Steam press domesticity instead of lobsters
March 28th, 2007
Lobsters haven’t gotten any cheaper in Italy and they are even rarer than before. So what else is luxurious, and do I need it? Domesticity is not my best fit. The only domestic thing I happily do is cook. The rest is just…groan… because you have to You don’t have to iron, not much. Unless you live in Umbria and you’re pootling along minding your own business and then you realize that your bed is wet. Permanently. Everything is wet, especially in winter, because if it isn’t raining it is just humid, and if it isn’t cold the heat doesn’t come on and it stays wet.
Out comes the iron because mildew is not bearable. For one who loves the smell of sheets fresh off the line, it’s torture. Ironing sheets is not the stupidest thing I ever have to do, but it is only a few inches above ironing underwear and socks. Weeks can pass when you can’t hang the clothes outside. If you have a lot of sheets you can have a clean bed, but where to keep the piles of dirty ones? And if the sheets have been stored with the least dampness remaining, they will smell musty while you are putting them on the bed.
In summer things dry very well, but they bake and they’re incredibly wrinkled and rough. Italian dryers are so tiny that even one sheet fills it and they come out wadded up like the used hankies of February. Not nice. Not the least bit as an empress should sleep.
I knew about steam presses because people who sew have them. I used to have a lot of people who sewed for me in my design work. They had them. I didn’t. Then I saw a late night TV ad for an expensive Swiss steam press and I looked it up on the internet. OVER $1000! Fuggedaboudit! But as little as I care for the domestic disciplines I kept wondering, “Does everybody pay so much for that?” An agriturismo owner told me he had one because they couldn’t turn the apartments over without it, or having the sheets professionally laundered at €8 per bed per week. With about sixteen beds, it wouldn’t take long to pay for even the pricey one. I only have four beds, but in an effort to be ecologically sensitive, I use cloth napkins, place mats and tablecloths, as well as small guest towels that aren’t as heavy to wash as terry cloth, or what is called spugna here.
As a former Olympic non-ironer, I didn’t always, OK, I seldom ironed those things, but that meant they were often damp, too. I went online and searched using words I supposed meant steam press. Surprise! After only a few tries I discovered that they don’t all cost a lot of money! People iron in Italy– bella figura and all that– plus the dampness. They often spend large amounts of money on irons with tanks that sit on the floor. But you still have to iron with those.
About two weeks ago I bought this. Now I can’t figure out what took me so long. It’s just about perfect for someone who despises ironing. I haven’t yet started to learn how to do difficult things, and I expect I will once in a while have to use a regular iron for a ruffle on a sham or something small and fluffy, but I’ve spent a total of maybe 2.5 hours in 3 tries and everything flat and easy is ironed. All my wool trousers are pressed and properly creased. My T shirts are in shock, because they have never even seen an iron before. My version of that is that I press them from the inside with my hot body.
It takes less than a half hour to press a top sheet, two shams and three pillowcases for my bed. It took perhaps an hour to do dozens of napkins and placemats. Big tablecloths took a little folding and planning, but every single one is pressed and ready to use. The steam released is so pervasive and strong that you don’t need to sprinkle, as a matter oif fact, dry things iron better than damp ones. So far it isn’t even boring, because I am learning. I’m looking for things to iron! I’ve either gone off my rocker, or this thing is so easy and pleasant that ironing is, dare I say, a little fun?
If you tell anyone who knows me they’ll never believe you anyway, because I proudly announce that it has been four months since I ironed. I want to be Janis Joplin, not June Cleaver.
I like to live well, I just don’t like the work that goes into it. Now if it would only wash the cooking pots.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized, Italy, Fashion, kitchen stuff
18 Comments Add your own
1. eg | March 28th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Come iron here! Now! Please!
I have piles of stuff that you could iron and I haven’t even gotten out the summer sheets yet….
2. Judith | March 28th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
You do not have 240V 50 cycles electricity. My machine and I are confined to the above.
3. Janice | March 28th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
I have a steam press - love it. Since Americans are paying more and more attention to the laundry room (translation - upscale appliances, sinks and cabinetry) when remodeling or building a new home, I think presses and that super thing that Martha Stewart uses will become very popular.
I wish I could think of that machine Martha has in one if not all of her homes - you sit in a chair and run your linens through it. If I had room, I might be tempted.
4. Janice | March 28th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
OK, sorry for the mental pause, the machine is called a mangle.
5. Judith | March 28th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Martha! They call me Not-Martha. Italians don’t because they haven’t a clue who she is.
Anyway, you are Janice and she is my role model. Except I don’t like Southern Comfort or drugs. So I will be Healthy Janice.
I am having a hard time storing this little thing. A mangle would have to replace something important, like a sofa or a bed.
6. Lynnegh | March 28th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
This little gem may make it possible for me to once again enjoy one of life’s finest little luxuries, the lightly starched and ironed bedsheet! Those of you in more northerly climes might not appreciate this much, but in the tropics, it’s HEAVEN!
Hmmm - I wonder if it gets hot enough to do good quality transfers??? I guess I’ll be finding out.
7. Lynnegh | March 28th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
PS - I will, at some point, I’m sure, recover from the thought of you being so domestic.
8. Judith | March 28th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Lynn, I find it doesn’t need starch. If you give it a lot of steam and then hold it down to really dry it, it looks starched. My tablecloths all look as crisp as can be.
There were slightly cheaper versions, but this price level seemed to be where all the sewers were buying. The heat goes up to linen, that’s pretty hot.
9. eg | March 28th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I’ll make whatever mods are necessary.
10. Judith | March 28th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Just click through and buy the press, dear, then we can talk on the phone while doing mother and daughter pressing. Isn’t that the sweetest thing you ever heard?
11. Janice | March 28th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
OK, healthy Janice again. And by the way, I hate Southern Comfort. Bourbon and branch (water? Now hat’s another story.
I know, I know. The mangle is overkill. I suppose Martha had to get one because us regular folk are getting steam presses now.
I do agree about the starch - no longer necessary though I occasionally use some sizing on linens with stubborn wrinkles. The steam and weight of the press do work wonders and quickly.
I also should give credit to my husband - it was his idea to buy the thing. He does his own clothes so I couldn’t argue. So, he was right - once.
12. Judith | March 28th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
They didn’t throw a man in with mine. Now I’m really mad.
13. Leolalee | March 29th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I am almost tempted to try this thing. I have a home steamer (not the little hand model) and do most of my ironing that way. I do use the regular iron if I sew, which is very seldom any more.
I loved your mother daughter comment!!
14. nicki | March 30th, 2007 at 10:40 am
My Dad has one of those and is a complete iron fanatic. He irons absolutely everything he can get his hands on, including tights, knickers and towels. He actually gets offended if anyone else tries to do the ironing!(Which of course is fine by me!)
15. eg | March 30th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I’d just as soon leave the ironing to you. You do seem to be having so much fun, I’d hate to take that away from you.
16. Judith | April 3rd, 2007 at 6:41 am
I find myself wondering if an ironing woman should seek an ironing man, or if there would be too much squabbling about who got to iron. It might be better to keep it to one per household. OTH, I do not see me doing tights, knickers or any towels but flat ones. Now I am wondering if steam pressing wool clothes before storing would kill moth eggs as dry cleaning does?
17. Dorte | April 4th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Hi! I enjoyed that! My sheets and towels have never been ironed either. Cant believe beautiful Italy is damper than here! Dorte
18. Judith | April 4th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Norway is so cold that all the humidity turns to ice. Even one’s nose hairs turn to ice. Frozen and wind whipped sheets are soft and unwrinkled. There is the advantage to Oslo over Umbria!
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