I don’t know about you ladies out there, but if there is one household chore I hate… and I mean HATE! … its ironing. I’d sooner mop the house and wash bathrooms than iron my clothes. I’d sooner dress in knits than cotton shirts and dresses. I’d sooner hire someone just to iron my clothes, if I had the means to. You get the general idea. I hate ironing.
A few years back however, I purchased a contraption that hasn’t made me love ironing clothes any more, but it has made me tolerate ironing just a little bit better. Enter the clothes steamer, or garment steamer, however you want to call it.
You might have seen this contraption in boutiques or the fashion departments in departmental stores. I used to notice it but I never quite thought about buying one for myself. It was only when I was chatting to a friend who used to own a boutique, that she pushed me into buying one – the best investment you can ever make, she told me. Know what? She was absolutely right!
Thanks to her connections, I purchased my clothes steamer from one of those little shops where boutique owners go to buy their supplies. So, mine is the industrial version, the one you will see being used in little boutiques – the not very attractive version. Since then, I’ve noticed in recent years, that some popular household brands like Phillips have come out with a more domestic version of the garment steamer that looks better.
Do excuse the mess. My laundry room is always a disaster 😛
The concept behind the clothes steamer is simple. The water in the holder is heated up and the steam generated is pushed up through the hose and out through the nozzles. It is this hot steam that “irons” the wrinkles out of your clothes.
Using it for the first time takes a bit of work because its not quite as easy as you might imagine it. To optimize the use of the steam, you have to iron from the inside of your clothes. So, you hang your dress on a hanger, then slide the nozzle under and inside, and watch the wrinkles fall out on the outside. Its almost magical, especially when you are working with delicate and light material.
Be warned however, that steam is very hot. Science class would have taught you that steam is generated only with boiling water and it is at the same temperature as boiling water, so using a clothes steamer is a very hot, sweat inducing affair, and one if you are not careful, can cause burns on your hands. I’ve blistered my hands countless times from being careless or overly optimistic.
I find that using a clothes steamer has cut down my ironing time, especially when I work with light material – chiffon, silk – or synthetic material – nylon, polyester. These materials are delicate to start with, and using a conventional iron can sometimes result in disaster. With the clothes steamer you don’t have to worry about burning, melting or scorching your clothes of delicate fabrics anymore. Just run the nozzle lightly under the fabrics and you’re done. Especially helpful for clothes with strange cuts or ruffles or lace too.
However, cotton shirts and clothes still need the press of a conventional iron. Using a steamer helps the wrinkles fall out, but it never looks as crisp or smooth as when you press it with an iron. So guess what? I’ve reduced the number of cotton shirts in my wardrobe – yes, I hate ironing that much 😛
Who needs a clothes/garment steamer?
- If you hate ironing
- If you can live with some wrinkles in your cotton shirts, you (and I) can use this on cotton shirts and clothes too.
- If you wear a lot of clothes made of delicate or synthetic material.
- If you want to get wrinkles out of your knitwear.
- If you don’t want to spend too much time on your ironing.
- If you like gadgets.
I can’t extol the virtues of a clothes steamer enough. It is truly a Godsend for ladies who hate ironing or who don’t want to spend so much time on your ironing or who have clothes of delicate material that you don’t know how to handle. I don’t have to worry about burning my clothes anymore, and I still don’t enjoy doing my ironing, but at least when I do it, I know I’m getting it done more quickly 🙂
Oh and it makes a great face steamer too – LOL! (Kidding! Face steaming is a side effect, don’t go holding it to your face or you will likely steam the skin off it 😛 )
Do you own a clothes steamer too? Do you love this as much as I do? Or are you now contemplating getting one? I promise you, you will not regret it one bit!
Paris B
I purchased my clothes steamer from a boutique supply shop for about RM350 about 2 years ago. There is no brand and is some random Made in China product. There are various brands available for domestic purchase now and I know Phillips has one but I don’t know the price.
Omg. I guess I’m the odd one. I love ironing, I will iron 90% of what’s in my wardrobe (yes, this included tees, cotton underwear/sleepwear, pillowcase & bed sheet).
I was introduced by a friend whose hostel in SG that did undie ironing for him during his school day- undeniable truth ironing makes the clothes more comfortable to wear.
Haha! Definitely the odd one out Shleesy 😉 but its very fascinating especially bed sheets?! How do you fit that on the board? But I have to agree with you. Ironed clothes definitely feel nicer and look much better too. My aunt used to tell me to press everything because she said it made every piece of clothing look good 🙂
I own a garment steamer and I dare say that for me, in most cases it works better than ironing! 😛 I don’t mind ironing though, but we have a weekly maid to do that for us so I’m spared. The garment steamer is normally a back-up for when we urgently need clothes ironed and the maid hasn’t gotten to it yet haha!
