Easy ironing?

[G]

Ok, in a new job and trying to make a bit more effort, especially as everyone else tends to wear shirts – and ironed ones at that! (I think most of the cheat and have them 'women' things to do it for them... must get me one of them!)

In the meantime, I've been ironing my own shirts...
Any tips for the lazy ironer that wants to get the job done as easily as possible. (But too tight to pay someone else to do it.)

I tumble dry clothes (too much hassle to hang outside as first floor maisonette); have been taking them out just before they're dry, when I remember.
Steam bit on my iron isn't great, so might get another (are iron's really that different, or is the cheapest at Tescos ok) and make sure I use distilled water in it.

Any suggestions on 'easy care' shirts that really are that? (Not too expensive – the last one's I've bought were between £3 and £4.50 each!

[killa]

Hanging them up gets rid of most creases, wearing them finishes it off.
Women might like the rougher look, wear it untucked with smart trousers and some good shoes.
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[G]

Hanging up doesn't seem to leave them that great, even when I've lightly ironed them etc.

One woman in the company and she's attached as far as I know .. did initially wear it untucked, but noted no one else does. I do need to get some more boots, but broke until January.
This job's a decent step up with decent prospects in the future so want to make a good impression (last job I often wore ripped/oily jeans with random old t-shirts.)

[NSR Mick]

Iron the collar and cuffs and wear a jumper.

Easier to get away with in winter.
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[Shaun]

I usually iron my shirts while they're still wet, it's only thin material so the iron pretty much drys them, then hang them up when you're done.

Failing that go buy some fancy schmancy easy iron shirts or something.

[Phoenix]

I'm in the same boat, my job now requires I wear a shirt which needs ironing if I don't want to look like a tramp. I bought a cheapo steam iron from tesco and it seems to work ok, just difficult due to the design of my shirts to keep them flat and not iron creases into them rather than out. I don't tumble dry them, I take them out before the dry cycle, hang them up round the house overnight to dry and iron them the next day seems to take a few mins per shirt, any creases left seem to vanish after wearing it a short while.

[kitty kat]

The non iron shirts are quite good, we get them in at the dry cleaners I work at (yes I iron shirts for a living). We wash them, but don't put them on a fast spin as they crease more. Either hang them to dry or tumble until very slightly damp, then use a steam iron pressing collar first, then yoke, then cuffs, sleeves, 1 front, back, other front. I have noticed that the non-iron shirts actually can be worn straight from drier, although I have to iron them as that is what customer has paid for.
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[D O G]

I took up my ironing duties about 9 months ago now, it became a pain bugging the lady to do it, reckon I can do one in under 5 minutes now.

You don't need to spend a fortune on an iron, as long as it has a decent steam function you should be laughing. GBP25 is plenty.

Buy cotton shirts. They are much easier to iron, more crease resistant and better breathing qualities so you don't get unsightly patches.

I never unbutton my shirts more than two buttons, wash them like that and iron them like that.

They are mostly hung outside to dry (maybe a bit difficult in UK climate), but hanging indoors is ok too, as it does prevent nasty creases occuring.

Set iron on cotton setting and max steam. Cotton setting is likely to be the hottest.

To iron, slip the shirt over the pointy end of the board, with the neck to the point. Align the seam running from the armpit down to the edge of the board.

Pull the shirt taught over the board, Iron the section you can see. It matters not whether you have started with the front or the back.

When you have done that bit (should only need a couple of runnings over to get the creases out), simply rotate the shirt round the board, iron the next part and so on till you have gone all the way round.

Generally the back is done in three sections, with each front panel being another section each. If there are parts which are not on the board for a certain section (usually the front) I just stretch tehm out to the side and iron them with no board underneath under their own tension. Works well enough.

The arms used to cause me a mssive amount of aids, until I found that you can just get them (cuffs buttoned), and lay them flat on the board, making sure that the bottom 'hidden' material is smooth against the board, then just iron them on one side, the bottom side should get done to (give them three to four goings over). I don't put creases in them like some people do because then you have to align them each time, which is an arse.

