Creative Uses For Your Electric Iron
September 22, 2009
The electric iron is the best way there is to smooth out wrinkles in clothes and add crisp polish to a professional look. Irons work because their heat helps soften the fibers in your clothes, then the weight of the iron and its flat surface smooth out those fibers, and they cool in the flatter configuration, for a wrinkle-free look.
But it turns out that electric clothes irons can be used for a lot more than just getting rid of clothing wrinkles. Sure, nine times out of ten, that is exactly what you will be doing with it. But if you have a house or apartment with anything other than clothes (and of course you do), there is a good chance that you will find some of these more creative applications of the electric iron useful.
(These are just suggestions; always be careful with your iron to make sure you do not burn anything.)
The heat and steam features of an iron make it a very useful cleaning tool when used carefully.
- Carpet. Some people set their iron on a low heat setting and use it to steam their carpets to loosen the dirt before vacuuming.
- Candle wax. If a candle spills into a carpet, let the wax dry so it stays in a clump, then run a low-heat iron over it a few times to soften it just enough to loosen it from the carpet fibers.
- Steam treatment. You can steam your hanging curtains and hanging clothing by holding your iron upright and using the steam button to moisten the clothes and curtains.
Crafting is also something that benefits from the heat of an electric iron:
- Pressed/dried flowers. The heat and flatness of an iron makes it ideal for preserving flowers. Take the flower you want to preserve and place it between two sheets of wax paper. Carefully run the low-heat iron over the paper.
- T-shirts. Iron on t-shirts are a great project for kids. You can buy application materials at any office supply store.
- Bead crafts. Certain kids’ beads are designed to be melted and pressed together, making fun shapes and designs. This doesn’t work without an iron, which makes bead shapes simple and fun.