How to Iron Without an Ironing Board: 13 Easy Ways

Ironing is one thing that you rather do or not but helps remove unwanted wrinkles and creases from your fabric if it may required sometimes. Ironing boards are one of the accessories that many people might think of when comes to ironing garments. And, if you're stuck without an ironing board or you just don't like to pull it out, here are solutions that you can get those items looking great quickly without an ironing board.

Tips You Should Know Before Ironing

• Before use, keep clothing clean without stains: Never iron dirty garments. Start by washing and drying your clothes and make sure there're no stains on the clothes when you begin to iron. Because the stains are likely set permanently to the fabric due to the iron's heat.

• Find a covering: Cover a flat, sturdy surface with heat-resistant fabric, like thick cotton, flax (linen), wool, and canvas to make a DIY ironing board.

• Iron on a heat-resistant surface: Choose a heat-resistant surface like a wooden or tile floor, a kitchen countertop, or a table.

• After use: Empty the water reservoir, set the iron in a cool place like a kitchen potholder, or an oven mitt, or just put it down on the tile floor. Store it upright in a dry, cool place.

How to Iron Without an Ironing Board

1. Iron on the floor

This method is free and easy to start in your home. First, make sure you're in a good spot on the floor that is clean and large enough. To iron, you may want to lay out a bath towel or a blanket flat on the surface, place the clothing on it and start ironing. If you don't have access to a flat, smooth floor, a thick towel or a blanket is necessary to flatten the creases effectively.

2. Use a wooden table

If you're not being able to comfortably sit on the floor, choose a wooden table fairly high and flat. Don't lay down your garment on any glass and plastic-made tables because they may crack or melted from the heat. Ironing on a table is just like on the floor that you need a folded thick towel to cover the wooden surface, which is for preventing damage from heat or excessive steam.

3. Use the countertop

Your bathroom or kitchen countertop is a good option to iron when an ironing board is not available. Kitchen counters are typically designed to be heat-resistant, for example, granite, engineered stone, quartz (marble) counters can resist heat very well. Still, cover the surface with a towel or a wool blanket before your iron the garments.

4. Iron on top of washing machine

This keeps everything conveniently in your laundry room. You can use the top of your washing machine or dryer to iron by covering a thick cotton towel to prevent sliding.

5. Iron on your bed

Your bed is a convenient option for ironing clothing because it is large enough to lay your garments out. This solution allows you to sit down directly, plug in the iron and enjoy removing wrinkles and creases from your clothes. Do remember to place a thick towel down the clothing as I said.

6. Choose an ironing blanket 

An ironing blanket has a flexible surface to be placed on a tabletop, the floors, the counters, your bed, a dryer or a similar surface.They are designed to be heat-resistant to protect any surface that you're working on. Some of them are magnetic to prevent from sliding. They are what you use in place of a thick towel and also a space-saving alternative to bulky ironing boards. 

7. Consider a magnetic ironing mat

A magnetic ironing mat is more like an updated version of an ironing blanket. It is ideal if you're ironing on a metal surface, like your washer and dryer. They are specifically designed to use on top of them without worrying about it sliding across the surface.

8. Use a clothes steamer

Ironing can take a bit longer, a steamer can get the wrinkles out of your garments quickly. Grab a clothes steamer, fill the reservoir with water, plug it in, hang the clothing, and run the steamer down the clothing in long strokes. Then let your garment dry for a few minutes before putting it on. Remember to check the garment care instruction to make sure the fabric won't get damaged.

9. Toss clothes and a damp towel in a dryer

If you're in a rush and want to skip the ironing or steaming, throw the clothes in the dryer together with a damp towel and let them run for about 10 minutes. This is also an effective laundry hack that most people know. 

10. Use a hair dryer

Your hair dryer cannot only be used for blow-drying, the heat produced from it is able to get those wrinkles out of your cotton fabrics. 

Hang your garment, set up the diffuser to the hair dryer so as to maximize the heat diffused, plug it in, and start blowing vertically. When the garment looks smooth and better than before, switch to cold air setting to maintain the fine shape of your clothing (only if possible).

This method works better on your cotton clothes. Keep a fist-size distance between the hair dryer and the clothing to avoid damage.  

11. Use a hair flat iron

Your straighteners can work the same as a hair dryer to get out wrinkles from your clothes. This method is for working on small wrinkles and tricky areas, like pleats, seams, and collars of shirts.

12. Use the steam from a hot shower

Hang your wrinkled items in the bathroom while showering. The heat and the steam from a hot shower can straighten out wrinkles and creases.

13. Select a wrinkle-release spray

Wrinkle-release sprays are specifically formulated to smooth out any creases from your garment. You can easily select one, like Downey wrinkle releaser, from a local store or purchase it on an online store. 

Hang the item or lay it flat and pull the wrinkled fabric taut with one hand, keep the spray a few inches from the fabric, and then spritz it over the wrinkled areas with another hand.

Final Words

There is no absolute promise that your clothes will look perfectly starched and wrinkle-free without the use of an iron. Perhaps you're in a pinch, you don't like to set it up, the iron takes up too much space in your home, or it's broken, you still can steal these tips without an ironing board and even skip the iron to get the items smooth and flat.