I was talking to my friend Jen the other day. She told me a hilarious story about how she went into her laundry room to iron something and couldn’t find the ironing board on its normal hook on the wall.
She went to ask her husband if he’d seen it {because, honestly, who the heck loses an ironing board} when he told he it was hanging where it always was.
He walked back with her and showed her the ironing board hanging in a new spot behind the laundry room door. “Well that’s why I couldn’t find it,” she said.
“I moved it almost 2 years ago,” he replied. 😉
Clearly Jen doesn’t iron. Martha would be appalled! When I asked how she survives, she said a spray bottle and a low heat tumble in the dryer is all it takes for all clothes she doesn’t have dry cleaned. So this post full of ironing tips is for her. Just in case.
11 Fabulous Ironing Tips
- Start with a perfectly flat ironing board by placing your ironing board cover on the board while it’s still damp, and letting it dry in place for a perfect.
- Use aluminum foil under the ironing board cover so you can iron both sides at the same time. The foil reflects the heat and irons the underside while you iron the top.
- Never use tap water. Instead, use distilled water in your iron to keep deposits from clogging it up.
- Iron in batches. It takes awhile to lug out the ironing board and set up the iron. Makes sense to spend 30 minutes and iron a bunch at once, hang ’em up and you’re good to go for awhile!
- Iron everything inside out. This helps prevent a shiny sheen that the irons leaved behind.
- Never never ever iron a dirty article of clothing. If it hasn’t been freshly laundered, all of the dirty soil and ick basically gets baked into it. Yuck!
- Iron in straight strokes, not in a circular motion. It’s easy to accidentally stretch out your clothing by ironing in circles.
- Lay a towel down and place any embroidered or raised designs facing down towards the towel, and then iron as usual.
- Use paper clips to hold pleats firm and in place while you finish your ironing.
- Don’t iron the biggest mass first, instead, iron the smallest part first. So hems, colors arms and cuffs before body.
- Hang up your clothes right after you press them or all that hard work might be for nothing!
And there you go Jen {and all of the rest of you novice ironers!} those are my 11 fabulous ironing tips. So now I must know. How often do you iron?!
~Mavis
P.S. I owned my Brabantia Size C Ironing Board for years now and LOVE it!!
Lesley says
I have the Brabantia Size C too, Mavis! I love how much taller it can be than the usual ironing board, and it’s so sturdy.
Rebeka says
Never!
Amy Drorbaugh says
I never iron. Literally.
Mark says
I bought a handheld steamer and got rid of my ironing board
Gigi says
I love my steamer! So much quicker.
Lana says
No ironing here. For decades I did shirts for my husband to wear to work. When he retired so did my iron.
Dawn says
Wow, I did not realize how expensive ironing boards were. My ironing board was purchased with Blue Chip stamps by my Mom back in 1969. I don’t iron often, but I would not want to live without one especially when sewing.
Christy says
Same her, only 1966! Still going strong, and I too mostly iron when I am sewing.
Becka says
While visiting my daughter I set up the ironing board and pressed a few things. After I left for home my grandson asked her if I had forgotten my ironing board.
Pamela Sheppard says
I iron every shirt, top, skirt, pair of pants etc. I wear out in public whether to work or just to the grocery store. I got into the habit when I had to wear a uniform in high school which included a pleated skirt and a blouse with a peter pan collar. The only thing I have changed over the years is I gave up using spray starch. I love ironing. That said I wouldn’t want to do it for a living or for a huge family but for my wardrobe I love doing it.
Sue S. says
I can remember having damp, rolled up clothes in the fridge when I was a kid. My mom took in ironing and she had one of those green bottles with a shaker top. Of course that was when we had a wringer washer, no dryer, clothes line with stake to hold it up in the middle, and stretcher racks for dotted swiss curtains. Wow that was in the ’50’s. I just bought a new iron for myself after using the old one for an embarrassingly long time. I was going to throw away the old one but, 2nd thoughts, decided to keep it to damp press my hooked rugs before finishing them. Interesting how a simple topic like ironing can trigger some memories. Thanks Mavis!
Linda Sand says
I remember all those things! I also remember Mom hanging underwear on the middle clothesline so clothes hung on both sides of them hid them. She once commented that she was glad she had two boys since one would change his underwear frequently while the other would change his shirt just as often so it looked balanced.
