14 Ironing Tips for a Wrinkle Free Wardrobe

Ironing isn’t my favorite chore. It’s not that I dislike it, really–it’s just tha, for a long time, I had no idea what the heck I was doing and how to iron clothes. These ironing tips saved me! Those delicate fabrics like silk, wool, nylon, velvet, polyester, corduroy, the hems, waist, and sleeves are now easy to iron!

Iron pants and iron skirts and make them look like brand new. Now instead of double creasing my husband’s pants (the horror!), I can get a nice, crisp crease, wrinkle-free, and his shirt collars no longer furl at the corners. Try them for yourself… they may make you hate ironing a little less. Just make sure to check the care label so that you won’t iron the wrong side of the cloth!

Tips on How to Iron Clothes for the Laundry Challenged

I may never know how my iron gets so dirty, but it surely does. Now that I know this nifty salt trick, I’ll clean it more often. It’s so much easier than scrubbing it by hand!

For really tough stains and hard-to-clean nooks, try baking soda and water. You’ll need a damp cloth or towel for this, too.

Or, to clean your iron and release a pleasant fragrance, set your iron to a low setting, and run it over a dryer sheet. The dryer sheet captures the grime that builds up on the surface of the iron!

Setting up your ironing board shouldn’t be a hassle. If your iron has a short reach, attach a power strip to the ironing board. That’ll give you a little more wiggle room, and if your iron turns off automatically, you’ll be able to flip it back on in a pinch.

For clothes that you can’t iron directly (like delicate fabrics), aluminum foil is a lifesaver. Put the foil underneath the garment, and using the steam function, pass the iron above the cloth a few inches away. The heat will radiate off the foil to help the fabric release wrinkles.

aluminum-foil-for-ironing — Remove wrinkles by using foil while ironing from Real Simple

Spray starch is a traditional aid for ironing natural fabrics like cotton, linen, bamboo, and rayon. It helps the iron glide smoothly over the linen fabric and adds body or crispness to collars and pleats. Use this homemade ironing starch recipe and store it in a spray bottle. You already have everything you need right at home!

When you don’t feel like busting out the iron for small jobs, your flat iron will suffice. It’s the perfect size for flattening out collars ,or tending to wrinkled baby clothes.

And speaking of the collar, if you’re using the iron on the collar, you must iron both sides to get it to lay flat. Otherwise, the collar will curl up at the corners, and that looks very untidy.

Don’t want to iron around every single button? Flip the shirt to the inside, and iron over the buttons there in medium heat.

Stain proof white clothes by ironing baby powder into the fabric. The baby powder forms a protective barrier against oils from the skin.

stain-proof-whites — Prevent stains by using baby powder while ironing from Real Simple

Use the tip of the ironing board to press small pieces of fabric. I know that may seem self-explanatory, but I confess that it was a game-changer when I figured out that I should press collars at the pointy end of the sleeve board.

When ironing blended fabrics, always choose the coolest setting, in order to prevent damage to the fabric. You can always adjust it to make it a little warmer if the wrinkles aren’t coming out.

Always iron your trouser pockets. It seems like such a pain, doesn’t it? But if you wear close-fitting fabrics, those ruffled, wrinkly pockets are going to be very visible. It’s worth the extra minute or two to avoid the sloppiness!

Trouser creases were the bane of my existence when my husband was in the police academy. I could never do them properly. But when I need to in the future, I’m definitely going to try this binder clip trick to hold them in place. So smart!