Can someone guide me on how to use a garment steamer?

[salamander293]

I recently purchased a blazer online and it came in the mail unfortunately slightly wrinkled so I promptly purchased a garment steamer specifically this one. I used it a little bit and it seems to work but I just wanted to ask if anyone else on here uses a garment steamer and could guide me on how to properly use it. Do you find garment steamers useful? Do they actually work with tailored garments like suits/sports jackets/blazers/wool dress pants? I tried using it on oxford shirts and chinos but it didn't seem to work very well so I will likely be sticking to iron and ironing board for my cotton shirts and pants. But is it worth keeping to use for tailored clothing? If so any recommendations on how to best use it as to not damage my blazer? I was very careful when using it and didn't apply much contact onto my jacket and did it in short bursts. I just want all my clothes to look freshly pressed everyday including my blazers/sports jackets and taking to a dry cleaners everyday isn't very feasible or economically smart so I thought this might be a solution! Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Your new toy isn't effective on cotton because that stuff wrinkles much more easily and requires pressure and direct heat from an iron to straighten out. Wool though does not, and your steamer will go a long way in keeping it looking fresh.

With that in mind, use it only on the back of the jacket, the front quarters (the area below the lowest button, around the pockets), and the sleeves. Don't use it on the shoulders, chest, or lapels, where you have a lot of seams coming together. The reason for this is, the heat and steam from your steamer will tend to expand the fabric a bit. The thread that is used to stitch the fabric together though will not expand, and you'll get a rippling effect along hte seam (this is called blowing a seam). Additionally, the chest and shoulders are shaped in the factory to turn a 2D fabric into a 3D jacket, and your careless uncontrolled use of steam will potentially undo a lot of that. This will make your jacket look wilted and limp, the opposite of freshly pressed.

For both unfortunate situations you will probably require a professional to press things back into shape. The good thing is, these areas don't really wrinkle anyway since they're made up of so many layers pressed together.

 

[salamander293]

Your new toy isn't effective on cotton because that stuff wrinkles much more easily and requires pressure and direct heat from an iron to straighten out. Wool though does not, and your steamer will go a long way in keeping it looking fresh.

With that in mind, use it only on the back of the jacket, the front quarters (the area below the lowest button, around the pockets), and the sleeves. Don't use it on the shoulders, chest, or lapels, where you have a lot of seams coming together. The reason for this is, the heat and steam from your steamer will tend to expand the fabric a bit. The thread that is used to stitch the fabric together though will not expand, and you'll get a rippling effect along hte seam (this is called blowing a seam). Additionally, the chest and shoulders are shaped in the factory to turn a 2D fabric into a 3D jacket, and your careless uncontrolled use of steam will potentially undo a lot of that. This will make your jacket look wilted and limp, the opposite of freshly pressed.

For both unfortunate situations you will probably require a professional to press things back into shape. The good thing is, these areas don't really wrinkle anyway since they're made up of so many layers pressed together.

Okay so I should definitely keep it and use it consistently then? How often should I use it? Everyday?

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Okay so I should definitely keep it and use it consistently then? How often should I use it? Everyday?

Well, you don't need to use it on days that you don't wear your blazer, for starters.

On the other days, you won't do any harm but it's kind of a tedious chore like shaving in the morning or taking out the trash so there are probably better uses of your time unless it's looking really messy. It sounds like you're a younger guy, so you're probably better off putting down the steamer and spending your time going to the gym or visiting Thailand or getting laid or some combination of the above. Your jacket will be wrinkled from having another person (or persons) tearing it off of your torso and you will just have to make room for that.

Also, wool is sort of self-correcting in that if you leave it on its hanger, gravity will sort out all but the most stubborn wrinkles for you, so there's that. Just give it a quick touchup with the steam when you're about to wear it and you'll be good to go.