Ironing is not an easy skill to learn and it is very easy to mess up if you’ve never done it before. Even though it seems easy to do, small mistakes can cost you a lot. If you feel like you’re making this job way harder than it needs to be but you’re not sure where you’re going wrong, don’t fret we’re here to help. Here are five common ironing mistakes you need to avoid. Before the common mistakes, did you know you can hire an ironing professional at Helpling?
1. Iron you iron a typical shirt?
This seems easy at first – you lay your shirt out and start ing with the wrong technique.
How wouldmoving from one side to another. The issue with this technique is that you’re making creases in the shirt as you move along, but what if there was an easier way to do it?
Well, there is and all it requires is a small change. Always start from the center and move outward. When you’re dealing with shirts and blouses it’s better to get the larger area done and then move to the sleeves and the collar. This way you’re pushing your creases towards the ends which will make them easier to deal with.
2. Forgetting to clean the base of your iron regularly.
Because of how hot the base of the iron gets, it is easy for residue to collect on the base over time. If you don’t deal with this it’ll end up getting transferred onto your clothes. There are plenty of ways to clean this residue – a solution of vinegar and water can be wiped over the base, for example. Ensure that you clean the base regularly to avoid any marks on your clothes.
3. Using the wrong temperatures for the wrong fabrics.
If you are new to ironing you’re probably not aware that different fabrics require different temperatures. If you get this step wrong it can have disastrous effects.
Make it a point to look at the tag of each clothing item before you start. There will be a symbol of an iron that shows either one dot(low temperature), two dots(medium temperature or three dots(high temperature).
4. Not dampening your clothes before you iron.
I’m sure you’ve had that one shirt that refuses to smoothen out. No matter how hard you press down, or how long you leave the iron there, you can’t get the wrinkles to smooth out. Well, there’s a much better way to deal with these creases.
Slightly wet your clothes before you iron. You can do this by using the steamer attached to your iron or you can also use a spray bottle with some water. If you’re still having issues, add a bit of ironing starch, let it soak in for a while, and iron away. As a bonus, you can also add a touch of fabric softener to your spray bottle to give it a nice fragrance.
5. Ironing dirty clothes
When you iron you need to make sure all your clothes are clean. If there’s a stain on your shirt and you apply heat to it, that stain is probably going to become permanent. If you don’t check for stains, you might accidentally go over one and seal it into your shirt. To prevent this make it a point to only iron clothes that have been recently washed.
All of these ironing mistakes can be easily fixed without much effort. We hope that this guide has helped you improve your ironing skills. Just a little bit of time and effort can go a long way when you’re learning how to iron well. And remember, you can hire your ironing helper at Helpling!