I am in the US military. Although I am not completely “ate up” about my uniform, I pride myself in being “clean, dry, and serviceable”. I press it to keep the collar tamed and the pocket corners from curling up. But I wonder about some of my colleagues. Do they even own an iron? Or a mirror, for that matter?
An iron…a simple contraption, but it sure packs a punch! Everyone who has ever wielded one has been “bitten” by its hot temper at least once. The concept is very basic, yet very successful: the application of heat and pressure flattens surfaces and sharpens edges. This is not a very precise equation, but both components, heat and pressure, are required in some form or fashion.
If the iron is not hot enough, it is completely ineffective. You might as well be sliding a book or a block of iron ore across the fabric. If the iron is not weighty enough, or not enough pressure is applied to the fabric, the heat will just wrinkle the fabric and actually make it worse.
As we have all felt the sting of a hot iron on our skin, we know that applying an iron to an unintended surface can cause damage…sometimes serious damage. Have you ever tried to iron silk with an iron on high and ended up melting it on to the iron? Yeah, that’s a bad day.
Think about the people you work with, your children, yourself…
It takes the right combination of heat and pressure to be adequately effective…not overdone or underdone…but just right. You must know the “material” you are working with to know the right amount of heat and pressure.
I hope that everyone owns an iron and takes the time to learn how to apply it properly.
