it by now, steam is very effective in getting rid of creases.
Note that you don’t NEED ice. A damp cloth will provide the moisture, and throw in some bone dry towels while you’re at it – those will suck up any moisture they find. Wrinkles attacked on two flanks!
4. Use a Specialist Wrinkle Remover
There are more of these appearing in the shops now. The promise is that they get rid of creases just with a few sprays. Do a search for ‘wrinkle sprays’.
5. Or Try Vinegar
Some people swear by vinegar solutions. Mix 1 part vinegar with 3 parts water and you’ve got yourself a home-made wrinkle spray.
6. Crush It
One technique I’ve seen talked about but never tried myself (because I bought a garment steamer, obvs), is literally pressing creases out with a DIY ‘clothes press’. Take the offending garment, roll it up tight, then sit on it (or put it under a mattress or sofa cushion).
7. Use a Garment Steamer
A garment steamer is to ironing what smartphones are to maps. Sure, there are some people who like to hold a paper map in their hands, but most people just want to find the fastest route to their destination.
And garment steamers are the fastest route to your goal, if your goal is having wrinkle-free clothes.
You turn the steamer on and it heats up. You know when it’s ready because there’s steaming flying out of it – and it makes a soothing gurgling sound as a bonus.
It’s almost FUN using it to blast wrinkles from your clothes. I certainly never had a single microsecond of fun using an iron – wait, I take that back. The first time I used an iron that squirted water from the bottom – that was quite fun. But apart from that!
The only trick with garment steamers, really, is choosing the right one (that’s where this site comes in) and hanging the garment up in such a way that the steam will be most effective. (I’ve found that in most cases a normal clothes hangar works just fine, but sometimes you want to hang it up on the back of a door so you can ‘press’ on it a bit.)
You might even find that your clothes smell better after a bit of a steam.
So check out our product reviews. We have honest reviews about garment steamers ranging from 25 dollars or so. There’s no reason to stay stuck in the iron age!