Dianne says
Me too! We always had damp, frozen laundry in the basement freezer. Same; wringer washer and no dryer, just a huge clothes line.
Nancy says
Have you all beat on the age of ironing board. Mine is wooden, topped with many layers of retired sheets stapled tightly over the years. My mother purchased it in 1948. Admit I rarely need to use it as I mostly wear linen (which can easily be stretched when wet) and wool (which only needs blocking) but still use it for sewing or occasional tablecloths and napkins. Heavy, but it works just fine and makes me smile with memories whenever I look at it.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks says
Oh yes, I remember these same things (rolled up clothes in fridge and shaker bottle) in my grandmother’s refrigerator. Brings back fond memories.
Now, I iron rarely, but like others, iron if sewing or when napkins or a tablecloth needs it. I mainly remove items promptly from the dryer.
Great tips that I’ll implement the next time I drag out the old ironing board.
Anne Wiebe says
I remember ironing WAY back in the day. Back in the 60s we ironed everything we wore. SOOOO much work and such a hot chore. I remember as a Girl Scout, volunteering and demonstrating the “sad iron” at Cowtown, Wichita’s frontier museum site. It was called a sad iron because it was so heavy. You would heat it in the fire, then sadly heave up that heavy iron and iron till it needed to be heated again. BIG SIGH!
I was so excited when they came out with no-iron fabrics! And I have rarely ironed ever since then. When I moved to my house four years ago, my steam iron was not to be found, oh well!, and I then just gave away the ironing board. No regrets!!
VA says
PRESSED CLOTHING ALWAYS LOOKS SO MUCH MORE “PROFESSIONAL OR PULLED TOGETHER.” MY IRONING BOARD IS UP ALL THE TIME, BUT I GUESS I’M GETTING A LITTLE LAZY BECAUSE I DEFINITELY DON’T USE IT AS OFTEN AS I USED TO.
Richelle says
The instructions for my iron specifically state to use tap water and that using distilled water voids the warranty.
Tina S. says
Mine too.
Michelle says
I was raised ironing all my clothes and I am from a younger generation (born in the early 80’s). Anyway, I loved to iron in my 20’s. I ironed all my husband’s clothes and the tiny baby’s wardrobe too. When our family grew I no longer ironed. My husband started a job that didn’t need ironed clothing either. I know how to iron. It’s actually very relaxing, but life is too darn busy for such a task with 6 kids.
JulieP says
This year my ironing board broke! My mum bought it with green shield stamps that she saved with her cigarettes! She bought it for my bottom drawer which started the year my sister got married 1968. I was 8 for goodness sake lol. I said to my DH I don’t want a new one I won’t get the wear out of it now (I’m 64) can you mend it! It got welded back together. I just ironed six things on Sunday. I haven’t ironed since the end of April so you gals can see what I mean about not wearing out another board 🙂
My mum came to our house after my dad died and did all the ironing as she was appalled that I only basically ironed the DHs dress shirts she came for about 18 years and loved ironing, she’s missed
Jean C says
I don’t love ironing, but I do like the look of pressed clothing so I haul out the board and tackle a pile occasionally. Some fabrics, even fresh out of the dryer, need a quick press. I had never heard of putting aluminum foil under the ironing pad. Will give it a try.
Gigi says
Here’s another useful tip. If you’re in a hotel and need a table, use the ironing board. It usually has enough adjust able setting that it can be lowered to comfortably to use the bed as a seat
KimberlyAnne says
I love your blog. I also want to thank you for writing a blog that is not always trying to sell me something. Such a light in the blogging world.
Margo says
When I was young I was in the military. I ironed my uniforms daily. Then I became a nurse and ironed a weeks worth of uniforms/scrubs weekly. Now I only pull out the iron out for sewing and about two shirts that seem to demand it after washing. Don’t miss it.
Stacy says
My ironing board was a wedding gift from my grandmother 45 years ago. It’s had a few covers, but still going strong. It’s tall AND it has an adjustable front foot so that it is still stable should be floor be uneven. Now that I’m retired, I don’t iron nearly as much as I used to–but I still have to pull it out occasionally.
Mary says
So funny!! I bought one at a rummage sale for $1 this summer!!