It’s impossible to make a good impression if your dress shirt is wrinkled. No matter how stylish you look otherwise, everyone will zone in on those wrinkles. Then you can’t wait to go home, throw off your shirt, and put on something else. Fortunately, you can put your best look forward by learning how to iron your dress shirts. First, find out how to dry your dress shirt to minimize wrinkles. Then get the details for ironing your shirt so you’ll be ready to head to work or attend your next event. Finally, discover how you can skip this chore with help from an NJ laundry service.

Air Dry Your Shirt or Use a Pickup Laundry Service in New Jersey

Did you know that putting your dress shirts in the dryer can make the wrinkles set into the fabric? That’s why it’s so hard to get a freshly pressed look when wearing these shirts. Thus, you need to skip the dryer and hang your shirts up.

First, listen for the washing cycle to end. Then take your shirt out at that very moment before it accumulates creases. Once out of the dryer, you can place it on a flat surface or hang it up to dry.

If you don’t have the time or patience for this, you can search for “laundry service pickup and delivery near me.” Then the professionals will launder and air dry your dress shirts. Plus, they can handle the ironing, so your shirts will be ready to wear once you get them back.

Read the Care Instructions

Once your shirt is dry, you will almost be ready to iron it. First, though, check the tag to read the care instructions. You will see an icon that looks like an iron, with some dots inside it. This might be challenging for the untrained eye to discern, but it lets you know what setting to put the iron on when pressing your shirt.

If you see a single dot inside the iron icon, you need to use the lowest heat setting when ironing your shirt. This is because the shirt is made of synthetic material. However, increase it to medium heat if you see two dots inside the iron. The two dots indicate the shirt is made of wool or silk, explaining the higher setting. Linen and cotton shirts have three dots inside of the iron icon and require the highest heat setting when ironing. Also, you will need to use steam when ironing this type of shirt unless instructed otherwise. You’ll know not to use steam if the steam symbol is crossed out on the label.

Additionally, some shirts have an X through the iron icon. You cannot iron such a shirt. However, an NJ laundry service can clean it and get it back to you without a wrinkle in sight.

Apply Starch

While you can skip this step, applying some starch will make your shirt easier to iron. Plus, it will help you get the crisp look you’re going for, so this is important.

However, you need to have a light hand when applying starch. If you use too much, it can harm the fabric. Then you’ll have to replace your shirts sooner than you’d like.

Thus, lightly spray some starch on the shirt in sections. Start with the collar since it’s the first section you’ll iron. Let the starch soak in for 30 seconds, and then iron that area. You will continue to do this section by section.

Iron the Collar First or Use “Laundry Service Pickup and Delivery Near Me”

If you’re unsure if you can handle this task, you can hand your shirts off to an NJ laundry service. Otherwise, you will start ironing at the collar. First, iron the back of it, moving to the center of the collar with each stroke. This technique is essential since it prevents creases from setting into the fabric.

Iron the Cuffs

After the collar is wrinkle-free, it’ll be time to tackle the cuffs. First, flatten the cuffs out, or you will create hard-to-iron creases. Then move your iron along the cuffs to press them.

Iron the Sleeves or Use an NJ Laundry Service

This might come as a surprise, but the sleeves pose the biggest challenge when pressing a dress shirt. First, you need to find the seam on the sleeves and flatten it against the ironing board. Next, make sure you spread the material out so nothing is bunched up on the ironing board. If you fail to do this, you will create creases up and down the sleeves. Then you can iron the sleeves.

This is where many people get frustrated, so they end up searching for “laundry service pickup and delivery near me.” If you find yourself ironing in the creases instead of getting rid of them, a laundry service can pick up your shirt and finish the job for you.

Iron the Rest of the Shirt

If you manage to conquer the sleeves, iron the back of the shirt, followed by the button row. Finally, you can finish the job by ironing the front of the shirt.

Let a Pickup Laundry Service in New Jersey Handle the Chore for You

As you can see, ironing a dress shirt isn’t exactly easy. You have to move from section to section, and using the wrong technique will cause deep creases to develop and set into the material. That means you can spend the better part of an afternoon trying to make your dress shirts look crisp.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to this problem. Instead of tackling the chore yourself, outsource it to a local laundry service. The laundry service can do it all, from picking up your shirts to washing and pressing them. By the time you get your shirts back, they’ll be ready to go into the closet.

First, set up an account with an NJ laundry service. Then schedule the pickup and get your shirts ready to hand to the valet. Don’t forget that you can toss other items in the laundry bag for the valet, too.

Then the valet will drop off the shirts and let the professionals get to work. You can enjoy some free time, and you’ll have beautifully pressed dress shirts back in no time.

Sources:

https://tidecleaners.com/en-us/blog/Dress-Shirts-A-Laundry-Care-Guide

https://tidecleaners.com/en-us/blog/How-to-Iron-a-Dress-Shirt

https://www.artofmanliness.com/style/clothing/how-to-iron-shirt/

https://www.thelaundress.com/clean-talk-blog/how-to/how-to-iron-dress-shirts-and-pants.html

https://cleaning.lovetoknow.com/laundry-tips/how-starch-shirt-at-home-dry-cleaned-effect