Like a violinist gliding a bow across strings, Ingrid Johnson sweeps her iron in smooth, steady strokes, banishing wrinkles and emitting powerful blasts of steam as she goes.
Johnson, a textiles professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and garment-care expert, travels the country for Rowenta, demonstrating the do’s and don’ts of ironing and clothing care. Ensconced in a Denver hotel room with a suitcase full of wrinkled shirts and uncreased pants, she pulls items out piece by piece and glides the hot iron over their rumpled contours.
Johnson admits that ironing is a chore people love to hate. But the rise in so-called wrinkle-free fabrics hasn’t made the task obsolete. “First of all, wrinkle-free clothes always need a touch-up,” she says.
In a survey of men and women in 15 American cities, Rowenta found that people iron all kinds of things, from their underwear to their gym clothes. Almost half of Denverites reported ironing T-shirts, and 62 percent said they iron their jeans.
Ironing not only gives you a well-groomed appearance, but it also has other advantages. “It uses 70 calories every half-hour,” Johnson says. Today’s irons make the task less of a chore. They dispense impressive bursts of steam and can be used vertically to remove wrinkles from such items such as curtains and bed skirts, or such delicate fabrics as chiffon. The professional model Johnson favors, Rowenta 8800, has 1,500 watts of heating power behind it. (Rowenta’s $150 Perfect DX9800 came in second in Consumer Report ratings published in September 2004, but Black & Decker’s $50 Digital Advantage D2020 won the top spot, and the Best Buy honor was given to GE’s $20 106671R).
Among Johnson’s tips for turning out perfectly pressed clothes: Use tap water rather than distilled water.
When using starch, spray it all over the garment, roll the piece into a ball and allow it to be absorbed into the cloth for 30 seconds or so before ironing.
Read the garment’s care label to determine the appropriate heat level for the garment you’re ironing. Too hot or too cool and you won’t do the job well.
When finished ironing, hang up the garment and “allow the press to set” for about five minutes.
How to iron a shirt
Collar: Starting at the underside of the collar, iron from the center out to avoid creasing. Flip and repeat on the other side.
Yoke and shoulders: Hook one shoulder over the round tip of the ironing board. Start at the yoke (where the collar meets the arm) and iron to the center of the back. Repeat for other shoulder.
Cuffs and sleeves: Lay one sleeve flat with the buttons facing up. Iron the inside of the cuff. Flip and iron the outside, then iron the sleeve, starting on the button side. Repeat on the other sleeve.
Body: Iron the front panels first. Flip and iron the back panel, taking care not to iron over the buttons (that can break them). Touch up collar.
Denverites will iron clothes – if pressed
Bet you didn’t know Denver had an ironing “personality.” Turns out we’re Peer Pressure Pressers – we want to look wrinkle-free but won’t sacrifice our weekends on a snowboard to spend time standing over the ironing board.
Rowenta, which manufacturers irons, surveyed 3,000 people in 15 cities and found that Denver is in the middle of the pack, not as starched as the “Ironing Aficionados” in Boston and Dallas, but crisper than the “Seasonal Steamers” in Atlanta and New York.
Here’s some selected results from the survey:
What do you wear when ironing? Bra and underwear, military clothes
What strange things do you iron on? Massage table, skis
What strange things do you iron? Mother’s girdle, Elvis costume
Have you ever taught anyone how to iron? Yes (43%)
How often do you iron? At least once a week (37%)
What music do you listen to while ironing? Jazz, rap, classical, country
Strangest thing you do while ironing? “I dry my hair,” “I fly airplanes”
What Denverites iron: sheets, 30%; towels, 15%; gym clothes, 20%; pillowcases, 38%; boxer shorts, 14%; socks, 6%; T-shirts, 49%; jeans, 62%.
Source: Atlantic Research, margin of error, + or – 6.9%
