The Unexpected Pantry Staple Hack That Cuts Your Ironing Time In Half
Just like cilantro and pineapple on pizza, the divide between people who enjoy ironing and hate it is vast. Some find it therapeutic, while others find it downright tiring. However, adding in a hack to make the task a little easier shouldn't put even the most die-hard ironing fans off, and the current trending trick on the internet is worth a try.
The biggest perk of this latest ironing trick is that you have everything you need just inside your pantry — it's just a roll of aluminum foil! By wrapping the foil along your ironing board, you don't have to worry about flipping each piece over, because the heat from the aluminum takes care of the extra work.
Ordinarily, setting up your ironing station includes pre-heating your appliance, laying out all your clean clothes, and setting up the ironing board. (You can skip the last of those if you've got a pull-out ironing board like this one.) By adding in the quick step of lining the entire board underneath the protective cover with foil you can create a heated surface that will mirror the heat of the iron and reduce wrinkles while you press.
Aluminum foil on your ironing board
The trick is to make sure all of the area you iron on has a layer of tin foil beneath the clothing-safe cover. As the hot metal passes over your clothing, the foil will act as a reflector and send the heat back through the cover and into your fabric, so both sides are being smoothed at once. As you sweep over each section of your items, the need to flip them over disappears thanks to this handy hack.
As an insulator, it holds onto the iron's temperature, and thanks to the ironing board cover, the foil acts as a conductor and keeps thermal energy up while you work on your fabrics. Make sure to pull the aluminum taut when you cover the board to avoid wrinkles from uneven foil.
The reflective, shiny side should be the one that sits just below the cover, as this is the part that will retain and emit heat onto your garments. Once you've finished ironing one side of your clothing, lift and check for any folds or creases that might have occurred when it was laid down, but you'll most likely find the underside is as smooth as the top thanks to this clever hack.
Tips for using this ironing hack
Rather than throwing away the aluminum foil you used after the job is done, you can actually keep it for future ironing tasks. Because the cover protects the foil from incurring too much heat, it stays fresh and usable for several, if not many more, occasions. In order to keep tabs on when you should swap out the old foil for a new layer, just check for a super textured, crinkly surface. Once the aluminum starts to wrinkle or doesn't seem flat when you run a hand over it, it's not very useful. (You could crumple it up into a ball and use it to give your dishes a good scrub.)
You also won't have to worry about long cool-down times when using this trick, because aluminum foil is known for releasing heat quickly once it is no longer exposed to a heat source. As soon as you've put your clothes and iron away, the board will have cooled too, so you can tidy up and forget about this task until the next laundry day. Just make sure to always have aluminum foil stocked in your pantry and kiss your ironing woes goodbye — or at least cut them in half to save yourself time and arm cramps.