Legal Writing

Difference between ?Pressing? and ?Ironing?

By Maeve Maddox

Sridhar Nyapathi asks

What is the difference between pressing clothes and ironing clothes?

To me, in a domestic context, “ironing” clothes requires more preparation than “pressing” them.

If I’m getting ready to go out and discover that my clean clothing is slightly wrinkled, I’ll heat the iron and make a quick pass to smooth the fabric. I call that pressing.

If, on the other hand, I’ve failed to remove my clothes from the dryer quickly enough to prevent wrinkling, I’ll sprinkle and roll them and fill the steam iron in order to smooth out the deepset wrinkles. I call that ironing. (Actually, I’d probably just wash them again and make sure to stop the dryer in time.)

In a commercial context, the word pressing is the word used to describe the process of getting out wrinkles.

Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on June 04, 2010 (boomark / email).