View from my ironing board.

This morning’s fog disappeared and by noon the day turned warm, sunny and ever so pleasant. The kind of day I just had to be outside. Let’s see. Weed the garden: too wet. Clean the garage: my stepson cleaned the garage a week ago (thank you, thank you!). Sweep the front steps and walkway: the dogs already slurped up all the dried earthworms littering the pavement. 

What to do: iron outside

… and test out my new starches. I have been gathering up various starches from my local grocery to test if my old starch was just an old starch and to see what is new on the market. Once a week I spend several hours ironing by the back downstairs’ window or preferably outside on the back porch … my shirts and pants, my husband’s, his handkerchiefs, cloth napkins and the occasional table cloth. I will talk about my fabulous ironing board cover and my simple little iron and my portable clothes hanger and … another time. I love to iron. And today the tree swallows were swooping and diving and the red-winged blackbirds and meadowlarks were singing and twittering the whole time I ironed.

Almost all of our machine washable items are cotton or a cotton/linen blend. Wonderful, I can starch everything. Not so fast, some of these items are also treated to make them wrinkle resistant. I am just not too keen on this treated fabric. To me this fabric does not breathe. These treated fabrics have evolved over the years – they use to stain horribly but now they do wash up better. Unfortunately starching these treated fabrics is not an option even though the label may say 100% cotton. Yes, they may be ironed but not starched.

Why starch?

• adds body and crispness to fabric
• depending on how much starch you use it can add a glossy finish
• keeps clothes cleaner since a smooth, starched surface tends to slough off dirt
• makes ironing easier (sometimes)

Rules for starching

• Starch only untreated cotton, linen and rayon fabrics. If you want to stiffen the fabric on a synthetic or blended fabric use sizing which is not as stiff as starch and can be ironed at a lower temperature.
• After ironing (starching or not) hang the item up where it can dry thoroughly (so, so important). I have a portable rack (I love it) that moves all over the laundry room, basement and even outdoors. A couple of hours of ironing and this rack is full but not packed (that would be 32″ of hanging space and about 15 or so items). Do not stuff these items back into the closet damp or dry. Do check out my Time to Clean the Nest series if your closets are still too full.

Here are the starches I tried over several washings from least to most favorite. 

• Magic Premium Starch with Fibrenhancer (surrounds and enhances fibers) by Faultless Starch Company, Juniper aromatherapy fresh scent, aerosol can.
  Contains: Water, Propellant, Patented Film Former, Ironing Aids, Quality Control Agents, Fragrance.
  Directions: Use with adequate ventilation.

This starch was sprayed on a dry cotton/linen blend shirt and a damp oxford shirt with the iron set to “cotton” and “dry.” The fragrance is sweet and cloying and lingers well beyond the first day. I could smell the starched shirt just walking into the laundry the next morning. Even though the starch sprayed and covered evenly I still had starch all over the ironing board cover and the floor.

The directions recommend spraying a section at a time. If the garment were damp I would spray the whole item. In order to starch a dry item I needed to spray the area thoroughly (almost saturated) which makes it difficult to completely iron dry the fabric without over ironing. The spray can is heavy (20 oz.), needs to be shaken before each use and when the starch drips on your hand (it most definitely will drip) the can quickly turns slippery. I wrapped a large rubber band around the can to make it easier to handle.

I will finish off the can, recycle it and not buy this product again.

• Niagara Original Spray Starch by Phoenix Brands, aerosol can.
  Directions: After use, remove push button and rinse in warm water to prevent clogging.

This is my old stand by. I remove damp shirts from the washing machine and hang them on hangers and spray all over with this starch. If the weather allows I take the whole rack of damp shirts outside and spray away. I also iron these shirts while slightly damp.

Two drawbacks: 1. Spraying starch inside the home. Do I really want a slick basement floor let alone a carpet or tile floor covered with starch? 2. What are the ingredients in this product? I searched online (the can gives no clue) and now I am wondering if I want to use a product that does not freely give out it ingredients. Doe anyone know what is in this product? 

• Niagara non-aerosol bottle.
  Number 2 HDPE plastic bottle with nozzle.

Because the spray is uneven I needed to spray more starch which left the fabric saturated in some spots unless I ironed over and over (I do not like to over dry while ironing). The cotton/linen shirt I ironed was fairly damp when I finished and did not look professional.

The “cotton” setting caused the iron to stick on a cotton/linen shirt. The fresh linen scent does dissipate. The nozzle drips slightly after each use but the bottle was easy to hold and spray. Ditto number 2 for ingredients. No list that I could find.

• Easy On Speed Starch Crisp Linen Scent, aerosol can.
  Contains Isobutane, 2-Hyroxyethyl Ether Starch.
  Directions: After use, remove push button and rinse in warm water to prevent clogging.

The clean fragrance dissipates quickly. The spray can is narrow and has a slick finish – if any starch drips on your hand (it will, every time you spray) the can quickly turns slippery. I wrapped a large rubber band around the can to make it easier to handle.

I found it difficult to spray an unironed area on the dry oxford shirt without spraying an already starched section. Of all the starches this one left a slight sheen.

• Linit Starch Crisp Classic Finish concentrated liquid, 64 oz (per label equal to 7 aerosol cans).
  Contains: Water, Corn Starch, Borax, Fragrance, Preservative, Processing and Ironing Agents.
  Number 2 HDPE plastic bottle, non recyclable cap.

If I have a whole laundry load of starchable items I run them through the regular washing cycle. I add an additional rinse cycle (just enough water to cover the items) with about 1.5 cups of this liquid starch (don’t forget to shake). I pull the items out after the spin dry, give a good snap to each item and hang on hangers. If the day allows I can iron these outside within an hour or leave the damp items hanging until the next morning and iron.

I do not leave dirty clothes (especially shirts with sweat and deodorant) to sit and pile up until I have a load for ironing. Instead, I wash as usual, hang the items up damp to air dry and when I have a full load I run them all through the rinse cycle (on warm) with the starch.

Benefits: My clothes are starched evenly and using a “dry” setting on my iron they iron easily. No lingering smell. No starch spray everywhere and an uncluttered ironing board.

Think I found my new starch … as soon as I use up all the other ones.

What is your favorite laundry starch?

Delightfully yours,

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