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Garment steamers have recently become popular due to their ease of use and efficiency, and many people enjoy using them for steaming their clothes before they wear them. Keep reading to learn more about the pros and cons of garment steamers so you can decide whether or not you’ll want to invest in one yourself.
Benefits of Garment Steamer
1) Saves time
The main goal of a garment steamer is to quickly remove wrinkles from clothing so that it’s ready to wear as soon as possible after getting out of the dryer or hanging up on a hanger. Garment steamers save a lot of time compared with ironing because all you have to do is hold your clothes up, point a stream at them, and wait a few minutes until the water tank is empty. This is also ideal for spot ironing. You don’t have to go through the whole set-up to prepare for iron, you just simply target the creases you want removed.
2) Eliminates the need for an ironing board
Garment steamers fold up into a small size, which means they’re easy to store and don’t take up a lot of room. They also typically come with a kit that includes a hanger on top, so you can hang your clothes as you remove the wrinkles from them. This eliminates the need for an ironing board, which makes it much easier to steam your clothes before wearing them.
3) Ideal for traveling
Although garment steamers do produce some noise when in use, they are still less noisy than most other types of irons. The best garment steamer is lightweight and very portable because it has a built-in handle that allows you to carry it comfortably around wherever you. This is the best compromise to owning your own steam iron.
4) Ideal for delicate fabrics
Steam presses are generally considered to be the best way for steaming delicate fabrics because they produce a fine spray of mist that doesn’t include too much steam. A garment steamer produces moist steam, which is ideal for clothing like silk and lace that shouldn’t be ironed with an intense amount of heat.
5) No chemicals involved
Garment steamers don’t require chemical starch or water softener in order to remove wrinkles from clothing. Most irons work by using a combination of mechanical action and chemical additives to eliminate wrinkles from fabric, however a garment steamer only requires the pressurized build-up of humidity in order to get rid of wrinkles.
Are there disadvantages to garment steamer?
Although garment steamers do save a lot of time and effort when it comes to removing wrinkles from clothing, they can’t replace ironing completely. Some clothes require a light touch in order to smooth out stubborn wrinkles, which is not possible for a steamer. This means that there are still going to be some clothes you have to iron, so you should only use the steamer as a substitute for daily steam ironing. Moreover, the main function of iron is to remove stubborn creases from fabric by using intense heat and pressure. A garment steamer does produce steam, but this isn’t enough to completely remove very deep-set wrinkles from clothing. They also have a small coverage area compared to steam iron or dry iron, so this is not the ideal choice for larger fabrics.
Although garment steamers are fairly easy to use, they can be difficult to master. Do not presume that using a steamer will be just as simple as using an iron or as how they usually demonstrate it during product promotions. You have to have knowledge about how much water it holds and for how long you should steam different fabrics in order to get the best results each time.
The key takeaways
1) Garment steamers save time by eliminating the need for an ironing board or the mess of an ironing table. They are also perfect for quickly taking out wrinkles from clothing before wearing them so you don’t have to wait around while your clothes dry after getting out of the dryer.
2) A garment steamer cannot completely replace traditional irons, but they can surely save you from embarrassing wrinkles during travels after having your clothes squeezed inside your luggage for too long.