Question For Those Who Still Iron.

[chuffle]

While I was doing the weekly ironing this evening, my mind wandered and I began to wonder if anyone here on the forum regularly does their ironing with a vintage iron, and if so, what is used.

The gold (faded color thanks to the camera's flash) General Electric steam and dry iron pictured below is one of three that I regularly use, the other two being the same model, only one is avocado and the other is white. All three were found in thrift stores when I lived in Pittsburgh.

Just curious what other folks use.

Joe

 

[brisnat81]

That is the exact same iron my Grandmother had, except hers was 240v and made in AU.

I occaisionally use some 60's sunbeam steam irons for ironing, but I find that with the trickle of steam it produces, I really need to start with damp shirts to make any impact.

Unless I get to them in time and they're moist, I use my modern high pressure philips.

 

[oldhouseman]

Is that vintage?

I remember that iron new in the store. I have to take a look at mine now. I think they are way older by about 30 years or more.

I bought a Rowenta a few years ago and never looked back. My jeans are ironed by the older 50's and 60's models that are still in operation. I have so many items from the 1700's and 1800's that it's hard to keep track of 20th century stuff now. I need to take stock of the 20th century items now.

Spring cleaning is in order now here in Georgia in a few weeks!

 

[petek]

I try to avoid ironing as much as possible but I have a little collectioni of electric irons.

When I do have to iron though I use my Philips Azure I bought new I'm guessing now in the early mid 90's. Was TOL model then, still works. Last year I bought one of those clearing out Maytag cordless irons.. I have tried it once or twice,it's ok but that's about it..I really just wanted it for the collectibility factor and the box LOL
I'll post some of my collection
The golden Mary Proctor,, looks nicer in person than this pic

 

[petek]

The maytag cordless box

 

[petek]

the maytage cordless iron with the water tank removed.. has a neat carrying case as well.

 

[petek]

the maytage cordless iron with the water tank removed.. has a neat carrying case as well.

 

[sudsman]

I iron everyday

Chicago Flatwork ironer and folder 2000 sheets a day

 

[xraytech]

I regularly do my ironing with a General Electric F-90 steam and dry iron, I used to alternate between that and a Hoover P-4013 self-cleaning steam, spray, and dry iron until I dropped it and broke the handle off.

 

[launderess]

Have Tons of Vintage Irons

And iron all the time.

1 - Proctor "Never Lift" iron
2 - Proctor "Champion" iron
3 - Three Knapp Monarch "flatwork" irons
4 - Mary Proctor Steam and Dry Iron
5 - Hoover Dry Iron (MIB)
6 - Ironrite Portable Ironer (model 890)
7 - Black & Decker "Light n Easy" Steam/Dry Iron (NIB)

Think that pretty much covers the lot.

Mostly iron the old fashioned way, that is damp laundry ironed dry. But do have a "new" Naomoto gravity steam iron used for quick touch-ups or for items that should be steam ironed. Polyester/Cotton blends for instance should be steam ironed, as well as silk. Indeed steam ironing is better for all man-made fibers including Rayon as the steam protects the fiber from the heat of ironing.

 

[rapunzel]

The GE iron in the first post...

was the exact and first iron (in green), that I purchased shortly after arriving in Australia (in 1980). Unfortunately it never worked satisfactorily, leaking water and not getting hot enough, that I ended up buying an American-made Breville iron.

I love the Mary Proctor, isn't it just stunning. I still have an American Beauty iron from the 1940's stashed away somewhere - the one with the red transparent handle. Can't use it here tho, different voltage.

Old-style steam irons like the ones pictured in this thread are very hard to come by now. Especially if one is looking for one that is clean and functional. I've used to scour fleabay, but could only find non-steam GE and Sunbeam irons of that style and vintage (picked up a couple of those as well, including an old Hoover steam iron from the sixties).

