Iron--regular or steam. What do you love? - YouLookFab Forum

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Iron--regular or steam. What do you love?

Tammyb

I feel like my little Rowenta handheld steam iron is only meant for precious silk. I can't seem to get anything truly wrinkle free with it, never mind crisp. I love the ease of it but maybe I just need to bring out my regular iron and the big clumsy board that goes with it.

What do you do?

General

37 replies

Latest reply was from

Bijou

Veteran

I have a regular iron and big clumsy board set up in my spare bedroom - this is a bit of a problem when I have guests, because I have to move it into our study. I love steam for silk and lace, but for cotton, I prefer the old fashioned iron.

Thistle

Veteran

I use my old fashioned iron for anything not silk or delicate. I hate ironing, so most of my clothes are fabrications that don't need it.

dakotacheryl

Veteran

Regular iron, with loads of steam.
I have a cordless Maytag iron which I dearly love. And a boat load of linen clothes which require both ironing, steam and ironing spray (similar to starch, but not as crispy).

rachylou

Veteran

I have different ironing surfaces. The big board, which I avoid. The tabletop, which is the most inviting. An ironing mat, which is super easy to get out. A sleeve board would be tops, but I don't fool myself ... that's too much fuss. I also always fail to use my steamer.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Regular iron, plenty of steam - I have a teflon shoe on it so it can always be set to high heat for good steam output without hurting even the most delicate fabrics. I sew most of my clothes so a good iron is essential.

kerry

Veteran

I don't really do crisp and am terrible at ironing so I love my steamer. It's mostly summer clothing that gets the steamer. In winter most of the fabrics don't need it.

JAileen

Veteran

I don't have a steamer. My iron can do steam, but I usually use a spray bottle instead. I leave the ironing board set up in a spare room.

Anonymous

Regular steam iron

Carla

Veteran

DHnis the ironing pro in our family, and the old fashioned board and iron are set up in the rec room, behind the couch,min front of the TV. The ironing gets done Sunday afternoons or evenings during the football game!

When I want to do something myself, I go in with iron, spray startch, and a water mister.

Joyce B

Veteran

I use my steaming iron. The regular iron stays in the closet until I need to iron a shirt that requires starch, which is extremely rare. I love my steaming iron, it is easy and quick to do its job.

Anonymous

I have a heavy steam iron that can also spray and do a puff of steam and a big old board that lived in the laundry room. My mother, before steam irons, used a pressing cloth, especially for delicate fabrics like silk. I think she dampened the pressing cloth some before putting it on top of the garment, then ironing. A white cotton or linen dish towel works as a pressing cloth, although the real thing is a bit heavier.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Owning a steamer has vastly improved my life. I almost never get the iron out anymore, but I'm also not fussed about anything ever being "crisp." This has more to do with personal style than anything else.

Anonymous

I am confused - do they even make irons that aren't steam irons anymore? TammyB, are you talking about a steamer when you say "steam iron". My response assumes that is what you are talking about.

I am a big steamer fan, but have learned they are not created equal. The very best I have found are from Jiffy Steamer. The one they call a travel steamer is IMHO too big for travel, but does as good a job as their professional standing steamer. My experience is that steaming is great for pretty much all knits. It's also good for removing creases from packing or a previous wear from woven wool, cotton and silk. I don't find it adequate to remove wrinkles from freshly laundered woven cotton or silk - I iron those. We have saved a ton of money over the years steaming DH's and my business suits between wearings. Less frequent dry cleaning saves on the cleaning bill, as well as use of toxic cleaning fluid, and also prolongs the life of the garments.

I'm envious of all of you that are able to leave an ironing board set up. I don't have a dedicated space where that would work. I used to carefully iron more delicate fabrics through a pressing cloth (actually a cloth diaper, which is ideal for that purpose) but more and more I just iron everything directly - even silks - and find it works fine.

I never heard of this ironing spray stuff. Thanks for the tip, dakotacheryl. I just ordered some from Amazon since I have never noticed it in the stores here. It sounds fantastic - like it might be ideal for linen and finely woven cottons that need some body but that starch is too crisp for. Can't wait to try it out!

The Cat

Veteran

I seldom use the steam function of my iron. I think it often makes the cloth too wet.

