A pressing need

(In TOI Sunday, September 20)

Once upon a time if you needed something ironed, you could send it down to the streetcorner istriwala and have it back within minutes, warm and smelling vaguely of charcoal and camphor. This was a comfort during the monsoon, when clothes never really dried properly and the general atmosphere of dank sank like a cloud over the house. Today, the streetcorners are more likely to house a PCO or a fast food delivery kitchen, many of the istriwalas having bloomed into full-scale laundries/dry cleaners or moved to a more heavily populated area with a guaranteed customer base. The service is still available, but many who provide it also provide home-delivery and take rather longer to finish the job. One reason for this – apart from the fact that stylish non-iron clothing is so easily available in chain stores and the number of laundries with storefronts and thus greater respectability and accessibility have increased – is the affordability and availability of irons that can help even the busiest executive do the job at home. And yes, these can even be bought over the Internet, with many discounts and special offers, making it all a win-win situation.

A basic household small appliance, an iron comes with various factors that any buyer will need to check on. Many people visiting the United States bring back an iron with all the bells and whistles that a Na’avi (if they ever wore clothes that needed ironing, that is) may have dreamed up, and then find that the wattage is not right and a transformer is needed. And wattage plays a starring role in the price point too, since the higher the watts, the hotter the iron can get, thus the easier and quicker the ironing will be. And, with each bell or whistle attached, the price goes up. Essentially, an iron is best if it can give you, the ironer, steam, an easy-to-fill water reservoir, a non-stick soleplate (the bottom of the iron, which actually touches the fabric), variable heat/fabric settings and other optional features, like automatic switch-off, a light/sound indicator that flashes or beeps to say the iron is ready for use, et al. Of course, the warranty of the gadget must be checked and, the less friendly the salesperson involved in the transaction, the more difficult it will be to get any kind of post-sales service for it.

Ironing is a necessary chore, but is based on science. The heat generated serves to loosen the chemical bonds between long-chain polymer molecules in fabric, while the weight of the appliance stretches and straightens them, thus making the cloth flat and smooth as it cools. Sometimes the molecules need to be nudged apart by water, which is where a steam iron comes in handy, best for cottons, linens and pure silks. Synthetic materials have a lower melting point, which is why they smell when ironed and may cringe away from the heat by shrivelling up – something everyone who has ironed anything made of polyester or nylon will know. Ironing also can be used to dry clothing and kill some small bug-eggs or germs, but is not a good way to straighten hair, even though the gadget that does that is also called an ‘iron’.

The market has dry irons and the more popular steam/spray irons on offer, with a few travel irons also available. The last will be small, compact and usually not use steam, making it easy to pack and take through airport customs without trouble, unlike the average knuckleduster or set of batteries. Most commonly seen in department stores, be it Hypercity or Big Bazaar or any other, or in electronics outlets like Croma, Kings, Vijay Sales or Kohinoor, to name just a couple, they come in a bewildering range of options, from colour to capacity, brand, service record and so much more. Some of the most commonly seen include – from Black & Decker: steam iron X775 ( 1,918), X1015 auto shut-off steam iron ( 2,961), X1015 auto shut-off steam iron ( 2,961), X1060 1900 W cordless iron ( 3,487); from Panasonic: NI-S200TS steam iron ( 1,649), NI-W410TS steam iron ( 2,859), NI-S500TS steam iron ( 2,089); from Philips: 3300 series steam iron ( 4,195.00), 2500 series steam iron, dripstop ( 2,995.00), Azur steam iron ( 5,295.00), travel iron ( 1,795.00, steam boost), 1700 series steam iron ( 3,095.00); from Morphy Richards: Astra: (750 watts, 545), Senora (1000 watts, 599), Orbit travel iron ( 1795), Comfigrip Precise Control ( 3995), Comfi-grip Pro ( 2995) and other like the Anjali Ecopress ( 585), Magic Sleek dry iron ( 470), Bajaj non-stick iron ( 890), Kenstar dry iron ( 450), Maharaja Whiteline steam iron with ceramic coating ( 889), the funky Birla Lifestyle BEL-9023 cordless iron ( 1,615) and the Mini travel iron ( 449). There are too many to list completely, but read the fine print, choose your colour and get set to press!


How to iron:
• Use an ironing board.
• Check instructions on the garment tag and adjust iron settings.
• Use high heat for cotton and linen, medium for cotton blends and wool and low for nylon, polyester and other synthetics. Good pure silks can be steam ironed, but check on a small inside corner first.
• Make sure the steam iron reservoir is not empty.
• Stretch the garment flat on the ironing board to save some effort.
• Never leave the iron on and flat on your clothes – not unless you want some interesting burn effects!
• A drop of perfume in the reservoir water can make your clothes smell better, but make sure to clean the iron properly.