Ironing Equipments

Ironing Equipments

These are used to remove wrinkles and to give a better finish to the washed clothing’s. Ironing clothes is really a delicate process. Poor ironing procedure leads to damaged clothing.

1. Irons

Iron is also known as ‘flat iron’, it is used to remove wrinkles in the fabrics. Several types are available, such as dry iron, steam and dry iron, spray-steam and dry iron. The dry irons are useful for synthetic fabrics, but to use the same the natural fabrics require pre -dampening by sprinkling of water. This wastes both time and energy of the user. Steam and dry irons have a water chamber in which a small quantity of water is heated to provide a continuous generation of steam through holes in the soles-plate. ‘Spray, steam and dry’ models also have one extra control to supply a wet spray or mist at the front of the iron.

The sole plate is smooth and made of rust-resistant aluminium alloys or stainless or chrome-plated steel. The heating units of irons have a single element mounted above or in the sole plate. This is either a nichrome ribbon wrapped around mica sheets or a tubular type element. Standard size domestic irons are rated between 750 to 1200 watts, 220 volts AC only. These are thermostatically controlled to give different temperatures of the sole plate.Setting dial is generally marked with the nature of fabric to set temperature.

Care and Precautions

·               Always unplug the iron after use.

·               When not in use, it should be positioned on the heel rest. The cord should be wound loosely around the handle.

·               Use only distilled water in the water chamber of ‘steam and dry irons’.

·               Do not use steam iron for dry materials which require pre-dampening.Fabric laundered with starch, most linens, heavy cottons and some medium and heavy weight linen require pre-dampening.

·               Do not operate the control knobs unnecessarily.

·               Spray-nozzle must be cleaned only according to the manufacturer’s instruction.

2. Ironing Board and Sleeve Board

These facilitate ironing of clothing. The ironing board is a horizontal flat board. It is supported on crossed leg frame. The board is padded with flannel it is covered with white cotton or linen cover which is stretched and smooth while ironing. This is generally made of wood but may also be of aluminium or other metal. On one end of the board is a square or rectangular area with an asbestos sheet base. This is used to place iron when hot during ironing. The ironing boards are collapsible and easy to be moved.It requires a very limited space for storage. These are very useful for ironing of skirts with numerous gathers. It is also known as “Skirt-boards”. Similarly, “Sleeve-board” is useful for ironing of coat sleeves. These also have padded surface similar to that of ironing boards, but is smaller in size. The board has one open end and is supported on the solid wooden platform through vertical support.