Ironing clothes – it might not be sexy but it has to be done, so why not make it easy on yourself?
Before thinking of farming the job out and paying for someone else to do it (just think of the clothes you could buy with the money saved) try these hacks to make this chore quicker, easier, and dare I say it… fun.
1. Ironing clothes with tin foil for fast results
Yes, really. Place foil beneath you ironing board cover, the heat conduction properties of the aluminium allows clothes to be heated from both sides of the garment while you iron – meaning crease-free clothes in double the time. Just make sure you remove the cover after each use to allow the moisture to be released.
2. Protect shirt buttons by ironing with a spoon
Ironing between buttons can be fiddly. To avoid damaging the buttons on your shirts, and to protect your fingers from nasty burns, cover buttons with a spoon when ironing.
3. Get rid of big creases with a paper bag
For stubborn wrinkles, spray a paper bag with a mixture of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 3/4 cups of water. Lay the bag on any creases that are difficult to remove and iron over the top with a warm setting.
4. Ironing delicates using a damp cloth
Some garments will be too delicate for a hot iron setting, but sometimes lower settings won’t get stubborn creases out. To protect delicate garments such as a sweater, you will want to cover the garment with a damp cloth before ironing, then go over the cloth with a warm iron to release stubborn wrinkles.
5. Ironing clothes in order of material
Organise your items from delicate to durable before ironing. Your iron will heat up more as you go, meaning your iron will be the perfect heat level for what you’re ironing at the time. This trick speeds up the ironing process and saves you from having to continuously change your setting. To save even more time, get yourself a clip-on soleplate for your iron like the Funky Iron Shoe (£14.99) which allows you to use a high heat setting on all fabrics without damaging your clothes.
A quick laundry tip for times when you’ve accidentally shrunk your clothes in the washing machine or tumble dryer, the fabrics in garments can unshrink as quickly as they shrunk! Restore your clothes in a few quick steps.
- Fill your sink with clean lukewarm water – it’s important to make sure it is not too hot.
- Add one tablespoon of soft hair conditioner to the water and mix conditioner into the water.
- Soak your garment for 30 minutes in the conditioned water.
- Gently stretch your garment both vertically and horizontally whilst wet.
- Hand wash your garment to rinse out the conditioner and then lay the garment flat to dry.
Sadie Sillett is a cleaning and ironing expert and worked as a cleaner for 10 years before co-founding The Funky Appliance Company