BROWSE HOW TOs

How to Iron

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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From dress shirts to t-shirts, pants to skirts, and even some delicate undergarments, wrinkled clothing can give a bad impression about your personal hygiene and overall image. Take care of something you have control over and iron your clothes to sharpen your appearance.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Iron
Ironing board or bath towels
Spray starch (optional)

Step1

Purchase an iron. Evaluate your clothes to determine which settings your iron needs to have--silk, nylon, polyester, cotton--and whether a steam iron is going to be necessary for your intended use.

Step2

Unfold your ironing board near an electrical outlet. If you opt to not use an ironing board, but plan to use the floor or a bed, spread out bath towels to use as a protective covering.

Step3

Decide which clothes you're going to iron. If you're new to the ironing process, start with a small ironing project and work your way up to bigger tasks. It may be smart to choose clothing that you can discard in case of burns or irreparable damage.

Step4

Plug in your iron and turn on the power. Choose the setting for the clothing chosen in Step 3. While your iron is preheating, stretch your ironing project out onto the flat surface you're using.

Step5

Begin ironing the portion of clothing facing you. Flip the item of clothing to the unpressed portion, and again spread it out over the protected area to resume ironing.

Step6

Finish ironing by placing your clothing onto a hanger or clothing rack. If you cannot hang your freshly ironed clothing, neatly fold it and place it into a dresser drawer temporarily.

Tips & Warnings

Use a spray starch for a crisp look and long-lasting ironed effect on your clothing.
Ironing may cause burns, so use caution.
To prevent a fire, don't leave your iron on unattended.