Ironing takes up a significant portion of many people’s free time. Even though it can easily take up two or three hours a week, it’s not exactly a favorite pastime. Neck and back pain are often the result, making it all the more important to iron as efficiently as possible. Use our tips to iron faster and better. However, you should allow yourself a little extra time, especially for your first attempts.
How to iron laundry correctly: Don’t wait too long
To make ironing T-shirts, dresses, and shirts especially easy, adjust your preparation. For fabrics prone to wrinkling, which is typically the case with shirts and blouses, only fill the washing machine to a maximum of half capacity. This way, the garments will come out of the drum less wrinkled, saving you a lot of time.
Take the laundry out of the washing machine immediately after washing and shake out wrinkled items before hanging them up. You can also gently pull some sweaters and shirts into shape to remove creases.
Ideally, you should iron your laundry when it’s almost dry, but still slightly damp. This way, you can take it straight from the drying rack and don’t need to store it in a laundry basket.
Tip: Even if it’s not always realistic time-wise, don’t wait too long. Otherwise, creases will worsen and ironing time will increase. Plus, your motivation will automatically decrease if you have two or three baskets of laundry to tackle at once.
Pay attention to the temperature
When ironing shirts, T-shirts, and other laundry, the set temperature plays a crucial role. Therefore, always check the care label before ironing to ensure proper results.
An iron symbol tells you whether the garment can be ironed. The number of dots inside the iron, however, indicates the temperature:
- One point: low temperature
- Two points: medium temperature
- Three points: high temperature
To avoid having to search for the care label on every garment, you can follow these basic rules:
- Wool and silk should only be ironed at very low temperatures.
- Synthetic fibers (such as viscose) are also very sensitive and can only tolerate a low ironing temperature.
- Laundry made entirely of cotton, on the other hand, is less sensitive to heat, so you can iron it at very high temperatures.
- For mixed fabrics, use the larger component as a guide and lower the temperature if in doubt.
Tip: Never iron prints or decorations directly onto the fabric; always iron them from the reverse side. The same applies to more delicate materials.
The most important steps for ironing correctly
Once you have set the temperature correctly, filled the iron with water and set up the ironing board, you can begin.
If you have little ironing experience, it’s best to start by ironing simpler items. This applies particularly to T-shirts and sweaters.
Ironing sweatshirts and T-shirts as an introductory exercise
Stretch the garments over the ironing board so that no creases are visible. Now, gently glide the iron over the fabric, starting at the outer edges and working your way along them.
Now stretch the T-shirt or sweater a little further without losing tension, and repeat the process. Avoid ironing over seams.
Finally, iron the sleeves. Smooth them out as much as possible and iron one side at a time. Again, keep the iron close to the edge, but not all the way to the outer edge, to prevent creases.
How to iron shirts and blouses correctly: With a little skill, it’s possible.
First, iron the collar, always moving the iron from the center outwards to both ends. This should be done on both sides to ensure it has a firm hold.
Next come the sleeves. Ideally, you should use a sleeve board to stretch the sleeves. Otherwise, you’ll need to pull them a lot to avoid ironing in creases.
Finally, open the shirt and iron the shoulder area. Then iron the rest, completely avoiding the button placket. Ironing this area must be done carefully from the reverse side.
Tip: Iron with enough steam to make it easier to remove creases.
Is it possible to iron without an ironing board?
A small travel iron and a smooth table are all you need to quickly and easily iron a shirt, even on vacation.
Another method is to hang the clothes in the bathroom. The high humidity (after showering) ensures that minor creases quickly disappear.
However, in general, it is important to unpack the suitcase as quickly as possible to avoid creases as much as possible and to avoid having to use an iron at all.
Save time and leave the ironing to the experts.
It’s not always the best idea to try to do something yourself. In fact, it usually takes a lot of time and the result isn’t always ideal.
Therefore, feel free to choose a cleaner on suuber.ch and select the additional service “ironing”. This will save you not only a lot of time, but above all a lot of stress.
