In every household there comes the time to make a decision between purchasing and using a clothes iron or a garment steamer for the important chore of removing wrinkles from clothing and fabrics. Although these two household appliances accomplish the same task, they work in very different ways and they have a different approach to de-wrinkling. To make sure that you will choose the right appliance to go with, read the rest of this article to find out what are the differences between them, and to ultimately learn which one is the best option.
What You Need to Know About Clothes Irons
The iron is the appliance that most people are better accustomed with as it has been around for decades, not much changing in the design of the de-wrinkling appliance. This handheld equipment transfers heat from the flat surface of its base on the garment, pressing it to remove the stubborn wrinkles with or without steam, depending on your preference. Although clothes irons are indeed fast when it comes to de-wrinkling heavy fabrics and even some smooth fabrics, they stumble when dealing with sleeves, pleats, and ruffles. Also, they can’t be used directly on delicate fabrics as there is a high chance for these pretentious fabrics to burn, the irons leaving holes through them. While these handheld pieces of equipment come with a lot of advantages, they aren’t appropriate for use in a lot of situations, which can be highly inconvenient especially if you own a lot of delicate fabrics.
Pros
- Perfect for pressing shirts and trousers;
- Generous water tank capacity;
- Intuitive operation;
- Great for heavy as well as smooth fabrics.
Cons
- Dangerous to use because of the plate’s hot surface;
- Risk of hazard in case it’s forgotten turned on;
- Requires a lot of effort from the user’s part;
- Most models are quite heavy, tiring the user’s hands;
- An ironing board is necessary, occupying a lot of space.
Tips to Use the Iron Properly
To not only get the most out of the clothes iron but to ensure a safe operation and that your clothes and fabrics won’t get burned during the wrinkle removal, you need to be aware of some useful tips. Next, we will show you what you must do to properly use this appliance:
- Gradually increase the temperature – Instead of starting at a high temperature, moment when you risk burning the fabric, you should start at a low heat, then slowly move up.
- Check the temperature setting – Before you press the iron against the clothes, make sure that the appropriate temperature setting is chosen. Otherwise, you might damage smooth fabrics by pressing a surface that is too hot against them.
- Use iron guards – No matter if your preferred method is to place an iron guard or another material, such as cotton, between the iron and the clothes, you should do so in order to avoid burning the materials. You must do this when ironing delicate fabrics or wool.
- Avoid lime deposits – Keep the iron in a perfect shape and avoid lime deposits on the plate’s base by using distilled water instead of tap water.
- Spray water on difficult wrinkles – When dealing with stubborn wrinkles, you should spray water as the dampness that will be created helps smooth the wrinkles out faster.
What You Need to Know About Garment Steamers
Garment steamers are in high demand as they present a more convenient method to remove the stubborn wrinkles off of clothes of all kinds. What makes these appliances stand out the most is the fact that they can even be used on delicates without having to add a protective barrier between the fabrics and the steamer due to the fact that they present a more gentle approach to de-wrinkling and because they don’t enter into direct contact with the clothes either. These reasons alone should be more than enough to convince anyone to go for a clothes steamer, but there are many other advantages to be enjoyed with this appliance. With the best floor clothes steamer at your disposal, there’s no limitation to what you can do as the appliance can even be fused on pretentious colored fabrics, and much more. Also, if you go for a floor model, there’s the added convenience of the fact that you will have a better reach when de-wrinkling the curtains, and you won’t have to actually carry the appliance in your hands but rather pull it after you, being able to move around with ease. But let’s not waste time and move on to see exactly what are the pros and the cons of the steamer.
Pros
- Lightweight;
- Easy and intuitive operation;
- No special setup is required;
- Perfect for de-wrinkling delicates;
- Can be used on all types of fabrics;
- Sanitizes the fabric;
- Eliminates unpleasant odors;
- Little effort required from your part;
- Faster operation;
- No chance of burning the fabric.
Cons
- It can’t be pressed into fabrics.
Tips to Use the Steamer Properly
To fully enjoy the experience of removing wrinkles with the steamer, you have to know how to properly use it. In the following, we will offer you some tips that you should follow when using this appliance to make sure that you will get the most out of the experience of using it.
- Avoid over-steaming – This is a tip that you always have to keep in mind as over-steaming will cause unpleasant incidents to occur, such as blowing the seams on jackets, for example.
- Test colored clothing before steaming it – Before you use the clothes steamer on colored clothing, test it on a patch of cloth. By doing this, you will avoid damaging the color of the clothes because of the high moisture.
- Surfaces that you must use it on – Some people prefer to put the clothes on certain surfaces when steaming the wrinkles off of these materials. If you prefer this as well, make sure that the surface you use is sealed and that it can withstand high temperatures.
Verdict – Stick with the Steamer
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the clothes steamer is the winner of this competition as it offers more advantages and it’s a lot less hassle to work with. Also, due to the fact that it doesn’t enter into direct contact with the clothes, it presents a safer de-wrinkling method, being perfect even for use on the pretentious delicate fabrics. The iron might have its strong points, but it pales in comparison with the garment steamer, this appliance being overwhelmingly surpassed when it comes to the quality of the results that it offer. Thus, if you’re looking for a new household appliance to use for the removal of wrinkles from clothes and fabrics, stick with the steamer as it has more to offer.