My current daily drivers are a digital steam iron and a steam station, both made in China, that I picked up from Aldi at a good price. They both work well and I am pretty satisfied with them. They've replaced a TOL Sunbeam digital steam iron that cost over $100 and only lasted two years.

rapunzel

 

[ronhic]

Nope...

....I like modern irons for their steaming ability....

BUT, I have to say that my Aunt has the same GE pictured at top and still uses it weekly....can't fault the quality, though they were very expensive when new...

 

[rapunzel]

Okay rhonic,

How much or what would it take for your auntie to part with her GE steam iron? Is it still in good nick (clean, functional, everything still works)? I want, need and got to have it!!!

rapunzel

 

[brisnat81]

I know what you mean rapunzel.

We had 3 sunbeam irons in 5 years, all of them would start leaking just outside the warranty period and at $120 a pop that was a lot of money.

We bought the Philips equivielent for around $130 and its electronics failed at 18 months old. Philips replaced it and this one is now 18 months old with no issues.

I've been looking for a GE iron like that and there was an ebayer selling 6 of them about 2 years ago, they wouldnt however ship.

 

[supersuds]

In the US

...new in box "vintage" irons do show up on ebay. I got an unused circa 1968 Westinghouse a few months ago, for a song. It's so nice, I hate to mess it up by using it.

How does the Proctor Never-Lift iron work? I've seen ads but the function of the mechanism isn't clear.

 

[westingman123]

I iron once or twice a week

Being of a certain age, I iron pillow cases, tea towels and dress shirts, of course. I use my iron rite for flat work. Jeans and such get the GE steam/dry iron. I have too many vintage irons to count. For some reason, I like heavy irons. My mama prefers a lighter iron and uses a Kenmore plastic thing that, well, makes me cringe.

 

[ronhic]

I think...

...you would have to pry it out her cold dead hands to be honest....

As for condition, it is very well used and is a 'work horse' rather than a 'show pony'. She has ironed for a family of 6 with it....

I have to say that I have not been bothered with Sunbeam irons - ever. I have only had 3 in the last 16 years...

- 1994 Basic Phillips that I dropped and broke the handle of in 1997...it still worked though
- 1997 Braun Optistyle which my beloved managed to get iron-on hemming tape all over. We still have it and it still works as it should just doesn't quite 'glide' due to the hemming tape issue (grrrr)....it's the back up
- 2004 Braun Optistyle which is working a treat.....

The only one I would swap it for would be a Tefal...though I am not a fan of the 'bottom fill'

 

[alr2903]

You need a good heavy iron for jeans/denims even if its a one time breaking in ironing. I am willing to bet many poster's Mom's got good GE and Sunbeam irons with grocery store trading stamps, but you had to lick alot of them. alr2903

 

[launderess]

Proctor "Never Lift" Irons:

There is a small button at the top of the handle, where the spray knob would be on modern steam irons. One presses the knob and the little stand on the base of the iron pops up.

To iron again, one simply presses down on the iron while tapping a small button at the back of the handle. Sounds more complicated than it really is, and once one has things down, quite second nature.

Vintage GE Steam Iron:

Hate to tell anyone, but a MIB American version of that iron was on eBay a few weeks ago. Stayed up for a few days and was sold as "BIN" for a whopping $35 USD. Was considering bidding on the thing, but as mentioned up thread,don't do enough steam ironing to warrant having the thing.

As for weight of irons:

It was proven and studied years ago that an iron does not have to be heavy, if it has high enough heat. This is why older irons do a really great job. For the most part they get VERY hot, that sort of heat simply isn't safe today, the results of lawsuits regarding children and others being burned, often very badly by those hot electric irons. Three pounds is about the right weight, which in the old days was considered "light". Heavy was four pounds or more.

The heat of older irons is the stuff of cartoons and vintage television shows, where the iron, left down, burns through the ironing, ironing board, then down onto and eventually through the floor. While one has not done any for those things, a very hot Knapp Monarch "flatwork" iron did burn a nice round shaped mark on my wood floor. It was dropped for only a moment at that.