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Lucky you to have someone iron for you 😉 I tried one of these services once but it was as if my shirts weren’t ironed at all. Lucky it was part of a cleaning package or I’d have been mad to pay for that 😛
I’ve hate ironing so much. Dread it. Most of the time I would only wear the clothes in wardrobe that requires the least ironing effort. Haha. I bought an expensive steamer last year but it doesn’t seem to work though. Either the machine is faulty or I’m not doing it right. Reading this post makes me wanna give my clothes steamer another try. 😀
I thought mine didn’t work too but it turned out I was doing it the wrong way 🙂 you have to get the steamer head inside, under your clothes and with the other hand, pull it taut. Once you get that, it works a treat!
i have tried one at my cousin’s house before, it works fine for delicate material like u said, but got the guys’ shirt, it’s still meh 🙁
however, as much as i hate ironing, i iron everything in my wardrobe 😛 can’t stand the wrinkles
Can you come iron mine? 😛 definitely, a steamer isn’t for cotton shirts. Gotta iron the guy’s shirts still… So might as well iron your own eh? 😉
sounds a litte trickly to use, to steam from underneath the garment? i always see the boutique shop assistant steam the garment from the outside..
If its new or already pressed, steaming the outside will work. For very stubborn creases, you need to go underneath. I think it’s to do with the physics of steam and an enclosed space that gives a better effect else the creases won’t fall out from the inside. At boutiques, clothes come pressed and are steamed to just get them hanger ready 🙂
Many moons ago, I used to be a good wife and ironed my husband’s work shirts. But it can take me half an hour to iron one lousy shirt and I handed the chore back to him. These days, we just send our clothes to a nearby launderette and get someone else to do it for us. It may cost money but it has saved us headaches, back pains, disputes and time. We used to have a steamer thing too but it didn’t really help with his shirts, which were a PITA to iron.
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Lol I know lots of people who send their shirts out to be ironed. For me, not wearing cotton shirts solved my problems. Yay! 😉 I only wear them when I have to now. When I don’t, it’s all in easy iron clothing.
I have a steamer sitting around somewhere back in KL… got it for my mom to use since she complained about the ironing but I haven’t seen her use it and it’s been nearly 2 years since! 😛
I usually do my ironing every other day or so cos I dread the thought of having to iron a whole lot at one go for the week ahead! I’ll usually let an episode of whatever drama series I’m currently watching run and get a few pieces done within that timeframe. Once the episode ends, time’s up! 😛 That way I know I’ll have at least 2 – 3 days worth of clothes at any given time. As for some of my work shirts that need starching, I’ll leave it until I have more time on the weekends to iron them…
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I tried doing my ironing weekly. But I tende to fall off the bandwagon when I know I have clothes to fall back on, and then it starts to grow and before you know it, it’s a mountain nd I have no more clothes. Then the marathon starts 😛 I clearly never learn
Will it work the same if you hang the clothes inside out? 😀
Haha… Not quite. You need the enclosed heat and steam for best effect and that’s best achieved from inside, not outside, where the heat will be dissipated 🙂
Must invest in one. Hate ironing too, like the majority of people. Have definitely heard that some people enjoy it and find it therapeutic, in fact it reminds me of a character in a Haruki Murakami book that had this trait.
I guess it’s like any other house chore. Love or hate 😉 I enjoy cooking and find it therapeutic but someone else will hate it 😉
Despite the fact that I hate ironing, I iron my clothes and even my bedsheets, quilt covers, pillow cases simply because I hate wrinkles even more *lol* I’ve been searching for a steamer for some time but the one available here is Jiffy which costs around EUR320. The other one is European brand which is slightly under EUR250 but I’m not sure how good it is. I know my husband is going to ‘make some noise’ again if I bring home another home ‘gadget’.
haha! I can imagine that something like this will cost a lot more in Europe but to iron everything? Wow o_O
I just bought Philips one few weeks ago and it cost me RM380 :/
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Eeks! That pricey? I didn’t know that 😛 How are you liking it though?
I NEED A STEAMER! But I don’t have the space for it T_T When I get my own place, can I request a steamer as my house-warming gift? :p
Ok I’ll KIV a steamer for your housewarming gift 😉 Now go find a house! 😉
I’d been using the Phillips for more than 2 years now ever since I first saw it in China, I bought one back then cause I didn’t see it selling in Malaysia. It is one of the best purchase ever since I really hate ironing too. Since late last year I did notice more and more stores here are selling the Phillips home garment steamer here in KL… I think the price is around RM350 plus minus depending on model but I’d totally recommend one to buy it!
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Thanks for sharing Allison 🙂 Its great to know you love the steamer as much as I do hehe… Definitely a god send right?
I hate ironing too, that’s why I don’t do it! I so need to get one of these!?
Hi! I really want that model compare to the rest in market.. Is it possible if you could share the place you grab that iron?
I bought it at a shop near Jalan San Peng. I can’t recall the name but it sells supplies for garment shops so this is a commercial one, not the regular consumer one 🙂
Hi Paris,
I got the Phillips’s steam iron and today it suddenly decided to stop working. Do you still remember where you bought yours? I am thinking of getting one. Thanks.!
I got mine at a fashion supply shop somewhere around the Kenanga Wholesale City building. I can’t remember exactly where though sorry but there aren’t many of these shops so if you drive around you may see them. They sell display racks, mannequins etc
Hi, where did you buy the steamer in Paris as I am desperately looking for one. Or can you recommend any stores in the city that would sell them? Thank you!! xx
Hi, I’m afraid I’m not in Paris, so I can’t help you! Try looking in stores that supply goods to retailers. They should sell this, although these days you can get personal use ones from various brands