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Iron vs Steamer?

I personally hate ironing my dress shirts inbetween wears but I need to. Does anyone use a garment steamer? Is it any better/worse than ironing? Suggest any models?
 
There is no substitute for ironing if you want a crisp, clean, and smooth looking dress shirt. 100% cotton shirts (the un-treated kind) do not lose wrinkles like wool clothing does.

If that's not the case, my suggestion if you want to steam your clothing instead: tumble all your shirts on low in the dryer to the point where they have just released the last bit of dampness. Put them on hangers right away. That alone will eliminate a lot of wrinkles and give you a wearable shirt. Steam if you need to. Odds are you will still need to iron from time to time.
 
i use a garment steamer all the time. so much that I plan to distribute them in the near future. i will offer B&B members a worthy discount. if you like creases you can't really throw your iron out...that is unless you use a dry cleaners. then you're all set. just get the steamer and use it in between.
 
A steamer really only works well on delicate fabrics like wool, silk, rayon, polyester. An iron rules when it comes to linen and cotton. A steamer will make your fabric look fresher, but an iron will make you look sharp.
 
Yes, I iron shirts, but steam woolens.

Though I take a bit of a shortcut these days - I really like the iron-free shirts offered by several retailers. You can toss those in the washer and they come oyt acceptable most of the time, which is fine for everyday office wear.
 
I personally hate ironing my dress shirts inbetween wears but I need to. Does anyone use a garment steamer? Is it any better/worse than ironing? Suggest any models?

Hmm, I think I would just wash the shirt and iron it and not rewear it at all, provided I am understanding just what your saying here...
 
I recommend a Jiffy model. I have had the the 2000 version for a couple of months, but there is also a more pricey 4000. I have tried some rowentas and conairs and wasn't too impressed and they got returned.

It apparently is easier on clothes than an iron, certain materials respond better, and may "refresh" certain parts of a dress shirt or pants, but it is not what i consider an essential tool for a man's wardrobe.
 
I have both, but still prefer to iron. I like creases in my shirt and pants. That can't be done with a steamer. I only use the steamer on my jackets.
 
A steamer really only works well on delicate fabrics like wool, silk, rayon, polyester. An iron rules when it comes to linen and cotton. A steamer will make your fabric look fresher, but an iron will make you look sharp.

What do you mean by "work" on these fabrics? For certain things an iron isn't feasible. Such as a sports coat. But to remove wrinkles with ease on just about everything, I find a steamer to work best. But, no, it will not create creases. Well, I have not that can...but it's not as easy and long lasting as an iron.

I find the steamer to work better than an iron on tee shirts. Tee shirts can get mangled on the ironing board and just be a bit of a pain. However, it can be done, just holding up a tee on a hanger and putting the steamer to it really seems to work fastest, IME.

I use a Shark iron. Nice for me. I've used Rowentas and do think they're worth the money. Not in my budget though.

The steamer I use is SIMILAR, but NOT this... http://www.italsteam.com/

The one listed has bad reviews and deservingly so. I had one and it worked well for a month or so. I sought out to find a replacement and per my earlier post did and will be selling them soon. The problems with the ones in the link are the heating elements, leaking, and a few other things. Obviously, the new model (different company) has addressed these issues. I used both and chose based on my findings.

Plus, I'd say don't buy that one in the link due to the price. :thumbup1:

I used to travel all the time for a previous job. I paid half the hotel, company paid half. So, I went cheap. Having an iron and ironing board in the hotel was hit and miss. I took a small travel iron to set creases and my steamer. Half the time I'd iron before I left to set creases, put clothes in garment bag and steam before wearing. It all depended, I had no set criteria. And, sometimes I would just use the hotel iron. Kept me from cleaning my stuff and unpacking it. The only drawback of the steamer is the use of salt. It's just an extra step. Not a big enough drawback as the salt creates some sort of chemical creation that produces tons of steam.
 
Sorry - I should be more clear.

I wash all of my dress shirts at the same time, approximately every 3-4 weeks. During this time, I wear each shirt 1-3 times. I find a few of my shirts wrinkle in the back from sitting all day and I'd like to "fix" them up a little until the next wash. With that said, I don't need them to look super-mega-sharp. I live in an apartment and unfortunately don't have a washer/dryer ensuit so I can't just toss something in the dryer whenever I want for a few minutes. It costs me $1.50 a time :p
 
Sorry - I should be more clear.

I wash all of my dress shirts at the same time, approximately every 3-4 weeks. During this time, I wear each shirt 1-3 times. I find a few of my shirts wrinkle in the back from sitting all day and I'd like to "fix" them up a little until the next wash. With that said, I don't need them to look super-mega-sharp. I live in an apartment and unfortunately don't have a washer/dryer ensuit so I can't just toss something in the dryer whenever I want for a few minutes. It costs me $1.50 a time :p

A steamer will not "fix" the types of wrinkles one gets on the back of a dress shirt from repeated wearings. For this, you will need an iron. Trust me, I own a steamer and an iron and know when each is appropriate. I like to wash my dress shirts in cold water then hang dry with the buttons closed. Then, they get ironed. I have a Jiffy 2000 steamer, one of the best on the market, and it never goes near the dress shirts. Why? Because an iron makes them look much better. If the shirts were silk or rayon, then I would use the steamer.
 
steamer or iron, forget them we have had a Laurastar for the last 15 yrs, there is NO substitute, the Magic S5 is my recommendation . . .
 
Unless my shirt is coming straight out of a drycleaning bag, I'll hit it with the steamer for a few seconds before wearing. It doesn't end up as super-crisp as a freshly starched shirt, but it gets the wrinkles out and lets me wear it a 2nd or 3rd time before it needs to be laundered again.
 
why fight? get both ;-) rowenta STEAM iron this model though was rated mucho higher than cheaper R steam iron 5030

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ESJJKY/ref=oss_product

I bought it --did ton research--- I am not saying this will be as good as a good steamemr but in going on stye forums (how i found shaving tips and came here) this seemd to fit my needs.

I do all my ironing -- polo shirts, dress shirts, gabardine/wool pants, suits etc. Takign tips on not dry cleaning to much,

this hot steam iron uses tap water -- cuts my time oroning shirt by about 65%, andi use it to steam my trousers on the hanger to freshen them up between wears-- and it will take out some lite wrinkles this way. also remove some wrinkles on shirts this way.

i highly recommend this..
 
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