I know a college professor who’s constantly sporting extremely well-pressed shirts. And I’ve heard him asked on many occasions about his impeccable laundry service. He always wowed his audience by replying that he irons his shirts himself.
Besides looking like a million dollars at all times, he says that this activity lets him unwind at the end of the day. Plus, it saves his time and money, as he doesn’t have to run-off constantly to the laundry. Even on national holidays, or if he has to attend a last-minute event, he can still get a fine wrinkle-free outfit.
Part of my friend’s success at maintaining a glam image comes from the fact that he has the right gear. This is not as easy as it sounds though. He spent quite a bit of time and cash while assimilating his laundry and ironing corner. To save you from the hassle, I compiled a list of the best ironing boards. They were tested, fully assessed, and I’ve only considered the ones with the brightest user reviews.
What Defines a Good Ironing Board?
An ironing board is a perfect surface that lets you press your clothes or other textiles. It’s a modified table that’s designed to make sprucing up garments as easy and comfortable as possible.
The shape of the ironing board hasn’t changed much over the years. However, the features it provides are ever-evolving. And nowadays, the ironing boards cater quite nicely to most domestic requirements.
What Do You Need to Consider Before Buying an Ironing Board?
Every household has special requirements related to their lifestyles and living arrangements. It’s important to specify the typical usage and ironing volume beforehand. Next, there are some considerations that you should check thoroughly before committing to a purchase.
Matching Your Lifestyle
Some houses are spacious while others have limited space. Thus, a full-option board would be a suitable fit for the former, while a foldable or door model would be better for the smaller loft.
Furthermore, a large family with heavy loads of clothes, duvets, and upholstery, would need a bigger and more nuanced board compared to a newlywed couple.
Finally, occasional ironing or craft-related ironing might not need the same set up as household ironing. Thus, a compact, tabletop, or folding ironing board could be an optimal solution. However, if you aren’t limited by the space or budget, you might as well invest in a good quality board. Who knows what the future might hold?
Stability on Different Floor Types
This is absolutely important! Wobbly ironing is extremely annoying, and it’s how you could wrinkle a dress shirt while trying to press it.
The board should stand evenly on the carpet as well as tile or wood. The polished floors are often challenging for boards, but the good ones don’t slide or wobble.
Even with the portable countertop ironing boards, the tiny legs should still maintain a level position. In addition, they shouldn’t sway and slide on the smooth surfaces of the desks, kitchen isles, or tables.
Manufacturers have various methods of ensuring the stability of the board. Among these, is increasing the contact area of the supports, covering them generously with rubber, or converging the angle of the board’s legs.
Adjustable height
People come in all kinds of statures, and it’s exhausting to iron clothes on a board that’s too high or too low. An ergonomic board is thus preferable to the ones with a fixed height.
Another point to consider here is that the adjustment screw that varies the height shouldn’t protrude outwards. And it shouldn’t be sharp. The worst thing is getting the clothes snagged or torn in such a structure.
Ample Width of the Board
This feature alone could cut down the ironing time to a third! This is especially true if you’re often ironing duvets or sheets.
Extension wings are also good to have, as they make ironing T-shirts, and dress shirts much easier. Moreover, padding and a shiny reflective surface further increase the efficiency of your ironing.
A Sturdy Iron stand
An iron stand leaves the whole surface of the board free for the clothes you’re ironing. It needs to be solid though, or else, you wouldn’t be too comfortable leaving your expensive iron on it.
Rugged Frame
The iron stand isn’t the only component that needs to be rugged and durable. Actually, the whole frame should be made from a dependable material. The last thing you need is to see a fractured leg or rust coating the frame.
The material used also affects the total weight of the ironing board. Unlike what some people expect, an extremely lightweight board isn’t optimal, as it would be easy to sway. You need a bit of solid weight on the board. Still not too much, so you can move it with relative ease.
What Are the Benefits of Using an Ironing Board?
