Buying an iron as someone who hates ironing but loves wearing clothes that need ironing

Submitted by OddCelebration2525 t3_yhpov4 in BuyItForLife

As the title states, I am currently without an iron after having moved from furnished apartment to furnished apartment for the last 2.5 years. I would like a medium priced, easy to handle with fast results, but am fairly clueless as to what good brands, makes and models would be. Any input appreciated!

Edit: so glad I asked this group, the speed and consensus of the answers were super helpful. I went for the Access Steam + from Rowenta and I'm actually excited to start using it!

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Mountain-Lecture-320 t1_iuf28iq wrote

Rowenta brand. They have a low-mid priced one marketed as "professional" that is excellent and simple, or did as recently as like 6 years ago when I helped someone else shop.

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Lwe12345 t1_iuf3vct wrote

Steamer dude, use a steamer. It’s amazing.

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ButterIsMyFriend t1_iuf4c47 wrote

Rowenta, but check that it’s a model that’s made in Germany

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OddCelebration2525 OP t1_iuf6q8x wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#356,734)

I just watched this video and the ease is almost making me emotional, this is exactly what I want! My first job out of school I had to wear business attire and had the shittiest cheap iron. At 10pm every night, my spirits would sink as I realized I had nothing without wrinkles to wear the next day, and I'd spend almost half an hour getting pants and shirt decent. The time for the steamer has come!

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lasenorarivera t1_iuf74l5 wrote

Rowenta is it, make sure you use only distilled water or you will gunk up the machine and risk getting mineral spots on your clothes.

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nozelt t1_iufev2u wrote

I used to just throw a wet sock in the dryer with the stuff I needed ironed but maybe that’s more of a highschool trick

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VenomWebber t1_iufflrs wrote

Make sure to use de-mineralized(distilled) water in something that makes steam do avoid horrible calc stains😄

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Faeglantina t1_iufh6qm wrote

I find that line drying my clothes cuts down on the amount I have to iron. If you dry a shirt on a coat hanger, it comes out a lot neater. Depending on the formality of the occasion, you may have to go over it with an iron, but it’s a much easier job.

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zHernande t1_iufhfrc wrote

I have the accessteam iron from Rowenta also, you will not regret it!

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Harmania t1_iufzsa1 wrote

I have a shit Black & Decker “Light & Easy” iron likely bought at a central Illinois Wal-Mart in 1992, and it still works as well as it did the day my parents bought it for me as I went away to school.

Does it do anything fancy? No. Do the steam features it has work particularly well? Also no. But that SOB will probably outlast me and can still press a pleat as well as my meager skills will allow it to.

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MOIST_MAN t1_iug0sz5 wrote

Everyone has great suggestions for an iron, but without an ironing board to go with it, ironing will make you weep. The board makes such a big difference

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danny_dajer t1_iug1cn4 wrote

I been using a steamer for 6 years and let me tell you. It comes in clutch . You can get a good one from 50$-100$. It’ll do you justice

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browneyedgirlpie t1_iug52oe wrote

If you need a crisp crease, use an iron. Most everything else can be handled by a steamer.

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tariandeath t1_iug57v5 wrote

I use wool balls in my dryer and just spray them damp and throw whatever needs de wrinkled in there.

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Da12khawk t1_iugac0p wrote

hang it when ur taking a hot shower... in the shower room if u wanna be cheap

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incasesheisonheretoo t1_iuge0xc wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#356,734)

I’ve been using a steamer for the many years too. I had actually never used an iron until I forgot it on a business trip and had to use the one in the hotel room. While there was a learning curve for me and it took a fair amount more time and work, I found the results considerably better than using a steamer. Also, depending on the material, there’s some clothing where the steamer just can’t fully get all of the creases out. Plus, in a hurry, if you need to put a long sleeved shirt on right after steaming it, it will form mini creases on the arms. It’s hard to describe, but basically a bunch of lines will form from the shirt being slightly damp and warm and the arm movement/bending. I didn’t experience this when I ironed my dress shirt and put it on right after.

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toosexyformyboots t1_iugj0h1 wrote

Gonna say something new and different. Steamer.

jokes aside owning a steamer fixed me

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KoliManja t1_iugr5gs wrote

Buy any iron. It doesn't matter. My advice is (to make it BIFL), buy a gallon can of distilled water (about $1 in the supermarket). Use nothing but distilled water in the iron and the iron will last forever! My cheap walmart iron is more than 10 years old, and looks and functions like brand new (well, except for the worn out non-stick coating, that is).

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mister_skippy t1_iugsuvl wrote

Replying to privatepersons (#366,187)

If you want to buy it for life, go for Jiffy. If you look in almost any high-end clothing store, tailor, venue dressing room, costume shop, tv stage, etc. you’ll find Jiffy Steamers.

Get a J-2000 and spend a couple of bucks extra for the metal head. I’ve had one for 35+ years and it works as perfectly today as the day I bought it. You’ll probably pay ~$250 and it’ll be worth every penny.

