8 Ways to Smooth Out Wrinkled Clothes Without an Iron

Sometimes an iron can break down at the most inconvenient moment, other times it’s simply not there when you urgently need to remove wrinkles from clothes. Moreover, there are fabrics that can be ruined by hot temperatures but at the same time, they still require ironing.

An important note: There are materials that manufacturers don’t recommend washing, pressing, or exposing to water or high temperatures. The methods described in the article shouldn’t be used with clothes made of these fabrics.

We at 5-Minute Crafts offer 8 simple methods for how to un-crease your clothes without an iron or steamer.

Method #1: Spraying with water and fabric softener

Take a spray bottle. Pour 500 ml of cold water and 1-2 tbsp of fabric softener. Shake well. Spray this composition on the item you need to remove wrinkles from and iron it with your hands, smoothing out the folds. Afterward, repeat the actions on the front side. After a couple of seconds, the fabric will become soft and nice to the touch and the wrinkles will disappear.

An important note: The efficiency of this method depends on the composition of the fabric softener. If 2 tbsp is not enough, you can double it.

This method will help you remove the wrinkles and slight creases on delicate fabrics like natural silk and wool, without damaging them.

Advice: You can pour the agent into a small bottle to always carry it with you to be able to remove wrinkles on your clothes within seconds. To do this, you don’t need to take off the clothing item — you can simply spray the agent right on the clothes as you are wearing them.

Method #2: Hairdryer and water

Pour water into a spray bottle. Slightly spray the clothes, paying special attention to the areas with heavy creases. Then stretch the material slightly, rubbing it with your hands. Afterward, dry the item with a hairdryer.

An important note: If you are dealing with cotton, you can use hot air but for delicate fabrics, you should only use a cold method.

Method #3: Hair straightener

Turn on a hair straightener. Wipe its surface with a paper towel or an ordinary towel. Let it heat up and use it as a small iron by pressing the fabric between the tips of the hair straightener for several seconds and later sliding it along the area of clothing that needs to be smoothed out.

Advice: A hair straightener can heat up to high temperatures and it will easily un-crease cotton and linen shirts, as well as jeans. But it won’t work with thin and delicate fabrics because it can burn and ruin them.

Method #4: Hot shower

In this case, you can combine smoothing out clothes and taking a shower. Turn on the hot water. Hang the garment on a hanger and secure it to the wall of the shower stall or curtain holder so that the steam from the hot water gets on it and smooths out the creases. Leave it there for 10-15 minutes, then dry it in another room or with a hairdryer.

You might require more time for smoothing out linen or denim. The process can be accelerated if before hanging the clothes in the shower, you mix 500 ml of water and 2-3 tbsp of hair conditioner in a bottle and then spray this mixture to the clothing item.

Method #5: With the help of a tumble dryer

If you have a tumble dryer, try putting your clothes in it, adding a couple of ice cubes, and running a high heat dry cycle for 10 minutes. As the ice melts and the steam builds up, your clothes will lose their wrinkles.

An important note: Make sure to first check the clothing tag because not all materials can be exposed to high temperatures and tumble-dried.

Method #6: Wet towel

Put a towel on a horizontal surface. Wet it slightly. To do this, spray it a bit with cold water. Place the garment that has wrinkles over it. Press it with your hands. Then cover it with another slightly wet (with cold water) towel. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Afterward, take out the garment and shake it strongly several times, then let it dry for 5-10 minutes.

This method will also be suitable for smoothing out delicate fabrics and wool clothing.

Method #7: A pot with water or a kettle

Pour water into a pot with a clean flat bottom and bring it to a boil. Put the clothing item that has wrinkles out on a board and then iron it out by using the pot with hot water as an iron.

Instead of the pot, you could also use an ordinary kettle. Pour some water into it, bring it to a boil, remove it from the fire, and put it on the table. Now you can use it as a steamer to smooth out the clothes by holding a garment over the kettle’s tip where the steam comes from.

You can also iron the main part of the material with a pot and remove deep wrinkles with the help of steam. This method works well for cotton and linen but can ruin delicate materials like wool, silk, and synthetics.

Method #8: With ice cubes and a dryer

Place your t-shirt inside the dryer, along with a couple of ice cubes. Then, make sure you have the high heat function on, and start the dryer.

Leave it tumbling for 5 minutes. The ice will melt and dampen the shirt, and the dryer’s heat will make sure your t-shirt is dry. It may not be as effective as ironing, but the majority of the wrinkles will disappear.