A good ironing board could cost around $100, and double that for an exceptional one, yet so many people have an ironing board at their homes. So what would you get in return?
Here are some of the benefits of owning an ironing board.
Availability of Full Laundry Services at Home
Whether you live alone, or in a bustling full household, there’s no escaping the fact that clothes need washing, drying, and ironing. There are only two alternatives here: either you make laundering your clothes part of your weekly schedule or you solicit a laundry service.
Personally, I prefer the first option. Doing all the washing and ironing at home means that I can get my clothes good and ready at any time, there are no off-days. Also, I don’t have to drive all the way to the laundry. Another perk is that doing my ironing at home saves a bundle of cash.
Maintaining an Impeccable Uniform
Working at an airline, going to a school that stipulates wearing a uniform, or serving in the military, are a few examples of occupations where putting on a uniform is mandatory.
The uniform should be extra neat and impeccable. And that would be a bit hard to keep up without having an iron and a board at home.
Having a Glam Look at All Times
Tom Ford says that “Dressing well is a form of good manners”. People who take good care of their image are often treated with respect and friendliness. Looking well-groomed is also a great first impression at professional or social events.
The Perfect Assistant for Sewing or Quilting
Ironing is essential for several crafts, such as quilting or sewing. Naturally, the availability of an ironing board helps in creating more accurate and nicely-finished work.
Our Top 5 Selections of Ironing Boards
Here’s a roundup of the best ironing boards currently in the market. They cover a wide range of features, styles, uses, and price points.
Minky Homecare Ergo Plus Ironing Board
The Minky Ergo Plus provides comfort, functionality, nice aesthetics, and on top of all that, it comes at a budget-friendly price.
If you have a full house with a bunch of kids running around, then doing laundry must be a part of your daily routine. This lifestyle is a blessing, of course, but it also comes with a few inconvenient facts. Like repetitive strain injury, which is a type of muscular fatigue that comes with certain activities.
Ironing could cause real problems if the board isn’t suitable for your body type and movements. That’s where the Minky Ergo Plus excels. Its variable height easily adjusts to your preferred standing position. Also, the placement of the iron stand caters to both left-handed and right-handed folks, and it follows the natural movement of the arms.
Another amazing feature of this board is the heat-reflective Prozone cover. This facilitates the pressing of garments considerably, so you wouldn’t have to spend too much time ironing. The steam generator stand is also a thoughtful accessory, as it keeps the ironing surface free from clutter, and there’s a guiding-clip attached to the board to organize your board fully.
If all the above hasn’t captured your attention yet, this might. The Minky board also comes at a great price, and it has a five-year warranty period, which is a huge plus.
This ironing board is quite popular with thousands of users, and 79% give it the highest rating. There are plenty of happy customers saying that it’s the best one they ever had. And there’s an interesting comment by Sergey who explains that it’s “Very well designed, the extra height adjustment gives my back a rest, as I’m 5′ 11″ tall and like to have the board up high. Also, the way the legs are connected together makes for a very stable base.”.
This ironing board might be a bit much if you don’t use a steam generator. However, you can still use the extra shelf for storing a stack of clothes.
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Read My Full Review Here
Bartnelli Pro Luxury Ironing Board
This luxury board is made for longevity, ease of use, and comfort. It’s particularly well-suited for wooden floors as it would maintain its stability, and wouldn’t leave any scratch marks.
The Bartnelli Pro is made in the EU, so its design and materials follow quite stringent standards of quality. It’s quite durable, and you can count on its serving you for a very long time.
The wide 51 x 19 inches ironing surface of this board helps in getting the job done quickly and easily. The generously thick cover is made from 100% cotton backed by foam, which endures high temperatures, as well as protects your garments. There’s also a metal mesh layer that enhances the flow of steam.
Whether you’re tall, short, or of average height, this ironing board can be adjusted to suit your build. The board height can be set from 30 to 38 inches. It’s also quite easy to set up or fold for storage.