 

[austinado16]

I'm sad to say that I don't have a vintage iron. I do have a 50's era (I think) "Rid-Jid" ironing board with it's original aqua colored cover, and maroon bakelite ironing cord ring.

Guess I'll have to hunt for a cool period iron to go with the board.

Currently using a Norelco E-Z Steam 735s that I bought new from Costco back in about '89.

 

[supersuds]

Thanks for the explanation of the Proctor Never-Lift, Laundress.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Only one vintage iron here

It's a postwar General Mills Tru-Heat dry iron. The soleplate's kind of an oval shape, though it does have a point on the front. On either side is a little flat piece so you rest it on its side rather than on the end. I take it out now and then to iron some "sprinkled" clothes, just to make sure it still works. It "clicks" rapidly when it's on, my OL says it's always done that. Yes, General Mills, the cereal people I'm sure. My OM bought it for my OL as a gift when they were going together. I'm sure she must have at first thought to brain him with it (LOL) but then it was around 1947 when things were still scarce after WW2. My daily driver is a $10 Everstar (Home Depot store brand), still working great after 3 years. Lots o'steam, too.

 

[danemodsandy]

Part of It...

...Seems to be individual preference. I have a vintage GE Shot of Steam iron from around 1970 which is a heavy one, at least four pounds. I prefer it to my modern iron, a Sunbeam. The Sunbeam is very okay, with lots of steam and good heat, but there's just something very satisfying about the weight of the GE, and I fancy it does a better job on toile de Nîmes.

 

[aeoliandave]

One can never have too many irons/toasters/vacuums/mixers/pe

I have a few ready to press into service at any time and do use them in rotation but the Tfal Ultraglide Diffusion upper right is the daily driver mostly. My (some would say) quirky habit is to wear two double pocket cotten shirts layered every single day (as I don't like undershirts or Ts) and they are crisply ironed every morning every day after the shower. It just feels right and puts me in a great mood to start the day - I travel with a vintage folding steam iron on road trips.

Dave

 

[mixfinder]

Ironing Isometrics

Ironing makes my butt suck lemons! Not really, I just needed to find a way to tie in isometrics, yoga of the 60's. Every natural fiber gets ironed at my house. I want an iron as big as a tank with as much steam as Old Faithful. For years I enjoyed the Sunbeam Shot of Steam but when they went the way of Chainsaw Al, I switched to Rowenta. Just a few months ago Consumer Reports rated this Rowenta model as one of the best. I run it on a vintage Mary Proctor ironing table with a folded linen table cloth as the pad. I enjoy every part of home making, especially the tasks that let you use an appliance

 

[mixfinder]

St. Mary Proctor

I search thrift stores and estate sales and snatch everyone I can find for regifting.

 

[mixfinder]

Forget Breakfast in Bed

As I showed earlier, its so much easier to iron the sheets on the bed and not drag them over the ironing table one half at a time. Pictured with a previous iron now residing at my son's house.

 

[danemodsandy]

Kelly:

Just FYI, Sunbeam seems to be back with a more reliable - albeit Chinese-made - product. I have one of their current irons, bought strictly for price when I needed an iron in a hurry, and it has worked out surprisingly well.

I too had a Sunbeam iron or two in the "Chainsaw Al" days, and they were very prone to blowing their Yugo-quality electronics within nanoseconds of the warranty's expiry. And these were sixty-dollar irons.

 

[austinado16]

Ironing sheets...

If you're ironing bedding, you get to have a new appliance! You need to bag yourself an Iron Rite "Mangle" iron. Be sure to get the matching chair!

 

[mixfinder]

Mangled Kenmore

When the kids were in High School and wouldn't be caught dead in jeans that weren't starched and ironed I had a Kenmore Mangle, Lady Kenmore wringer washer and two TOL sets of Maytag one with the blue backsplash and one with tan. The basement looked like a maze as I made lines for indoor hanging as well. If only I knew AWorg then I could have hosted a wash in.