Maintenance: Wool, Wrinkles and Steam

It takes constant vigilance to keep tailored clothing looking as good as that worn by the late John Russell, the 13th Duke of Bedford and one of the best dressed men of the twentieth century in the opinion of Vanity Fair magazine.

With proper care the natural qualities of wool clothing can be maintained for years. Wool garments should ideally only be dry-cleaned at the end of each season, preferably immediately before storage to remove any dirt that might be attractive to moths. Avoidance of dry cleaning (the chemicals are not wool friendly and accelerate ageing) requires other kinds of care before and after wear.

Once a wool garment is worn, it should be stored on a shaped or padded hanger to rest for at least 24 hours (for worsteds; flannels and tweeds should rest for at least two days). Give it a good brushing, empty the pockets, remove belts and hang with closures zipped or buttoned. Many wrinkles that developed during the wear will fall out of their own accord overnight.

Before wearing the garment the next time, remove remaining wrinkles, and any new ones that developed during storage, with a steamer. Steam relaxes the fibers and, unlike ironing, will not scorch them.

Founded in 1940, Jiffy Steamer is the oldest U.S. manufacturer of steaming equipment for wrinkle removal. According to the company, Jiffy manufactures over 16 fabric steamers and clothes steamer models.

The Jiffy J-2000M Steamer ($189 from the company) is the model the company recommends for home use on clothing. I have one at home and it wipes wrinkles away quickly and easily with a continuous flow of steam. I also pack Jiffy's Esteam travel steamer ($69 from the company) when I'm going on the road. It weighs a few pounds but is much more effective than the irons found in even the best hotels. Turning on the shower in order to fill the bathroom with steam has never successfully removed clothing wrinkles for me and frankly it bothers me to use so much water for so little reward.

Maintenance: The Whirlpool Fabric Freshener

The arsenal of home maintenance devices for classic men's clothing has long included steamers and trouser presses. In recent years we've seen two new additions: the steam press and the Whirlpool fabric freshener (pictured to the left). The steam press, which we may cover in a future post if I am ever bold enough to try ironing one of my shirts, is an iron replacement. The fabric freshener is a form of steamer.

The fabric freshener uses steam to relax wrinkles and some ionization magic to remove odors. Insert two garments and some distilled water, turn it on and come back later. In thirty to fifty minutes, most wrinkles will be gone and your clothes will have an unobjectional clean smell. That's both the good and the bad.

Compared to other products, a Jiffy personal series garment steamer does a better job of wrinkle removal on jackets and an iron does better on shirts. Of course, you have to remove the rumples yourself with the Jiffy or an iron. The Whirlpool lets you do something else while it works.

I use the freshener weekly in warm weather for linen trousers in particular. As you know, the knock on linen trousers is that they wrinkle too badly to wear a second day without pressing. The fabric freshener takes care of that - place two pair in the cabinet, turn it on and walk away for forty minutes. It brings them back to about 80% of pressed, which is to say completely wearable, and there's no longer any hint of cigar smoke.

Closed into its storage position the freshener is about a foot deep and 32" long so it stores in a closet or under a sink. It sets up in less than a minute and at 27 lbs. it's easy enough to handle. $199 direct from Whirlpool.