Why Are Guys So Afraid of Irons?

[joekono]

Amen to that! I HATE IRONING but it's a must. Even non-iron shirts seem to need a touch up. I do have a portable steamer now which helps but I have come to the conclusion that ironing will be part of my life til the day I die.

[mochi123]

My entire wardrobe is about 98% need-to-iron ocbd at this point. I can say that now, non-iron shirts are not my thing, having semi sensitive skin, and loving the feeling of a nice starched oxford, and the trad collar roll of a good stiff button down collar.


the non-iron trick is definitely a trade off, but its a VERY VERY neat time saving trade-off. it's very easy to say why people like it. it's 3 hours back in your schedule, or you don't have to go by the dry cleaner anymore for weekly dress shirt cleaning.

good ones work really well. even if they're not for me, i know exactly why people are enthusiastic about them. they're awesome.

Definitely this, and often times, it's hard to even find a proper dress shirt that is not non-iron from mainstream brands.

[Slubby Linen]

Ha! I know this all sounds nerdy as hell but I'm really just trying to get a handle on this water situation...

[Shade]

As a practical matter you'll never encounter water as pure as what you're talking about.

The distilled water you get at the grocery store is nowhere near pure enough to be "hungry" to dissolve stuff like the "ultra pure water" (UPW which is a stringently defined category of water) found in laboratories and specialized industrial processes.

BTW, here's an interesting quote from wikipedia on steam irons and distilled water:

Most manufacturers now say that distilled water is unnecessary in their irons, and can also cause malfunction, including spitting and leaking during use. Distilled water is capable of being heated beyond the normal boiling point due to absence of dissolved impurities which provide nucleating points at the normal boiling point. It has been suggested that this superheated (distilled) water in an iron will flash boil when disturbed (as with moving an iron), and cause the iron to spit, leak, and possibly scald the user.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_water

This makes me think that the industry trend towards recommending tap water instead of distilled water is probably driven by marketing departments rather than engineering. Distilled water is pure enough that it can be superheated which can lead to spontaneous flash boiling which causes spitting and leaking. The marketing guys don't want Amazon reviews saying their irons suck because they spit and leak so they're overriding engineering's preference for distilled water.

[Slubby Linen]

Pure water is neither an acid nor a base (or is both), but is highly reactive.

As a practical matter you'll never encounter water as pure as what you're talking about.

The distilled water you get at the grocery store is nowhere near pure enough to be "hungry" to dissolve stuff like the "ultra pure water" (UPW which is a stringently defined category of water) found in laboratories and specialized industrial processes.

BTW, here's an interesting quote from wikipedia on steam irons and distilled water:

Most manufacturers now say that distilled water is unnecessary in their irons, and can also cause malfunction, including spitting and leaking during use. Distilled water is capable of being heated beyond the normal boiling point due to absence of dissolved impurities which provide nucleating points at the normal boiling point. It has been suggested that this superheated (distilled) water in an iron will flash boil when disturbed (as with moving an iron), and cause the iron to spit, leak, and possibly scald the user.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_water

This makes me think that the industry trend towards recommending tap water instead of distilled water is probably driven by marketing departments rather than engineering. Distilled water is pure enough that it can be superheated which can lead to spontaneous flash boiling which causes spitting and leaking. The marketing guys don't want Amazon reviews saying their irons suck because they spit and leak so they're overriding engineering's preference for distilled water.

[PureAndy]

I used to iron every day. Then with kids I sort of lost the extra few minutes each morning. So now, when intentional and time allows.

[Hebrew Barrister]

I prefer non-iron shirts only from the standpoint that they stay looking nicer throughout the day. I don't mind ironing.

This. I iron my non-iron shirts anyway.

The exception is OCBD. OCBD needs to be non iron for comfort.

[77Pat]

For me, I live in a studio apartment, with one diagonal closet. I would love to invest in a quality ironing board, but have no where to store it. Right now I have a fold out ironing board on the back of the closet door. Works for touch ups, but don't want to be standing over it for any length of time. I have a wash and fold
pickup/delivery place that will take shirts and launder them (not dry clean), and find it to be worth it.