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shallweskate t1_iuh4z82 wrote

Jumping on the steamer train because it works! But keep in mind: how long it takes to get a steam going, if you're going to be steaming mostly shirts or trousers/dresses too, your space constraints.

I'm looking into getting a travel steamer instead, something fast so I can just steam the one item right before I wear it. I had bought a pricey Philips upright steamer for my work dresses and skirts. But it takes about 3-5 minutes to get going. I'm so lazy, this already puts me off doing anything with my clothes. I wear linen exclusively now and use the steamer board to dry my hand washed clothes more these days.

It also comes with a little glove to protect your hand, and it's some powerful shit. Every week I'll hear my sister curse as she attempts to steam the clothes but gets her hand instead because she's too cool for the glove. A little travel one might be a bit safer, I hope.

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nozelt t1_iuh6fmy wrote

Replying to Hriibek (#375,272)

Lol it’s exactly as it sounds. Get a sock wet and toss it in the dryer with whatever you need ironed and it comes out with no wrinkles in a bit. Probably just the steam + heat combo idk

I just did it with dress shirts whenever I needed to but maybe there’s a reason not to I’m no expert

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Hriibek t1_iuh6p40 wrote

Replying to nozelt (#375,511)

How long does the drier need to be on?

And if I do this with dry clothes, will the result be same or better than when I pull dry clothes that I have had washed before?

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PinkMini72 t1_iuh7iiu wrote

Agreed! A steamer or a stream station type iron.

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ZombieManilow t1_iuheqhx wrote

I’m on Team Rowenta steam iron + Rowenta steamer + Corby trouser press. One tool can’t do it all.

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brazenxbull t1_iuhhexh wrote

It's a real catch, that catch-22.

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nozelt t1_iuiblzq wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#381,491)

No it will definitely work with a shirt that hasn’t been washed recently. I had to dress up for sports every week in high school and never used an ironing board. That’s the point of the wet sock.

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MrMScott t1_iuic3ip wrote

Others have mentioned the steamer route, in addition consider hanging your clothes immediately after they finish drying.

I find that I have more to iron and harder marks to remove when I let the pile sit for even 30 mins.

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OddCelebration2525 OP t1_iuig1l3 wrote

Replying to AwesomeLowlander (#388,216)

Great quality water here in the Netherlands, I assumed it was hard water though. As I now read up, it appears we have 'soft' water with a 'hardness of 7.8dH (source: Waternet). This they do to actually preserve washing machines etc, so that's pretty cool!

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entropic_apotheosis t1_iuigfcd wrote

Replying to nozelt (#375,511)

Oh I’m a notch down from the sock- I turn on my shower and wave the clothes through the water stream and toss them in the dryer- the moisture + heat gets wrinkles right out and it only takes about 15 min

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theother_Jeff t1_iuiq2pg wrote

Replying to Bcruz75 (#387,501)

That’s most likely just because the hangers don’t fit the shoulders very well. Switching from plastic and wire hangers to the wooden(bamboo?) hangers from ikea has helped with that issue for my dress shirts, as they’re a bit wider and fit the width of the shoulders on my shirts a bit better. Narrower and skinnier hangers don’t support the garment as well and thus put more pressure on the ends of the hanger and create those shoulder bumps more often

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Bcruz75 t1_iuir5rz wrote

Replying to theother_Jeff (#391,751)

I'll give it another go. I have pretty broad shoulders (6'4 and larger frame) but I have some suit hangers that would probably do the trick.

Here comes an incredibly obtuse question....I assume you need to steam once the garment is dry? I had to ask.

Thanks

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PerspectiveTricky463 t1_iuiri9n wrote

I wear 100% cotton dress shirts for work. They’re non iron but that’s not always perfect. I use a small amount of fabric softener mixed in a spray bottle with water (like 1:10 ratio, if even that much). I spray my shirts out of the dryer and can watch the wrinkles fall out in seconds. It only seems to work the best on cotton, athletic clothes don’t work as well.

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VenomWebber t1_iuirjet wrote

Replying to OddCelebration2525 (#388,485)

Ahh cool since you live in the Netherlands I also do. So just look for: "gedestilleerd/gedemineraliseerd/demi water" it's available at most supermarkets and I think even the action. Be sure to use it to avoid calc 😉✌🏻

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theother_Jeff t1_iuirl2x wrote

Replying to Bcruz75 (#392,101)

Yup, otherwise you’re just adding more moisture to an already wet garment and just making it potentially take longer to dry. I sometimes iron shirts when they’re almost fully dry and let the iron use the moisture left in the shirt to steam it simultaneously, but generally I get better results when I just wait till it’s fully dry to iron or steam the garments

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PerspectiveTricky463 t1_iuiryxv wrote

Replying to Hriibek (#376,725)

Mix a small amount of fabric softener with water in a spray bottle (like 1:10 ratio). You can watch the wrinkles fall out. Can toss it in the dryer for a minute if it’s too wet to wear, but you only need a tiny amount of the spray. It’s essentially the same as the wrinkle release spray downy makes but much cheaper since it’s just watered down fabric softener.

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