It is unlikely that there is a person who likes to stroke. Fortunately, technical progress every year simplifies this process, increasing the efficiency of the iron and opening its more advanced features. But how to choose an iron among such a variety? Let's talk about all the obvious and implicit features and functions of various types of irons:
Power
This parameter varies significantly from different models of irons - from about 1200 to 2200 W. Power affects the efficiency of cloth smoothing. For the ironing of casual clothes, bed linen, tablecloths and other conditions at home is a capacity of 1200-1600 W. If you state quite often and are not a fan of this process, we recommend buying the iron more power, about 1800-1900 W. It is faster heated and better copes with strong dents. Weights with power from 2000 W and above can be called professional. They are much more expensive, but their effect will not make himself wait long. If you state non-standard fabrics (uniforms, different types of fabrics in atelier) or you have houses dense curtains, bathrobes, then a powerful iron can be useful to you.
Heating surface
The material of the heating surface defines several parameters: the price of the iron, heating rate and cooling, weight and quality of ironing. Let's talk about the pros and cons of some of them:
Aluminum
One of its advantages is the price. Irons with an aluminum plate - the cheapest. This is such a common type of heating surface that all manufacturers have irons with such a plate, including the most famous. The advantages of aluminum can also be attributed to his small weight.
Such irons are easier than others and easily slide on the surface of the fabric. Aluminum is quickly heated and cooled at the same speed. Such a plate can be washed with any detergent and warm water, without resorting to any special methods. But it is worth noting that this metal does not get along with some tissues that can stick to the surface and burn. Another lack of aluminum is rather fragile. It can be destroyed by a metal button, snake or rivet. In some cases, even a pencil for cleaning irons will not help.
Stainless steel
Unlike the aforementioned metal, the steel is more durable and resistant to scratches, but it takes a little longer for heating and cooling. This is the most popular type of surfaces in consumers. But he is the most difficult, and this fact can be a weighty argument when choosing an iron. If you smoke every day and longer a couple of minutes, this option may not be the best for you.
Ceramics and metal ceramics
Modern irons may also have a ceramic plate. A ceramics layer is usually applied to the metallic basis. Ceramic coating is very smooth and gentle, greatly slips over the fabric. Such a plate retains the same temperature for a long time and therefore slowly cools, so you can not immediately put the iron into the closet or bedside table - you need to wait a bit and it is not convenient if you are in a hurry. At the same time, the fragility of the ceramic plate is its great drawback. Like an aluminum plate, ceramics are easy to scratch even the most small decorations on clothes. Therefore, leading cast iron manufacturers use metal-ceramics, improving its special technologies and thereby increasing the resistance to scratches.
Teflon
This coating can be safely called the most resistant to burning, but at the same time the most short-lived. It slides a little more difficult over the fabric. Teflon is also considered an expensive coating.
Titanium
Prices for such irons are quite high, but they are used mainly for professional purposes. Titan cools for quite a long time.
Pay attention to the number of iron functions
Photo: unsplash.com.
Main functions
Earbing
Today, even the simplest and cheap irons have a vaporization system. There are two types of steaming - automatic and manual. Manual mode allows you to disappear clothes if it becomes too dry or badly ironing. Automatic steamard mode is used when selecting a special program or high temperatures on an iron. Couple comes out of the holes on the plate. The more holes on the iron plate, the more efficient ironing. Better if there are about 100 pieces.
It is also very important that the holes are uniformly throughout the plate, and not only around the edges, as in some models. Another important feature is a vertical sweeping. It allows you to iron curtains on a cornice or clothes, without removing them from the shoulders. The problem is only that simple iron though has such a function, but its quality leaves much to be desired. Therefore, if you plan to often use vertical sipping, it is better not to save and buy an iron with a maximum steam exposure intensity.
Water spraying
By pressing the special button, you can activate the water sprayer located on the "spout" of the iron. This feature is very useful when even the excipation does not help, for example, when ironing jeans or when clothes are too dry and it must be moistened to smooth out very deep folds. This feature is also useful for people who often stroke collars and cuffs, arrows on trousers and the like.
Also check the volume of water tank. If it is less than 250-350 ml, then fascinate the water you get tired, because it is used for steaming, and for spraying. And for even more convenience, choose irons with a transparent tank to see how much water remains.
Modes
Each iron has a regulator in the form of a rotating circle with the modes. In a good iron, there must be the following parameters:
One point denoting "nylon" or "silk" is ironing the brittle and thin tissues.
Two points denoting "wool" - in this mode, you can iron the fabrics from blended wool.
Three dots denoting "cotton" - the ironing mode of cotton, flax, tweed, drapery and any other coarse fabrics.
Be sure to read tags on clothes to choose the right temperature and not damage clothes!
Safety
Like any fire hazard, irons often have a function of automatic shutdown. This means that the iron will turn off if it stands 15-30 seconds in a horizontal and 8-10 minutes in a vertical position, so you do not need to worry and check if you have forgotten to turn off the iron before going out! Before buying, check if this feature is in the iron.
Water inside the iron can also cause a fire. This leads to the formation of scale and damage to the heating element. That this does not happen, we recommend buying an iron with a scale protection system. In any case, the iron is better to fill with filtered water. We wish the lung and fast ironing!