Journey Hack: Maintain Clothes Wrinkle-Free With out Utilizing Lodge Irons

You may routinely use hotel irons; if you’re a frequent traveler, you may love them for their convenience.

However, hotel irons come with hygiene concerns, may be covered in residue from previous visitors, are usually not high-quality, and may even present a fire hazard. It’s easy to remain wrinkle-free without depending on hotel irons.

Hang in a Steamy Shower

Steam can easily get wrinkles out of garments without adding bacteria. Hang your clothes in the bathroom while you have a hot shower, getting them as close as possible to the steam source and keeping the door shut.

However, ensure you don’t inadvertently get the clothes wet or splash soapy water on them.

Use a Hair Straightener

If you or your partner packed a hair straightener, you can use it for wrinkle-free clothes without worrying about possible stains or residue from previous hotel visitors. These stains can transfer to your clothes while you iron them.

To avoid that, turn on your straightener and pass it over the wrinkled parts of your item using some pressure. Repeat as many times as needed, then hang your clothes until they’re cool.

Use a Hair Dryer

Unlike other items in hotel rooms, irons are not routinely cleaned or disinfected between users. You’ll likely iron your clothes after others have done the same. While irons run hot, it’s still disconcerting to think about other people’s germs there. Instead of ironing your clothes, use your (or the hotel’s) hair dryer.

Slightly wet your item after hanging it on a hanger, set your hair dryer to an appropriate heat setting, and gently pull on the item while blowing air.

Cover With a Damp Towel

Using a damp towel is better for getting your garment wrinkle-free than using a low-quality hotel iron that can damage delicate fabrics. Place a large towel on a table and put your item on it. Cover your item with a damp towel and press down gently but firmly.

Keep going until you’ve pressed down on the entire item, and repeat as necessary. Once you’re satisfied, hang your item to dry.

Carry a Wrinkle-Release Spray

To avoid using a hotel iron, you should pack a wrinkle-release spray. These sprays help clothes become wrinkle-free by relaxing the fabrics with a fabric softener.

Hang your clothes, spray them thoroughly, and smooth them with your hands until you’re happy with how they look. Ensure they’re dry before putting them on.

Make Your Own Wrinkle-Release Spray

If you’re into DIY-ing, you can also make your own wrinkle-release spray using equal parts water and white vinegar. If in a pinch, you can replace the vinegar with one teaspoon of hair conditioner per cup of water.

Follow the same method outlined above to return your garments to their original state.

Use a Hot Teapot

If you have a metal teapot in your hotel room, you can also use it to eliminate wrinkles rather than creating a fire hazard with an unattended hotel iron. Ensure there’s no residue on the bottom of the pot before using. Also, don’t use a hot teapot on delicate fabrics to avoid damage.

Simply heat the pot, turn your garment inside out, and press the hot teapot over it gently to eliminate the wrinkles.

Pack a Handheld Steamer

Packing a handheld steamer is one way to never worry about wrinkled clothes when traveling. Fill your steamer with water and run it over your clothes after hanging them.

Keeping the steamer well away from your face, steam the garment up and down, making sure not to concentrate too much on any given spot.

Avoid Wrinkles With Dryer Sheets or Wool Balls

To avoid worrying about wrinkles when you reach your destination, use dryer sheets or wool balls when you do laundry.

They reduce static electricity cling and relax fabrics, making it harder for clothes to develop wrinkles.

Prevent Wrinkles by Removing Clothes Out of Dryer Immediately

You may have forgotten a load of laundry in the dryer overnight, only to discover a horrifically wrinkled bunch of clothes the following morning.

Take your clothes out of the dryer as soon as it stops working to avoid wrinkles in the long term as well.

Air-Dry Clothes To Avoid Wrinkles

If you’d rather avoid the dryer altogether, you’ll be happy to know it also helps keep your clothes wrinkle-free.

Air-drying clothes in well-ventilated areas prevents the formation of wrinkles and gives your clothes a casual look (not to mention it smells amazing).

Pack Clothes Lightly

Another way to prevent wrinkles from forming is by keeping your closets light. Pack clothes with space between each other to avoid wrinkles that come from overcrowding.

If your clothes already have wrinkles before you pack them, they’ll look messy when you unpack them at your destination.

Roll, Don’t Fold Clothes

When you pack garments in your suitcase the traditional way (folding them neatly), they almost always get wrinkles. However, rolling them instead makes them less likely to wrinkle.

Plus, you gain some extra space because rolled clothes take less room than folded ones.

Choose Fabric That Doesn’t Wrinkle

This one is a no-brainer. To avoid using a hotel iron, you can prevent the need for one in the first place by choosing fabrics like polyester, acrylic, nylon, and other synthetics that naturally don’t wrinkle.

While cotton is comfortable and healthy, it also wrinkles easily, so if you want to avoid synthetics, try garments made of wool, silk, or knits.

Put Clothes in the Dryer Before Packing

Putting your clothes in the dryer before packing them can iron out some wrinkles and prevent the formation of others.

This is especially true if you combine this tip with another one we suggested, like rolling your clothes instead of folding them.

Put Your Clothes in Travel Bags

If you use travel bags for your clothes, you can eliminate some wrinkles because travel bags minimize contact between clothes, keeping wrinkles at a minimum.

You can wear your clothes without reaching for your steamer or portable iron.

Use Laundry or Dry-Cleaning Services

If your hotel has a laundry room, you can take advantage of that (even if it comes with a fee). Put your clothes in the dryer with a wet towel or cloth, and run the dryer for about 15 minutes at the right setting for your clothes.

Once done, immediately remove the clothes and hang them. Likewise, if your hotel offers laundry service, you can leave your clothes for dry-cleaning for hygienic, wrinkle-free cleaning.

Bundle-Wrap Your Clothes

Bundle-wrapping refers to a packing method in which you start by making a bundle “core,” like a pair of socks bundled in a shirt, and then layering longer garments 180 degrees from each other. You then lay out shirts vertically and pants horizontally until all your garments are laid out.

Finally, everything gets wrapped around the core, ensuring your clothes don’t wrinkle. A word of caution: bundle-wrapping works best when you’re packing light.

Fold Clothes With Tissue Paper

If you’re unconvinced by the rolling or bundle-wrapping methods, you can still fold your clothes without wrinkling them. Use tissue paper on top of your flattened garment and then fold it as usual.

The tissue can prevent creases and wrinkles from folding and works great with formal clothes and delicate fabrics.

Pack With Packing Cubes

Packing cubes work great for delicate items, protecting them from other garments and items in your luggage.

For best results, unpack the cubes as soon as possible and expose them to steam using the tip above about hanging them in the bathroom while you shower.

Use the Right Suitcase

You also need a suitcase with multiple compartments and padding to keep your clothes wrinkle-free.

The sturdier and more structured it is, the less likely your garments will move around during travel and accidentally rub against each other, creating creases and wrinkles.

Layer Heavy Items at the Bottom

To avoid clothes getting crushed and pushed into each other, which is the perfect recipe for wrinkles, make sure your heavy items, like shoes, are at the bottom of your suitcase.

You can stuff them with belts and socks to avoid them being crushed by the items going on top.

Unpack as Soon as You Check In

Finally, the best way to avoid all the drawbacks of using the hotel iron we mentioned above is to unpack your luggage as soon as you check in.

While procrastination is understandable when traveling, your clothes will look amazing if you take this small step before you move on to the more enjoyable parts of your stay.