[Slubby Linen]

The other issue is that people conflate acidity with corrosion. Bases, which are at the opposite end of the pH scale from acids, are also corrosive. Pure water is neither an acid nor a base (or is both), but is highly reactive. Metaphorically, there is only so much room in water to absorb metal to create a solution, and impure water already has some of that room taken up, so the water's ability to dissolve the metal in your iron is reduced.

Okay, so you're saying that distilled water is corrosive even before it becomes acidic from absorbing carbon dioxide from the air. That's an interesting point. I wonder how the corrosiveness of pure water compares to that of water that has become acidic from absorbing carbon dioxide.

[Galcobar]

The other issue is that people conflate acidity with corrosion. Bases, which are at the opposite end of the pH scale from acids, are also corrosive. Pure water is neither an acid nor a base (or is both), but is highly reactive. Metaphorically, there is only so much room in water to absorb metal to create a solution, and impure water already has some of that room taken up, so the water's ability to dissolve the metal in your iron is reduced.

[Slubby Linen]

Sunbeam disagrees for their products if the water is hard

https://www.sunbeam.com/service-and-...faq-Q-A-2.html

Rowenta says not to with their irons

Panasonic says to use distilled water if you tap water is hard.

Electrolux says use 50/50 tap/distilled.

Phillips says to use distilled water to prolong life

I'm confused now. The manual for my steam iron says to use distilled water. Is that correct? Are certain types of irons designed for this?

This was touched on in at least one of the search results I saw. They said some irons had internal metal parts designed to withstand the acidity of distilled water. Assuming that's true, and if your iron is made that way, then it's probably best to follow the manual and use distilled. This would definitely be the best for minimizing scale buildup.

BTW, the acidity thing with distilled water is kind of interesting. Distilled water actually has neutral acidity immediately after it's distilled but becomes slightly acidic within a few hours of being exposed to the air. That's because it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air which forms carbonic acid. Under standard conditions the pH drops from 7.0 (neutral) to about 5.8 (slightly acidic).

https://sciencing.com/distilled-wate...e-7625413.html

[idvsego]

I use tap water and clean it periodically but dont have excessively hard water.

[ianr]

The problem is it's slightly acidic and therefore can corrode the internal metal parts.

Sunbeam disagrees for their products if the water is hard

https://www.sunbeam.com/service-and-...faq-Q-A-2.html

Rowenta says not to with their irons

Panasonic says to use distilled water if you tap water is hard.

Electrolux says use 50/50 tap/distilled.

Phillips says to use distilled water to prolong life

I'm confused now. The manual for my steam iron says to use distilled water. Is that correct? Are certain types of irons designed for this?

[Slubby Linen]

I was just poking around the webs on the matter of what kind of water is best for steam irons and it turns out to be kind of a complex thing. There really is no ideal water. They've all got problems so it becomes about choosing the lesser evil.

Distilled water would seem to be the slam dunk since it has no dissolved minerals to cause scale buildup. The problem is it's slightly acidic and therefore can corrode the internal metal parts. Tap water isn't corrosive but does contain dissolved minerals and so will cause scale buildup. Filtered water is sediment free but has the same dissolved minerals as tap water and likewise will cause scale buildup.

The old conventional wisdom with irons was to use distilled water, but the iron manufacturers have changed course in recent years and many now advise using either tap water or a mixture of tap and distilled water. Their calculation seems to be that scale buildup is less damaging than corrosion. Plus the scale can be kept at bay through regular cleanings with an acid solution like vinegar or citric acid (which is what's in most commercial steam iron cleaners).

[jazzmen]

I must be a weirdo. I love ironing, and I don't iron socks, or knickers (as my Mum used to), but everything else gets ironed!
Then there's this other way to get wrinkles out. Hang some clothes in the bathroom when you take a bath or shower and the steam will take wrinkles out. There's also little steamers now that you can use the same way - hang the clothes and point the steamer at the wrinkled areas.

IMO the type of iron you use doesn't really matter, just make sure you only fill it with distilled water. (Same with any kind of steam cleaner.) With regular tap water you are eventually going to get mineral buildup or rust in the iron that will either plug it up or transfer to your clothes, or both....

I can only add that if you already have rust issues, then you have to let the iron heat up all the way and clean it out with white vinegar just like you do a coffee pot. But get a couple junky towels and put it on full steam and a bunch of junk will probably come out of the holes. Use filtered water for your iron and the white shirt won't be ruined (it was mentioned in my rowenta manual as well).