Best Ironing Boards
Buy the best best ironing boards selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
Ironing is one of the most essential things we have to do every day and getting a sturdy high-quality ironing board makes the job easy for you. People are conscious about how they look. Whether you are getting ready for a meeting or a date with someone, you want to go out with a nicely ironed shirt or blouse. Wrinkled clothes can be embarrassing but with a quality ironing board, you won’t have to worry about that anymore. Ironing boards ensure you can reach all corners of the fabric without straining too much.
Best Ironing Boards
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
The right ironing board can be the difference between a tedious chore and a quick-and-easy household activity – and that's a lot!
Since an ironing board is a household essential, there are certain important features you'll need to consider when choosing the one that would best suit your needs. These features may include fabrics, ironing board cabinets, and other significant characteristics.
This guide will help you narrow down your choices from convenient board designs to board sizes. Choosing an ironing board may not seem like a big deal to some. However, purchasing the right one can help in terms of productivity and efficacy.
Ironing boards come in various models. Before picking one specific design, you need to figure out whether you're looking for an ironing board that will be placed in a fixed position or one that is movable.
Popular portable ironing board models include:
- Wide Steel Top Freestanding: wide top, silver steel frame, 4-leg support system, iron rest, adjustable hanger bar, and soft padding to prevent wrinkles or imprints. This ironing board is steady and its features support the circulation of heat and steam.
- Deluxe Freestanding: modern design with an iron rest, adjustable height, cotton cover and fiber pad, sweater shelf, and steel leg frame. Useful for those who want to stack their clothes nearby.
- Freestanding ironing board: classic style with iron rest, occasional and heavy-duty use, compact, full size and tabletop. This design is suitable for those with little space.
Alternatively, you can also choose a space-saving over-the-door ironing board. These models are also portable, allowing you to hang them on different doors. However, they are not appropriate for heavy-duty ironing. Moreover, tabletop ironing boards are convenient for those with smaller rooms.
Those who want their ironing board in a fixed position should have a built-in unit or an ironing board cabinet. These types of ironing boards look neater. Some common built-in ironing board models include:
Stowaway In-Wall Built-in ironing board: easy to use, ironing board stays out of sight when closed, ironing board cabinet has two shelves, heat resistant barrier, adjustable height, ironing board can rotate 180°.
Premium Electric Ironing Center: an electrical model with outlet and safety disconnect switch, motor timer, extra storage shelves, ventilated top.
The ironing board's size is an important feature you should consider. For instance, you'll need a longer and wider ironing board when occasionally ironing men's slacks and suits.
Because of their small size, tabletop ironing boards can easily fit on top of a table. Common measures are 39 inches long and 12 inches wide. This size is favorable for small apartments and dorm rooms. Shorter ironing boards are appropriate for smaller sized clothes.
Medium ironing boards typically measure 48.8 x 15 inches. These are ideal for medium-sized families with few varieties of clothing sizes. Medium boards can also handle steam and normal irons and have adjustable height features.
Those with large families usually opt for large ironing boards. A 48.8 x 17.7 inches ironing board is ideal for heavy ironing needs. These larger boards offer more ironing options than smaller ones.
A thick and resilient ironing pad has a good cushion and can absorb steam overflow.
Ironing board pads are typically made of felt with a thickness of 4 mm to 8mm. The thicker the better. Thick fiber pads last longer.
A good board pad has vent holes on the surface. This allows steam to get in and out.
Ironing board covers are all made of different fabrics, such as muslin, silicone, cotton, and Teflon. However, not all fabrics are durable and robust.
Muslin ironing board covers are soft and permeable. They can easily be cleaned in the washer.
Silicone covers reflect heat, resulting in faster ironing. These ironing board covers are stain-resistant and smooth. However, they are not suitable for washing machines. When cleaning, wipe it with a damp sponge.
Metallic fabric covers prevent clothes from sticking.
Cotton and Teflon are known for not getting scorched and being heat, water, and stain-resistant. These fabrics can resist a temperature of more than 250°C and don't need to be cleaned a lot.
To get the most out of an ironing board, make sure you pick special features that target your specific needs.
Common ironing board features include sleeve boards (for ironing sleeves), iron rests (a safe place to set the iron down), and clothes racks (for hanging clothes).
Retractable shoulder wings allow you to iron shoulder areas easier and more effectively.
Modern iron boards include a 360° rotation feature. This allows you to iron both sides of the clothes without adjusting it.
A heated surface keeps your ironing board dry.
- Pick an ironing board with an adjustable height if more than one person will use it. You can lower and raise as desired, based on the user's height. Adjustable height generally ranges from 28 to 36 inches.
- Choose one with a sturdy frame for more stability and security when ironing.
- Lightweight ironing boards are easier to set up and fold down. These require less effort to move from one room to another.
- Clothes do not stick to boards with non-stick covers.
- An ironing board should be set at the user's hip level when standing.
- Choose a portable ironing board with adjustable height if you stand and sit while ironing.