Can You Iron Wet Clothes | Need to Know Everything

It is possible that you forget to hang your clothes up after washing, and then an important meeting comes up soon and you get to wear those. If you have such a condition, it might not be possible to air dry them or put them all in the dryer at once.

At this point, you might consider ironing your wet clothes. But, can you iron wet clothes without causing any problems? The following guide helps answer this interesting question.

Wet Clothes Can be Ironed?

Yes, you can iron wet clothes, and most of the time it doesn’t cause any kind of problem. Even you can iron recently washed and fully saturated clothes without any issues.

Particularly, you cannot iron thick clothes due to their heaviness. If you really want to iron that type of clothes, it can damage the clothing easily, as the reaction of heat and water will imbalance the ironing process in a combined manner.

Giving more heat to a wet, thicker cloth can create burning on the fabric. So, avoid using thick wet dresses for ironing. However, you can iron thin dresses, which are made using thin fabric. Amazingly, you can perfectly iron a thin cloth to get a wrinkle-free output.

Not only this, many people prefer drying their washed clothes using an iron as well as ironing wet clothes. In this way, you can simply get your straightened shirt without shrinking any part. Therefore, using the ironing method may do better than any other sometimes.

Instructions For Ironing Wet Clothes

Whether you are ironing your wet clothes or drying them using iron, you always have to put some effort into making them right. So, we suggest you follow the below instructions to iron your wet clothes smoothly.

1. Whether you hand wash or machine wash your clothes, you should ensure that the clothes are dried as much as possible. Usually, most of the clothes are 50% wet after soaking in a washing machine. Lessen the amount of water in the clothes by spinning them or pressing them against the surface of the bucket to remove the dripping water. Thus, the clothes will be in a suitable position to use for ironing.
2. Another important thing is to select the type of your clothes. You know that ironing all kinds of clothes is not possible due to different types of fabrics and their reactions to high heat. Typically, the supported types of clothes include tops, jeans, trousers, skirts, t-shirts, shirts, and most importantly, thin-layered fabric types. Excluding other types means you cannot iron them because of their mismatch with the ironing process. For example, you cannot iron a bulky towel as this type of fabric doesn’t suit the iron. So, make sure that you are choosing a suitable fabric and lay it straight on the ironing board.
3. After plugging in the iron, you should turn it on and maintain the lowest temperature settings. Using the low settings allows you to get a smooth drying process. On the other hand, using high temperatures creates a negative reaction to the fabric and more chances that the fabrics will be damaged and even burned sometimes. So, always try to put it low for wet clothes.
4. Try to iron normally like how you would do when ironing normal clothes. However, giving extra pressure can speed up your drying process and reduce your ironing time.
5. After several minutes of repeating the above process, the clothes will start to be straightened, and you can also touch them to feel the dryness. If you are not making any mistakes, the clothes should be nicer and crispier than otherwise. 
6. Use the same process to iron all of your other clothes. While ironing some of your clothes, you can hang dry other garments on a hanger. Doing such can increase the pace of your ironing process because other clothes will be more dried than the previous ones and easier to iron.

Why Should You Iron Wet Clothes?

Don’t think that ironing wet clothes only suits you in an emergency. Rather, you can dry them using an iron to get a better output than other processes. Now, we’ll explain why we prefer ironing clothes to drying them.

1. No Extra Steam

The main benefit of ironing wet clothes is to get the clothes automatically in a steam position. That means you don’t need to splash steam or water drops to make the clothing wet. Usually, when you want to iron a much-wrinkled cloth, you have to steam that cloth during the time of ironing. But, there is no need to do such things or use a steam iron since you are getting wet clothes in the first place.

2. Safe For The Fabrics

You know that water increases the absorbent capacity of an item as the water always tends to cool any item with which it is mixed. So, in a similar way, wet clothes are always cooler than normal ones. As a result, there is less chance of burning the clothes suddenly. Besides, when the fabrics are wet, they can easily be formed in a straightened way after drying using the soleplate of the iron.

3. Time-Saving Method

In the process of ironing wet clothes, you totally skip the drying part of the clothing and reduce the time of laundry drastically. Generally speaking, when you want to dry the clothes before ironing, it may take hours if you hang dry or air dry them. On the other hand, using a dryer also takes much preparation and consumes time from your schedule. But, directly going into the ironing without drying the wet clothes means you reduce the whole operating time of cleaning your clothes by almost half. Plus, wet clothes also become smoother than ironing dried ones.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Can I Use My Iron To Dry Wet Clothes Fast?

The simple answer is yes. Using iron can save you more time than any other process. Just bring the clothes and shake out the water from them as much as possible. Then, put it under the iron, fixing the lowest temperature setting on it. Now you are ready to go, and you can complete drying your clothes as well as ironing.

Can I Iron Shirts Straight From The Washing Machine?

Actually, ironing wet clothes reduce your time in the process of laundry. Because you can directly iron your shirts after removing them from the washer. However, one thing to remember is that you need to shake out the excess water and try to take the shirt into a damp position. This way, the shirt will be perfect for laying on the ironing board. Besides, you can remove the wrinkles without any steaming effort in this process.

Conclusion

You’ll be amazed to know that ironing wet clothes is not only possible but also has several advantages. So, you shouldn’t feel hesitant when thinking about ironing your clothes in a damp condition. In fact, you should follow some simple techniques outlined above in order to complete this ironing process. After that, no other method can surpass ironing when it comes to drying wet clothes.