Ironing shirts without an iron

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Ironing shirts without an iron can be done, in a pinch

You are scheduled for a very important meeting. You have just unpacked your suitcase and discovered that your shirt is terribly wrinkled. There isn?t an iron available.

You need to quickly figure out how pressing shirts without an iron is done. Granted, the outcome may not be as good as it would have been if you had one, but it will do in a pinch.

Where there is a will there is a way. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. You can do this.

IS THERE A DRYER HANDY?

Of course, if you are somewhere that no iron available you may also be somewhere without a clothes dryer. But in the event that one is handy, spray your shirt with wrinkle release spray. You can find this most anywhere. Keep it on hand. Toss it into your suitcase when you are traveling. If you don’t have wrinkle release spray use water.

Put the slightly damp shirt into the dryer, let it dry for five or 10 minutes and then yank it out. The wrinkles should be gone. This works even better if you throw a towel in with the shirt. However, if you let your shirt lie in the dryer after the cycle has stopped, the wrinkles will reappear.

STEAM IT!

Hang the shirt on a clothes hanger. Take the hanger (and shirt) into the bathroom and hang the hanger on the shower rod. Shut the door and windows to the bathroom. You want to create a steamy environment.

Turn on the shower (hot water) but aim the nozzle away from the shirt so that it doesn?t get drenched. In about 10 minutes the wrinkles should be gone from the shirt because of the steam that was generated by the hot water and the closed room.

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THE HAIR DRYER APPROACH

Dampen your shirt with water and then aim the (turned on) hair dryer at it. Don?t get so close to the shirt that the hot air burns the fabric.

FLAT IRON

Some women that use flat irons (in their hair) have successfully used them to get wrinkles out of shirts and other clothing items. Let it warm up but don?t allow it to get too hot. Use it to straighten the wrinkles in your shirt. If the type of flat iron you are using is to be used on damp hair, then the shirt should be slightly damp.

THE OLD SPLASH, TUG AND PULL METHOD

Splash some water on your shirt. Pull and tug on the shirt and this will help release some of the wrinkles. This works most effectively when you are wearing the shirt. You can press the shirt against your body and then pull and tug on the material a little more. When it is dry, most if not all of the wrinkles will be gone.

USE A TOWEL

Place a damp towel over the shirt, which should be lying on a flat surface. Run your hands over the damp towel and this should remove some if not all of the wrinkles.

Ideally, everyone should own an iron because there are clothes that simply need pressed and you can’t get around that. Most hotel rooms come equipped with irons nowadays so regular travelers usually have access to a great solution to wrinkles.

However, if you are in a hurry, which most of us are, and don’t have time to press your clothes or don’t have an iron, the above methods will work in a pinch, although your neat-nick mother might not approve.

In the future, buy clothing that is wrinkle resistant.