Imagine you are trying to iron your clothes but cannot straighten the fibers or the edges of the clothing. Why? Because you need to steam your clothes first and iron after that. So, you see that an average iron won’t work if you suddenly get into that situation.
As we always wear clothes, we can’t ignore the fact that ironing is a part of our daily lives. However, choosing a specific iron is not so simple due to a large number of options available out there. To make your journey of selecting an iron smoother, we’ve given you a comparison between steam iron vs dry iron in this very write-up.
What Is A Steam Iron?
Notably, this iron-type comes with a special feature of steaming capability. Unlike other irons, the steam iron is perhaps unique among all types. Usually, this iron has some holes in its surface, and it can splash steam through these holes.
For being equipped with a water tank, the steam iron can boil the water inside and create a steam burst. Hopefully, the steam burst cannot damage the fabric. Instead, the steam bursts which are released through the tiny holes allow the fabric to eliminate creases and wrinkles of your clothing.
If you exclude the water tank from the steam iron or remove the water from it, the iron will be the same as a dry iron. So, this iron is considered the most modern iron and has gained vast popularity among consumers.
What Is A Dry Iron?
Dry iron is the most common and traditional type among all the iron types. Working using a simple mechanism, the soleplate of the dry iron heats up fast when you activate it. After pressing the soleplate against the clothes, the fabrics start to straighten.
Typically, most people choose dry iron for its simplicity. Not to mention, this type of iron can deal with most materials sufficiently. As a result, this simple iron is popular as a generic form of irons. To add more, this budget-friendly option comes with an aluminum or stainless steel soleplate, and the heat of the soleplate can be controlled using the controller.
Differences Between Steam Iron Vs Dry Iron
Dry irons and steam irons are the two best options available right now in the market. Though both of them are popular choices for households, they have significant differences in their structures and characteristics. The major difference between these two is the water tank. However, that’s not all. To understand more, you have to read the complete comparison below.
Water Tank
As we have already mentioned, the water tank is the central point to compare between the steam iron and other irons. You know that dry iron is a kind of regular iron that doesn’t have any water tank in it. Simply, the steam iron always comes with an in-built water tank inside, and it can heat the water in the tank and create splashes of steam.
If you look at the capacity of the water tank, it is usually around 150ml in most steam irons. This size is enough to hold the pressure required to sprinkle and spray the steam on the creased clothes to straighten the wrinkles.
Wattage
As the steam iron has several mechanisms running inside the device, it is evident that this iron’s power consumption rate will also be higher. Mostly, the steam iron needs to heat the water in the tank and produce steam from the hot water. All of these tasks are completed using an electric power supply. For this reason, the steam iron requires average power as well as extra power for these actions.
On the contrary to that condition, the dry iron only consumes the usual power needed to perform simple ironing activities. So, the standard dry iron requires only 1000W of power for ironing the clothes.
Soleplate Type
In most cases, the irons come with a copper or iron soleplate. Most importantly, this part of the iron is the most crucial thing to iron the clothes. Because this plate surface is used to press against clothing and straighten them as crease-free.
When manufacturers select the soleplate material, they make sure to use a solid material and refine the plate to get a metallic finish on the surface. So, the surface becomes smoother for operations. Besides, the material is selected in such a way that it can avoid burns on clothes when changing temperature constantly and using the soleplate against clothing. Not to mention, there is another category of irons that has a non-stock quality ceramic-based soleplate.
To point out, dry irons don’t have any holes like the steam iron and come with a straight solid surface. For this reason, they are easy to clean. On the opposite side, steam irons come with a perforated soleplate with several tiny holes to allow the steam to pass through. So, the steam iron’s soleplate is capable of spraying steam on the fabrics when ironing. However, you may struggle to clean a steam iron as it has many holes in its soleplate.
Ease Of Use
Simplicity is the key to measuring ease of use. And, the dry iron is the simpler device here. All you need to do is plug the iron, and you are ready. After heating the surface, you can directly move to the action. Sometimes you need to set the temperature according to the fabric type you are ironing. To do this, you need to simply use the temperature knob and turn it right or left in order to get a temperature setting for the soleplate.
On the other hand, maintaining a steam iron requires more attention. It is important to realize that you should fill the water tank, and the water takes time to become hot enough to produce steam. However, you may find some steam irons on the market right now, which can increase the temperature of the water in a minute. In any case, you need more time to set up a steam iron.
Additional Features
In reality, dry iron is not meant to provide extra features. It comes with only a temperature knob to set the temperature of the released heat. So, the whole interface of a dry iron is pretty simple.
On the opposite side, the steam iron comes with various features like a water and steam sprayer, an LED indicator, as well as temperature settings. All of these features ensure a more custom ironing experience and give better control over the ironing process.
Usability
Usage varies depending upon the type of iron. The dry iron is suitable for irregular use. If you use your iron occasionally only when needed, this simple iron can meet your requirements because of its ease of use. However, when you need to use it for wrinkled clothes, you have to add water drops manually on the clothing to straighten correctly.
At the same time, a steam iron is beneficial when you are a regular user and need to iron your wrinkled clothes quickly. Because the iron has many essential features as well as the capability of ironing too wrinkled clothes using an automatic steaming mechanism.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Is Better Steam or Dry Iron?
The first thing to remember, the better option depends on individual preference and taste. So, it is better to get the one that suits you most. Still, we can give an idea about better usability. Identically, a steam iron can also work as a dry iron by turning off the steam feature or removing water from the tank. The only drawback here is that the steam iron needs higher wattage than the dry iron. Overall, the steam iron can be a better choice as you are actually getting two in one.
Can I Use Water With A Dry Iron?
As the dry iron doesn’t come with an automatic steaming feature, you cannot use it to iron highly wrinkled clothes. In that case, you can use water in the clothes manually. To do this, put distilled water in a spray bottle and spray small amounts of water on your cloth where needed. Follow this process through the whole ironing process. In this way, you can use water with a dry iron to improve the speed of straightening the wrinkles of the clothes.
Bottom Line
After considering all the facts, one thing is clear: both steam iron and dry iron are used for the same purpose. However, they are not the same when comparing their entire functions and structures. To be specific, the steam iron has several features, including the automatic steaming function that allows it to spray steam on the clothes at times of ironing. On the contrary, dry irons do not have this kind of feature, so you should limit their use to common fabrics.
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