Steaming vs Ironing fabrics

Garment Steamer Articles

ironing clothes

What are some of the advantages of using a garment steamer rather than ironing?

  • Steaming does not crush the fabrics
  • Fine fabrics that could be damaged by ironing can be steamed with better results
  • Usually quicker to get the job done
  • Can be placed in almost any position whereas an iron cannot. ie: photographic backgrounds, mannequins, and forms wearing garments can be steamed in position
  • Usually safer to use
  • Takes up less room than an ironing setup
  • Sometimes the only method that will work properly
  • It is industry standard for many application
  • Steaming is cost effective

If you are used to having a steamer available, we're sure you know these benefits plus a few others we have not mentioned. The Hat House in SoHo exclusively uses fabric steamers for keeping hats in great condition for customers. They use them to freshen up, shape, block and resize hats. The intense heat from the steam revitalizes the fabrics in the hats without the danger of scorching or burning the beautiful fabrics. Hats can be made of cotton, linen, wool, natural fiber straws, palm leaves as are used to make a lovely Panama Hat, beaver fur, rabbit fur and just about any other fabric that is made. This method is even used in the initial manufacture of many hats.

Most people are steaming clothing and other fabrics.On garments such as fine silk, cotton, polyester, wool and various fabric blends, the steam process is fast, effective and it is hard to damage the fabrics. Silk requires just a small amount of steaming and it responds beautifully.​

Can I steam my clothing instead of ironing it?

If you have ever used a Professional fabric garment steamer, you know how quick and easy it is to remove wrinkles from fabrics. Fabric Steamers will remove even the heaviest wrinkles quickly and become one of the tools you will use for maintenance of cloth and garments. If you require a sharply ironed crease, then you will also have to iron in order to achieve it. Most of the time, garments that already have sharp creases can still be steamed to remove residual wrinkles and will not necessarily require re-ironing.

There is really nothing worse than having a beautiful garment that is wrinkled. A wrinkled garment detracts from the individual and a simple steaming makes a world of positive difference in a flash. Small handheld steamers are really not a good solution unless you can put up with the constant refilling every few minutes, the sputtering of boiling water out of the nozzle and the weakness of the steam. Handhelds small steamers are a totally inadequate solution in any type of important or professional environment. For home use, they are even marginal. We know because we have good quality hand steamers and we will never use them if a pro steamer is around. We really despise the handheld steamers because of the extra work involved.... it takes 5 times as long and the garment inevitably gets water spots all over it and lifting the unit filled with water is annoying and heavy and prone to getting steam burns.

Buying a professional steamer is cost effective because of the time savings, greatly improved quality of results and no frustration that comes part and parcel with a handheld. A pro steamer has a lightweight hose and wand head as well as a hanger bar for a garment and the hose.​

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