Joyce B

Veteran

The Cat, you need a thick piece of fabric to put over what you are ironing, that way the clothing will not get wet and will not burn. I still prefer my steamer to my regular iron though.

Style Fan

Veteran

Well I rarely ever iron. However today I am about to drag out the iron and use it on some placemats that got wrinkly in the wash. There is no way a steamer would work. An iron with steam is the way to go.
Or hang things when I shower. That works well.

Anonymous

Regular iron with plenty of steam (and starch).

Jane

Veteran

I enjoy ironing. We have a super iron, with a base that is effectively a kettle that kind of feeds steam through the iron in a powerful way. I also invested in a steamer, which is also good. It is great for DS school blazer, and my work jackets. I really like spray starch. Our ironing board is old, but works. I like to replace the cover quite often.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I was going to ask what kinds of steamers people like, but see Ryce already answered mt question. Are there any other favorites?

Related question: do you hang laundry to dry, or put it in the dryer?

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Ryce, I don't see one called a travel steamer. Has it been renamed? https://jiffysteamer.com/solut.....g-steamers

Gigi

Veteran

I am also confused. By "steam iron," do you mean steamer? I have a Rowenta that is a regular iron that can be filled with water and so can iron with steam.

When my old iron died, I had to decide whether I wanted a steamer or another iron. I decided on the iron because I was reading that if you really need clothing to be wrinkle free, a steamer will not do the trick on all types of fabrics. I think that both steamers and irons have their place. Steamers IMO work better for refreshing fabrics or for getting out light wrinkles when traveling. My Rowenta can act as a steamer in a pinch, but I'm sure it's not as effective as a dedicated steamer.

Greyscale

Veteran

I am too lazy to iron these days so I have a hand-held steamer, the My Little Steamer brand. I love it. But it definitely doesn't do the job as well as a real iron. As a kid I was in charge of ironing our antique damask linen tablecloths for holidays and the trick was to spray them liberally with a spray bottle of water before using the iron on the highest steam setting.

My old Victorian house has a built-in ironing board in the kitchen but it's blocked by some shelving. If I ironed more it could be super convenient though!

Jane

Veteran

Oh, Greyscale, your built in ironing board sounds super!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

One more question for successful steamers: what are your tips for the best way to do it? My sister used to work at Structure and swears steamers can do it all.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I barely ever iron anymore, but we have a fold-down ironing board in our laundry room that hides behind a cabinet door until we need it. Two moves (open door and swing the board down), and it's ready. When we redo our kitchen and laundry, I'm keeping it even though we don't use it often.

I do use a small hand steamer that lives in a cabinet in our bathroom. I simply hang the garment on the back of the bathroom door and steam right there while I get dressed. So easy. But I don't really do much in the way of crisp fabrications that need true ironing -- I'm mainly just getting out creases or wrinkling from softer or silkier fabrics. If someone told me I could only have one, I'd take the steamer.

3style

Veteran

Thanks to DakotaCheryl for mentioning the cordless iron. I didn't know that there was such a thing. I am always wrestling with the cord when I iron. It seems to always be in my way or someone else's way. And I therefore dread doing the ironing. A cordless model would likely make me into a much more competent ironer.

Anonymous

I don't know if they still make non steaming irons anymore but happily, the one I have is so solidly built that I haven't had to replace it in at least ten years.

I've been having a mostly knits year for the first time ever and so haven't ironed often but when I do, I mist the garment with a spray bottle, "fluff" it, and then let it sit for a minute to distribute the moisture and allow it to penetrate the fibers.

I had a steamer and I liked it but it doesn't deliver the crisp results of an iron and when it broke I didn't replace it. The clothes that were best steamed were also fine if they were hung in the bathroom during someone's shower.

SummerB

My mom always used an iron so that's what I've grown to use all the time! (more steam the better!)

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I use an iron, with ironing board and sleeve board, and I would say 99.9% of the time I use steam. I use different setting for different fabrics, and a press cloth (love the diaper idea, but I use a piece of silk organza) when necessary. I do use a non-starch spray called Best Press for stubborn creases. At work, we have a Jiffy steamer, and I love it. I've thought it would be fantastic to have one at home, but I balk at getting one, because I don't have a space that would be convenient. I'm excited to see Ryce's recommendation of the Jiffy travel steamer, though, and I'm going to order one. This is what I found--is it the one?

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