You may think you're a master of laundry and ironing, especially if you're used to washing and drying dress shirts and other wrinkle-prone materials on a day-to-day basis. However, there might be one teeny-tiny thing you might not have been aware of that will change the way you iron your clothes forever.
If you have your iron nearby, take it out. Have you ever noticed that groove around the edges? You may have seen it and ignored it, assuming it was just part of the product's design. Well, after talking with our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care & Cleaning Lab, we're here to tell you that it actually serves a real purpose — one that's actually so helpful.
“The groove along the edge of your iron's soleplate helps you maneuver around buttons without pressing directly on them,” says Noah Pinsonnault, home care & cleaning reviews analyst in the Good Housekeeping Institute. “This makes it easier to smooth out the fabric surrounding buttons while keeping them clear of the iron's hot surface.”
So if you're dealing with an extra-wrinkly piece of clothing that's creased all the way through (even down to the buttons), you can get as close as you need without damaging them. Pretty clever, right?
If you weren't aware that that groove even existed in the first place, don't worry, you're not alone. When we polled Redditors (yep, we're on Reddit!), many people also didn't know there was a groove. The more you know!
Laura Millar (she/her) is a freelance lifestyle journalist for Good Housekeeping. She holds a degree in Film, TV & Media from the University of Michigan, and was previously the assistant lifestyle editor for GH, where she covered home design. Her byline has appeared in NBC's TODAY.com, PEOPLE, Real Simple, and Business Insider.