This board has a remarkable approval rate of 84%. One of the content users is Stephanie, and she has taken up ironing only recently for her new sewing hobby. She says “it makes me fantasize about ironing”, which really sums it all up.
The Bartnelli pro is a luxury board, as the name shows, so its hefty price tag doesn’t come as a huge surprise. There’s room for improvement though when it comes to its high-contrast pattern. It could be a bit distracting while ironing. But it’s not a deal-breaker by any means.
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Parker & Company Extra Wide Ironing Board
The Parker & Company board is the best option for ironing shirts. With its extra-wide surface, shoulder wings, and sturdy structure; this board is guaranteed to keep your outfits fully glamorous in a jiffy.
This ironing board is sturdy and large enough for the demands of a large household, or even for industrial uses. Oen of the features that stand out is its frame and supports. As you might expect from such a mighty board, the supports have a large contact area with the floor. So it wouldn’t be skidding or wobbling regardless of the heavy ironing you could be doing.
In addition, the heat-resistant iron stand is solid and spacious. It also has a child-lock in place, so it wouldn’t pose a risk to your kids if you leave it around. Once you’re done you can easily fold it and stow it away.
A good 75% of the users who bought this board rave about how it made their lives easier. Josh, who used to hate ironing, summarizes his experience as follows: “This was the first time in my 26 years that I cracked a smile while ironing. It’s as if the heavens opened up and an angel floated down to gently hold my shirt in place as I pressed it.”
The Parker & Company board is quite large, which means that when it’s folded it would still occupy a sizable volume. This shouldn’t be a huge deal though if you have enough space.
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Homz Durabilt DX1500 Top Ironing Board
The Homz Durabilt is a huge ironing board that’s also steady and strong. If you iron a lot of duvets and sheets, this board should be perfect for getting the job done.
With an ironing surface of around 54 x 15 inches, you can spread any garment fully on this board. It has an iron stand, so you wouldn’t need to take up any of the board’s surface for anything other than the clothes that need pressing.
To keep this extra-long board steady, the front legs can converge to 25 inches. And speaking of adjustable things, the height can be raised up to 39.5 inches. To further facilitate the ironing experience, the cover is made from 100% cotton, with ½ inch padding.
There’s an encouraging number of satisfied users, and around 74% of them awarded it the highest rating, in addition to 13% more who gave it a 4-star rating. Put together, that’s about 87%. Mave’s Mom describes her experience as “ It doesn’t wobble. It doesn’t sink. It doesn’t go lopsided. It is tall enough for me that I don’t get a sore back doing projects.”.
Some parts of this board seem to be a bit flimsy though. But its budget-friendly price plus its other perks more than makeup for it.
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Rowenta IB9100 Pro Ironing Board
The Rowenta board has practicality written all over it. It’s extra-large when it’s opened, extra-small when it’s folded, it has an iron stand with a rack, plus a steam generator support. It even has integrated wheels to offer full mobility.
This ironing board is 54 x 18 inches, which is among the widest you can find. It comes with extra thick padding, so you can push down while pressing your garments, and they wouldn’t stick to the board.
The Rowenta is made in France, so you can count on its quality, and enjoy the brilliant design.
One happy user says enthusiastically, “The larger than normal ironing surface was super helpful with ironing my husband’s “big and tall” shirts and pants. I even ironed a tablecloth pretty easily. Overall, I’m glad I bought it and hope it holds up over time!”
The Rowenta ironing board is quite pricey. But considering all of its features, it’s fair to say that it’s worth the extra cash.
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Read My Full Review Here
Conclusion
Looking neat and put together isn’t just a matter of choosing a nice outfit. True elegance comes with wearing wrinkle-free clothes. This would be hard to maintain unless you have a good ironing board at home.
The best ironing board should provide comfort, stability, and a sufficiently large work surface. The Minky Homecare Ergo Plus Ironing Board easily checks all the boxes. It’s designed to fit your height, standing position, and even the movement of your arms. It has an iron stand plus a steam generator rack. And on top of all that, it comes at an incredible price.
