I can’t think of a more boring and tedious housework job as ironing. How many of you don’t know how to iron or just avoid it in favor of the nearest dry cleaner? Okay, so why the article? Life is too short, just go to the dry cleaner, right? I have never been fond of the chemicals used by dry cleaners and have resorted to washing and ironing my own clothes.
When I grew up everyone learned to iron. Either you were taught by your mother or you learned in Home Economics. (Remember making french toast for the first time in Home Ec?) Am I dating myself?
When I went to law school, I marveled at how all of my new law school friend’s shirts looks so cover girl Christy Brinkley crispy-like. I too wanted to be a cover girl. (Who didn’t?) Her screct was spray starch and I became addicted. After a little experimenting among the various types of spray starches, I started using the light spray starch. Just enough to make my jeans have that little crease. (Didn’t everyone iron their jeans? Okay, a little fanatical I admit.)
If you have ever used spray starch, you know what I am talking about. It is like being a skater gliding across a beautiful smooth rink. With each motion, the wrinkles just disappear. The best part is the wrinkles don’t reappear. I have contemplated spraying it on my face once or twice. (A little dab of spray starch and you are good to go.)
A couple of years ago, I switched to Earth Friendly Spray Starch. So, why did I switch from my easy, dreamy inexpensive spray starch? I iron my children’s clothes. (Just the ones that wrinkle. I am not that obsessive.) Conventional spray starch is full of chemicals that I did not want on my children’s clothes.
Any downside to using the eco brand? I found that I have to work harder at ironing their clothes. The pump spray on the Earth Friendly brand does not spray as evenly as the propellant that I was use to. See the picture below as how it sprays.
The spray comes out of a pump bottle so the stream is kind of spotty. It was more like a stream at the beginning of the bottle.
This shirt was impossible to iron with this spray starch.
The starch is very light. If you are looking for that heavy starch feel, this products will not deliver that result. You may have to compromise health versus comfort.
Personally, the easiest way for me to iron is to take the clothes right from the wash when they are slightly damp. After I am done ironing the clothes, they are practically dry. I only iron wool pants wet since ironing them when they are dry is like untangling matted hair. Near impossible. (Is it okay to iron wool pants when they are wet?)
If you want to make your own starch, check out Erin Huffstetler’s homemade recipe. Does anyone remember their mom’s water sprinkle bottle when she ironed the linens? (Right after she took a swig of TAB?) Or buying distilled water for the steam mechanism in the iron?
So, what are you secrets for this mundane choir? Do you have a trick to make ironing easier? Have a homemade recipe that you can share? A way to make the ironing time more enjoyable? Or do you just say the heck with it and go to the dry cleaner?
Mother Earth says
July 25, 2008 at 1:37 ami ironed tuxedo shirts in HS, hundreds and hundreds of tuxedo shirts -we never used starch! I am actually someone who’s never used starch for ironing. I think because it came in a can I said forget it
I iron hankerchiefs, my dish towels and like you, when my linen shirts come out or the washer I iron them wet. Seems to work
My ex’s mother ironed her husbands underware !!
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NJ Guy says
November 2, 2008 at 11:42 pmIroning is indeed a tiring chore, but what I’ve found to be the ideal solution is to purchase clothing that is unlikely to wrinkle in the first place. Of course, this can limit selection, but avoidance of ironing is paramount to me.
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Green Talk says
November 3, 2008 at 12:28 amNJ Guy, I know a lot of people buy wrinkle free clothing but they are finished with formaldehyde which is not good for you. Washing them reduces the amount of formaldehdye but not all. I tend to stay away from them if I can.
Liverpool dentist says
February 18, 2009 at 4:47 pmWell, my grandmother teach me how to iron clothes starting when i was on my grade 6th and she also tough me how to put starch on the clothes, homemade.. to make it easier to be ironed and wont cripple that much when you wear it.
Liverpool dentist
Regards, Meera,
Online game says
March 12, 2009 at 3:49 amI’ve found to be the ideal solution is to purchase clothing that is unlikely to wrinkle in the first place.
Green Talk says
March 12, 2009 at 12:45 pmOnline game, the problem with wrinkle free clothing is that they could have formaldehyde and/or teflon in them which causes them to not wrinkle. Both are toxic chemicals for the Earth and humans. Anna
1000 games says
October 7, 2009 at 4:21 pmA lot of people buy wrinkle free clothing but they are finished with formaldehyde which is not good for you.
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Condo Blues says
April 1, 2010 at 11:30 pmI hate ironing too. HATE IT. I’ve taken shirts I’ve washed to the cleaner and had them iron them only but only when I had a ton of ironing and no time to do it because I’d still have to deal with the hangers and plastic bags.
I try grabbing things as soon as the dryer goes off and hanging them up immediately, so I don’t have to iron them. That works well for polo shirts. Instead of spray starch, I use a spray bottle of tap water. I think it works better than spray starch and the clothes are easier to iron when damp.
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