In which DaisyFace falls in love with starch

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

sigh

I should start by saying that I am in no way the World’s Greatest Houskeeper ™. There are, however a few things I do reasonably well, ironing being one of them.

I have this shirt. It’s a fabulous shirt. I own it in two colors (yellow and tan) and wear one or the other of them for work about once a week. They are cotton, button-down shirts. I wash them, I dry them, I even iron them if I need to look presentable. Despite my best efforts, they always look a little - “puckered” I guess is the right word. Not really wrinkled, just not totally crisp, either.

I was at work last week and one of my co-workers walked in to my office with her yellow shirt on. I said, “Hey, your shirt looks so nice! Is it a new one? Mine looks wrinkly, even when I iron it.” She informed me that she has her shirt sent out when she sends her husband’s work shirts out to the cleaners. This made me sad, because I do not have time or funds to send anything out to the cleaners. I feared my shirt would never look crisp and new again.

Not two days later, another co-worker came in wearing her yellow shirt, also looking fresh and new and crisp. I told her about how my shirt always looks just a little wrinkled, and how I didn’t want to send it out to the cleaners. That was when she told me about the spray starch.

I had heard of spray starch, of course. But somehow it had always made me think of old men in baord rooms, who have maids and such, not simple little ol’ me. It also seemed awfully hard to do, what with spraying then ironing, lather, rinse, repeat. I decided to bite the bullet and told my husband to get some spray starch the next time he ordered groceries. He looked at me funny, but did as I asked.

I needed to wear my yellow shirt tonight. It was hanging in my closet, clean, ironed but still a little puckered. I took out the ironing board, read the directions on the spray starch and prepared myself for disaster.

Wow. I love this stuff. I even went and found other stuff to iron just so I could use more spray starch. My shirt looks fresh and new and it’s not all stiff and sticky like I thought. I’m in sartorial heaven! No more slightly rumpled, a little bit wrinkly clothes for me! Too bad it took me so long to get here. If I keep this up, I may be the World’s Greatest Housekeeper ™ yet! (Hmmm…I wonder if the spray starch company needs a spokeswoman…)

So - anybody else use this stuff? Are there pitfalls I just haven’t come across yet? Or am I right in thinking it may just be the greatest invention ever?

2

Hmm, I’ve never used spray starch, but perhaps now I’ll start. I haaaate home irons. If I really really want something to look crisp and gorgeous, I borrow my mother’s five-pound commercial iron (not one of those poofy things they try to sell as commercial irons - the real thing). :smiley:

3

I love spray starch. Until the can falls off the ironing board. And then the nozzle falls off and little tiny tube gets a chip in it…and I can’t put the nozzle back on it. Then the spray starch doesn’t dispense from the can. And I have to buy a new can…This has happened to me more than once, can you tell?
I notice I mostly use it in the summer…more cotton, wrinkle prone clothing then.

4

To make your own, combine a tablespoon of cornstarch and a pint of water in a spray bottle. El Cheapo.

5

Martha, is that you? :smiley:

6

Oooh, cheap starch?? What could be better?

When I used to work at a history museum, I heard about using water that potatoes or pasta had been boiled in as starch for ironing. I didn’t figure I wanted to smell like potatoes or penne, though.

7

My mom using spray starch in the kitchen (hardwood floors) + me as a child wearing socks = me sprawled on the floor.

There’s a perma-slippery spot on the floor wher she irons.

Seriously, that stuff is more slippery than silicone. Be careful! Or, stick socks on everyone’s feet and have some fun.

8

My husband is a startch fanatic! And it’s all my fault. Until a year ago, our ironning board had only been up 2 or 3 times in the past 10 years. I HATE ironing. If something was wrinkled, it got tossed in the dryer. But my husband started wearing uniforms that have to be ironed and startched. I told him I’d teach him how to do it, but then he was on his own. Now he’s hooked. If he only gave me the attention he gives those creases and collars and pocket flaps. :rolleyes:

9

I use sizing, which is a little lighter than starch, but I love it too.

But you gotta use a heavy, really hot iron to get it done right. A little cheapo job just makes the shirts thumb their noses at you and laugh. Except they can’t, because their sleeves arent stiff enough.

We do use starch on jeans for rodeos - man, you could cut yourself on those things. They’ll prop up in the corner all by themselves, which is a good thing, since if you bent them to put on a hanger, they would snap in half. You have to slide your pocketknife down the inside of the legs to put them on.

And then after you wash them with that much starch, better be prepared to take them out of the dryer right away. If they stay in too long, the residual starch glues them into a handy little ball.

10

Boy you have good timing!
I pulled out the ironing board we’ve had for 4 years now for the first time last weekend. I did all the clothes and they didn’t look so hot.
I spent at least a half hour ironing my favorite black shirt.
Now it has freshly ironed wrinkles. You know, vaguely there.
I was wondering if spray starch is what it needed.
I about used all the water out of the iron with it’s spray feature thinking I just needed to steam them out.
Nope.
I am going to buy some right when I get off work.
Thanks!

11

My parents always kept starch around their house, so I decided to use some on my jeans during a visit. Now I starch and iron my jeans whenever I get a chance. It just looks nicer.

12

The words ‘spray starch’ cause me nightmarish flashbacks of military tech school and basic training spending hours and hours ironing and starching crap because the military beleives in appearance over function. Who cares if that shirt is so full of starch no one can wear it? It looks nice perfectly folded in a 6-inch square in a balony-like stack in your locker drawer. I just wasn’t prepared for how retarded the whole thing was…just couldn’t immagine anyone making rules so dumb.

Anyways…I swore off ironing long ago. I’m happy to say my iron probably doesn’t even work anymore, but I really have no idea. :slight_smile: