Four Ways to Get the Wrinkles Out of Clothes

Nothing polishes off an outfit than making sure it is wrinkle free. While it may seem like a tedious last step, it’s more important than you think. Wrinkled clothes can make a bad impression especially if you’re in a professional setting, and freshly ironed clothes show that  you take the time to take care of yourself. Sometimes you don’t notice a wrinkle until you’re out of the house and it’s too late. Now, it’s not the end of the world, but if you have extra time then spend it on making your clothes look their best. Here are the four ways I use to take the wrinkles out.

1. Steaming is my favorite way to get the wrinkles out. This is great for all types of fabrics but especially silk, linen, and other lightweight fabrics that are more fragile. I use a Conair: Standing Garment Steamer from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, but you can also find a hand steamer as well. Pros: Great for pieces of clothing that are more delicate because they relax the fabric fibers rather than crushing them with an iron. Perfect for your dressier clothes since there’s little risk of burning them, and it can even deodorizer a fabric. Steaming is one of the safest, most gentle ways of making your clothes look sharp. Cons: Not many cons here. It takes up some space, but not as much as an ironing board. Sometimes it doesn’t work as well as an iron does in getting out the most stubborn wrinkles.

 

2. Ironing is the most common method of getting wrinkles out. An iron along with some starch can get the hardest wrinkle out. Taking care of your clothes by pressing them also helps extend the life of the garment. Pros: Inexpensive, easy to use, and can be found in almost any hotel room. It works effectively if used properly. Just make sure to check the setting according to the type of fabric. Cons: It can be tricky to iron the back and front side of something that’s too narrow for the ironing board. Also, if you’re not careful, you could possibly leave a burn mark on the clothing.

 

 

3. Wrinkle Release is the lazy way to get the wrinkles out. This is a method that I love to utilize on my everyday clothes. If I lay out my outfit the night before and notice it’s not extremely wrinkled then I’ll just spray a good amount of wrinkle release on it, shake it out, and hang it up. By the morning it has dried and the wrinkles have fallen out. Pros: Very easy method where you don’t have to heat anything up or spend a lot of time on it. Freshens up the fabric and works great with cotton. Cons: Not great for items that have a lot of wrinkles or on nicer fabrics. Needs to dry completely before use so it’s not the best option for a last minute effort.

 

 

4. Shower steam is a last ditch effort reserved for”emergencies” and if you don’t have a steamer or iron handy. I’ve only used this method once when I was traveling in the Middle East and the hotel didn’t have an iron. You’ll want to hang the item up near the shower where it won’t get wet, and run the shower with the doors closed so the room collects steam and releases the wrinkles. This is much like the first option, but takes a little more time and not as concentrated. Pros: Can be useful when there are no other options left. Not a lot of effort on your part just hang it up and turn on the shower. Cons: Not guaranteed to be effective every time, and can possibly be time consuming depending on the piece of clothing.

 

 

July 28, 2014 by thedressdecoded | 3 Comments