Garment Steamer vs Iron: Which Gets The Job Done?

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Are you a person who always wants to look fresh and clean with the clothes that you are wearing?  Do you hate the idea of going outside your home looking disheveled with your wrinkled and creased clothing?

Do you love wearing clothes and hate to see them looking like unruly rags? If the answers to these questions are a resounding ‘yes’, then you know the importance of having a device that effectively removes the wrinkles and creases in your clothes.

​Garment Steamer vs Iron: Which Gets the Job Done?

​There is always a dilemma on what type of appliance you should use or purchase to efficiently and effectively remove the wrinkles from your clothes. Traditional have been around for centuries to flatten clothes and remove wrinkles. Looking smart and sharp for an interview or an important appointment means you have to your clothes.

Still, there are some common problems that we encounter when ironing clothes. From heavy irons that can strain your arms and hands, brownish stains coming from a very hot iron, damaged fabrics, and overheating, using irons can become a tedious job for some. This is why homeowners welcomed the entry of garment steamers as an alternative to irons.

Garment steamers boast of removing the wrinkles and creases from your clothing and any other fabrics with the use of hot steam. You will no longer have to face the problems that you once had whenever you’re using irons. But the question still lingers—which of these two appliances really gets the job done?

In this article, we will go through the different advantages and disadvantages of using an iron and a garment steamer to help you decide which one will work better for you.

The Pros and Cons of a Clothes Iron

A clothes iron can effectively sharpen and give a ‘crisp’ look to your clothes. If you want to have the look of freshly pressed clothing, you can’t achieve this with a garment steamer. Pressing your clothes in between the hot iron and your ironing board is what creates those sharp and crisp lines in your clothing that a steamer cannot do.

Leaving an iron on one spot can burn your clothes. This is the most common and infamous problem when it comes to using irons. Sometimes, the iron plates get too hot without us noticing that once we press the iron on our clothes it leaves a brownish-black mess. Worse is that our clothes become irreparably damaged or destroyed.

You can use irons on smooth clothes easily. There is no problem when ironing clothes that are soft and smooth like suit jackets. In fact, you can iron them fast and with no hassle. The problem arises when you have to remove the wrinkles from clothes that have ruffles or pleats. Ironing delicate fabrics like lace, chiffon, and silk is also a big challenge since you can always damage these easily.

You need an ironing board to iron your clothes. Another disadvantage with using an iron is that you need to have a sturdy and durable ironing board. If you want to remove the wrinkles and creases on your clothes, you will need an ironing board that can work well with your flat iron. Also, you may save space in purchasing a small iron but you will still need to allocate another space for storing your ironing board.

​Are you leaning towards a clothes steamer over the old iron? Let us help you choose the perfect one that’s suited for your needs.

The Pros and Cons of a Garment Steamer

Garment steamers do not scorch or burn your clothes. Perhaps the greatest advantage that one can consider with a garment steamer is that you will no longer have to worry about burning and damaging your clothes when you simply want to remove the wrinkles from them.

Since garment steamers can remove the wrinkles from your clothes without making contact with the fabric, burning them is avoided wholly. Another great feature with the majority of garment steamers is that they have an automatic shutoff button that prevents the whole device from overheating whenever the water tank is empty.

You can use garment steamers on delicate fabrics. Like what we said earlier, garment steamers do not need to touch the fabric to remove the wrinkles. This is why you can remove wrinkles and creases from delicate fabrics like lace, silk, and chiffon without fearing that they might become damaged.

Garment steamers won’t give you that “pressed” look. When using garment steamers, you normally hang your clothes on a hanger then run the steamer around your clothes. The steamer will not be pressing on the clothes to create a ‘crisp’ look on your clothes.

The steam produced by some garment steamers can effectively remove bacteria and even kill bugs. The high temperature of the steam used by garment steamers to remove wrinkles on fabric can also kill bugs and bacteria.

Odor causing bacteria on clothes and other fabrics can also be eliminated with the use of a very hot steam. This is why having a heavy duty steamer around can also double as a sanitizer that you can use on your sofas, draperies, and curtains.

You can use your steamer on your curtains and draperies. We all know how much of a hassle it is to iron curtains and draperies on top of ironing boards due to their extensive length. With garment steamers, you can sampling hang your curtains in place then steam them after to remove the wrinkles.

​Conclusion

Given the advantages and disadvantages of both household appliances, what do you think can work better for you? The decision lies on what types of clothes and fabrics will you be using it on and what is more comfortable for you to use.