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5 ways your clothes iron is way handier than you imagined

Starts at 60 Writers

Jan 04, 2017

If your clothes iron doesn’t get much use, you’re not alone.

For many of us, ironing clothes is that one chore we choose to avoid at all costs.

But, there are ways you can use your iron more – without having to iron a single item of clothing.

In fact, your clothes iron can be one of the handiest tools in your home!

Here are five ways your clothes iron is way handier than you imagined.

1. Clean up spilled candle wax

Have you got candle wax on your carpet or bench? Instead of trying to scrub it off or peel it off with a knife and risk damaging the surrounding area, grab your clothes iron and some paper towels. Simply put your iron on low heat, put a few layers of paper towel on the candle wax and iron over the top of the paper towel, focusing on the wax. As the iron heats the wax, it melts and becomes stuck to the paper towel. Keep moving the paper towel to soak up as much of the melted wax as possible. With some pressure, you’ll be able to melt and soak up all of the wax.

2. Get dents out of your carpet

If you’ve got carpet in your house and you’re finding dents from furniture, you can actually remove them. This is one of the handiest uses for your clothes iron. Cover the dented area with a damp towel or cloth, set your iron to steam and quickly iron over the area while holding in the steam button. After a few minutes, your carpet should be almost as good as new. To finish the job, run a rough object in the opposite direction of the carpet fibres to fluff them up. This is a particularly handy trick if you’re moving house or rearranging your room.

3. Laminate important documents

So, you need to laminate an important document and you don’t have a laminating machine? Don’t go out and spend money buying one, just grab your trusty clothes iron! All you need to do is buy some laminating sheets from an office supplies store or a newsagent (they won’t break the bank), put your document inside the laminating sheet and cover it with a towel. Then, just switch your clothes iron to high, apply some pressure and thoroughly iron over the towel for a few minutes. Turn the laminating sheet and document over, cover it back up with the towel and iron over it again for a few minutes. Try repeating this a few times for maximum effect. The heat from the iron will seal the plastic laminating sheets around the document, just like a laminator!

Read more: Iron your clothes in half the time

4. Get dents out of wood floors and furniture

Dents in your wood floors and furniture can really make them look aged and devalue them. Sometimes, no matter what you try there’s just no fixing the dents. But did you know your clothes iron can help you? Simply dab some water on the dent, put a damp cloth or towel over the top, put your iron on high and iron over the top of the dents in small circles. After a minute or two, your wood will look much better than it did before!

5. Seal the packaging on your food

Say you’ve bought a kilo pack of mince but only use half of it? Well, instead of throwing it out or trying to put it glad wrap or a zip-lock bag, you can actually use your iron to seal packaging. While it might sound complicated, it’s actually quite simple. Push as much air out of the packaging your food comes in, wrap some aluminium foil around the open section and iron over the top of the foil firmly with setting on high. The heat of the iron will melt the plastic packaging together, resealing the packaging. Just make sure you check it every 20 seconds or so, otherwise you could end up getting melted plastic on your food!