Preparation of the working
area
A height-adjustable chair is useful and
also a flat surface, e.g. a table, to lay
the ironed laundry on.
Make sure the ironer is level and secure
and that it cannot roll sideways.
Place close at hand:
– a basket with the laundry ready for
ironing to the left of the rotary ironer,
–
a surface for the ironed laundry to
the right of the rotary ironer.
Shirts, overalls and blouses etc., should
be hung on coathangers immediately
after ironing.
Small items can be hung over the swing
out bar.
Have some water ready for redamping
the laundry if necessary.
Preparing the laundry
Correct preparation of the laundry is
essential for successful ironing.
Before ironing, the laundry should be:
–
damped down
–
pulled into shape and smoothed out
–
sorted
Damping down
The laundry needs to be sufficiently
damp, so that when it is passed just
once through the rotary ironer at the
correct temperature, it will come out
smooth and dry. Dampen the laundry
as you would for hand ironing,
preferably several hours beforehand so
that the articles achieve a uniform
degree of dampness throughout.
If a tumble dryer is being used, select a
"Machine iron" programme.
Use warm water if preparation time is
short and also to redampen.
More advice on correct dampness
Material Dampness for ironing
Silk wrap in a damp cloth to avoid
water marks
Synthetics e.g.
Dralon, Nylon,
Polyester etc.
slightly damp to dry
Wool
(e.g. trousers)
press under a damp cloth
Cotton slightly damp
Linen quite damp
Before ironing
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