I never iron the collars tbh.

Using the patented DOG method of ironing, your shirts will look smart enough for any situation. They won't be 'perfect', but who gives a fuck - they get creases in them as the day goes on anyway!

The first thing I do withthem on a morning is fold them up and put them in my rucksack! Still crease free when I get to work.

Jesus, I could have ironed my entire shirt collection in the time it took me to type this!

It is fairly satisfying when you can do it, and will probably help you snare one of those women creatures.

[steppen22]

I hate this ironing malarky. It's such a fucking waste of time. I try to wear sweatshirts as much as possible - but I do have to wear shirts.

Last week it took me about 2 hours to iron 6 shirts.

tips would be:

Ask your mother the best way to do it! She'll know.
If you re going to wear a jumper, don't bother ironing the shirt! real waste of time.
Iron a weeks wortth in one go, when you've nothing else to do - set it up in front of the tv or whatever.
Music, etc, takes a little of the tedium. Have a cup of tea on the iron board, max out the stereo, get the job done.
Don't waste time ironing parts that won't be seen - i.e. if it's tucked in, forgetabout the bottom of the shirt. It all saves time.
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[D O G]

[Tonka]

What's ironing?
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[hellkat]

easy+ironing=lexicological malfunction
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[stinkwheel]

Get yourself some spray starch, makes life a whole lot easier.

It keeps the shirts looking good for longer, makes them easier to iron and I find a lightly starched shirt more comfortable.

The trick with ironing is to make sure you have the item of clothing laid out flat and smooth on the board before you go anywhere near it with an iron.

My mum always taught me to iron the inside of the cuffs first. Then if you have the iron too hot or there is some muck on it you didn't notice, you only mark an unseen part of the shirt.
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[colin1]

another vote for spray starch

however, the only sort i can find is perfumed

in the past I have had stuff that isnt, but the brand i used to get doesnt exist anymore

if anyone knows a place that does unperfumed spray starch, let me know

id also recommend primark polyester/cotton mix shirts, as they basically drip dry fairly flat, so less work to iron them than pure cotton thick quality shirts
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[kitty kat]

Johnsons the Cleaners sell an un-perfumed spray starch, also a tin of stuff called 'easy iron'
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Enjoy everyday, tell those you love everyday you love them
Life is too short to fall out with people

[MarJay]

Well first off, your tescos Iron is crap.

I saw you struggling with it, and its just too light to do a good job on a shirt. You're welcome to borrow ours for a bit and see if it makes your ironing easier. As I recall we have some kind of gucci go faster iron that I was conned into buying when I moved in here. However it does seem to do a good job though.
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[hellkat]

[tutton]

At our house hold, when we were too lazy
we bought some of that washing liquid stuff you use, but it had some easy iron stuff with it, we put em on hangers hot out of tumble and looked like it was ironed.
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[Annabella]

I spent a bit more money on a decent iron and it is definitely worth it. It takes half the amount of time to iron my shirts, and women's fitted shirts are far harder to iron than men's

Take them out of the tumble drier slightly (only slightly) damp and hand them up, iron them in the morning before work and put it straight on.

I am assuming you know the best way to iron a shirt is to do all the crunkly bits first (collar, cuffs, yoke, sleeves) then the flat bits, front panels over the end of the ironing board (stick the pointy bit of the board into the sleeve/shoulder) and then the back??


However, I am considering getting a cleaner and an ironer and a gardener as I become increasingly lazy. They're not *that* expensive if you are just giving them 5 shirts to iron a week.
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[Tarmacsurfer]

[pikestar]

Save time and iron on the way to work

[pikestar]

Save time and iron on the way to work

[hellkat]

Or get a team of people in to do it for you.
https://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/extreme-ironing-05.jpg
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[hellkat]

Sometimes it helps to give your ironing a bit of an extra spray with water, to get all the creases out ...

https://www.nodium.com/wp-content/img/article/273.jpg
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[hellkat]

"I'm sure this isn't how hanging things out to drip-dry works ..."

https://hovanitz.com/images_scc/2003ExtremeIroning.jpg
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