Garment steamer tips and recommendations
August 5, 2019 11:32 AM Subscribe
After watching a clothing store clerk gracefully and easily steam the wrinkles out of a cotton dress in under a minute while it was on a hanger, I’m thinking of getting a garment steamer for home use and travel. Can you recommend one (available in Canada) that is durable, portable, and under $100?
I find ironing to be a pain because of having to haul out the ironing board and the fact that I seem to iron in creases unintentionally. My workplace is pretty casual—I don’t need sharp creases or perfect wrinkle free items, just not crumpled. I’d mostly use it on cotton or linen dresses, pants, and merino cardigans. I’d like it to be small enough to travel with, but durable enough that it won’t quit after a couple of years. Obviously I don’t want it to spit or leak scalding water on me. The previous steamer questions are at least five years old so I’m hoping there’s something newer, better, and less expensive available in Canada. The Jiffy model in the 2014 question is over $100 in Canada and I’m loath to spend that if I don’t have to, but I would if the alternative is that a cheaper one would have truly inferior performance or break after a short time.
Bonus: I’ve never used a garment steamer so if you have any tips on technique for a newbie I’d be grateful.
I find ironing to be a pain because of having to haul out the ironing board and the fact that I seem to iron in creases unintentionally. My workplace is pretty casual—I don’t need sharp creases or perfect wrinkle free items, just not crumpled. I’d mostly use it on cotton or linen dresses, pants, and merino cardigans. I’d like it to be small enough to travel with, but durable enough that it won’t quit after a couple of years. Obviously I don’t want it to spit or leak scalding water on me. The previous steamer questions are at least five years old so I’m hoping there’s something newer, better, and less expensive available in Canada. The Jiffy model in the 2014 question is over $100 in Canada and I’m loath to spend that if I don’t have to, but I would if the alternative is that a cheaper one would have truly inferior performance or break after a short time.
Bonus: I’ve never used a garment steamer so if you have any tips on technique for a newbie I’d be grateful.
I have the Conair ExtremeSteam, and I really ought to use it more often (I have a bad tendency to just run the dryer again for wrinkled stuff -.-). It's very handy, though it's large enough that I don't think I would travel with it. You could fit it into a checked bag, probably, but not anything small.
FWIW, my technique is basically the same as what Everydayville describes, including the bit about holding the steamer close to the fabric for tough wrinkles. I have used mine on a white muslin dress that had gotten all crinkled up during packing/shipping and definitely had to hold it very close and slowly move over the area to get some of the worst wrinkles out. That said, I would have been afraid to try to iron this dress because of the detailing it had on it, and the steamer worked like a charm in about 5 minutes for a calf-length, full-skirted dress with some major ruffles in the back. It was very neat to watch this dress go from a crinkled disaster to perfectly smooth.
posted by ashirys at 12:53 PM on August 5, 2019
FWIW, my technique is basically the same as what Everydayville describes, including the bit about holding the steamer close to the fabric for tough wrinkles. I have used mine on a white muslin dress that had gotten all crinkled up during packing/shipping and definitely had to hold it very close and slowly move over the area to get some of the worst wrinkles out. That said, I would have been afraid to try to iron this dress because of the detailing it had on it, and the steamer worked like a charm in about 5 minutes for a calf-length, full-skirted dress with some major ruffles in the back. It was very neat to watch this dress go from a crinkled disaster to perfectly smooth.
posted by ashirys at 12:53 PM on August 5, 2019
For technique I recommend holding the steamer inside the garment (mostly shirts, dresses and skirts rather than pants) and steaming towards you. Even the most tenacious wrinkles fall out this way.
My old roommate had an amazing steamer like you would find in a retail setting but I think it cost a couple hundred dollars. I have one called “my little steamer deluxe” by Joy. I wouldn’t call it travel sized (maybe if you’re going in the car). It works wonderfully and holds just enough water to get the job done but not too tiresome to use/hold
posted by raccoon409 at 1:00 PM on August 5, 2019
My old roommate had an amazing steamer like you would find in a retail setting but I think it cost a couple hundred dollars. I have one called “my little steamer deluxe” by Joy. I wouldn’t call it travel sized (maybe if you’re going in the car). It works wonderfully and holds just enough water to get the job done but not too tiresome to use/hold
posted by raccoon409 at 1:00 PM on August 5, 2019
I bought a generic, cheapo handheld steamer on Amazon and it works great. The one I bought is no longer available even here in the US, but this one I found on Canadian Amazon looks very similar. I had previously used a high-end steamer owned by my roommate at the time, and the results were exactly identical (the main difference was that it was freestanding and had clips to hold the garment at the top and bottom).
My technique - if you could call it that, and probably most people do it this way - is to hang the garment on a door or shower curtain rod using a hanger, and steam vertically.
This is also what I do, and I usually lightly grasp the bottom edge of the clothing and pull down with one hand while steaming with the other hand. The key to avoiding spitting and leaking is to make sure never to tilt the steamer forward while it's turned on.
posted by capricorn at 1:28 PM on August 5, 2019
My technique - if you could call it that, and probably most people do it this way - is to hang the garment on a door or shower curtain rod using a hanger, and steam vertically.
This is also what I do, and I usually lightly grasp the bottom edge of the clothing and pull down with one hand while steaming with the other hand. The key to avoiding spitting and leaking is to make sure never to tilt the steamer forward while it's turned on.
posted by capricorn at 1:28 PM on August 5, 2019
If you have more time and it's a dry enough climate you can often skip the steamer and just use a spray bottle of water. Hang the article of clothing on a hanger on a shower rod. Then just spritz it all over. Sometimes you might need to smooth out things like collars if they are really rumpled and wet them a bit more. Then just let it air dry on the hanger. Most of the time it's wrinkle free and ready to go once it's dry.
posted by delicious-luncheon at 3:29 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by delicious-luncheon at 3:29 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have the one linked above by capricorn and use it a few times a week, have traveled with it multiple times over the past 3 years. It only spits if you over-fill it, and although it looks small it holds enough water/makes enough steam to do a whole outfit.
Hang from the shower rod, don't neglect the sides of the garment, other than that it's pretty self-explanatory.
posted by assenav at 3:36 PM on August 5, 2019
Hang from the shower rod, don't neglect the sides of the garment, other than that it's pretty self-explanatory.
posted by assenav at 3:36 PM on August 5, 2019
I bought this steamer at a Walmart in the U.S. It was cheap, but it works great. I use it almost every day.
It isn't technically portable, but it is small enough that I wouldn't have a problem packing it in a suitcase. It has never spit water on me or leaked, although if water is in it and it tips over, the water will pour out.
posted by tacodave at 5:08 PM on August 5, 2019
It isn't technically portable, but it is small enough that I wouldn't have a problem packing it in a suitcase. It has never spit water on me or leaked, although if water is in it and it tips over, the water will pour out.
posted by tacodave at 5:08 PM on August 5, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks everyone, especially for the recommendations of steamers you currently own and are happy with. I’ll see what is available in my town at Canadian Tire and report back if I get one. Also thank you for the tips on how to use the steamer.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on August 6, 2019
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on August 6, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
My technique - if you could call it that, and probably most people do it this way - is to hang the garment on a door or shower curtain rod using a hanger, and steam vertically. Depending on the strength of the stream and how heavily creased the fabric is, I will sometimes hold the steamer right up on the fabric, rather than a couple inches away as some product instructions suggest. Easy-to-wrinkle fabrics tend to require this, especially if you're using the smaller, less powerful steamers.
posted by Everydayville at 12:12 PM on August 5, 2019