Until the first half of the 20th century, ironing was a difficult and dangerous process, because the housewives had to heat heavy metal irons for the fire. The appearance of the electric iron simplified this process, but it still remained rather laborious. Finally, by the 21st century, automation has reached this area of life, so it’s worth considering how to choose and how to use the ironing dummy correctly, as well as what feedback the owners of this device leave.
Features
The ironing dummy is generally an inflatable polyurethane doll in the form of a certain piece of clothing (usually a shirt or trousers) with a device connected to it for forcing and heating the air. The principle of operation of the ironing dummy is that the clothes worn on him immediately after washing are first straightened with the help of a stream of air, and then dried and ironed.
To do this, the air in the inflatable element is gradually heated according to a pre-set mode, which is usually selected in accordance with the clothing material. For ironing with steam, such devices may have a built-in or external steamer, however, its presence is not necessary - clothes are quite well smoothed when interacting with only the heated surface of an inflatable element.
The use of an inflatable, rather than a solid dummy in such devices allows it to be used for both men's and women's shirts and trousers, as well as to iron products of various sizes. The quality of ironing with the help of such systems is comparable to manual ironing with steam electric iron.
First of all, such devices are used in dry cleaners, ateliers and laundries, however, recently manufacturers are trying to gain a place in the market of household goods.
Varieties
Currently all available on the market Ironing mannequins can be divided into the following categories according to their purpose:
- home appliances;
- semi-professional mannequins;
- professional complexes;
- industrial inflatable steamers.
Household appliances are characterized by relatively low power and, accordingly, performance. For 1 hour, such a device can stroke about four shirts. Semi-professional and professional models are characterized by an increased speed of the process, due to which about 6 and 8 products can be stroked per hour, respectively. Industrial complexes are intended for use only in equipped workshops, and their operation must be carried out by qualified personnel.
Manufacturers
Products manufactured by the Italian company EOLO Elettrodomestici, which produces the whole range of dummies - from cheap residential to industrial complexes, are widely distributed on the Russian market. Of the Russian firms, the Vyazma engineering plant, which manufactures them under the Vyazma brand, manufactures inflatable devices for ironing. The plant produces mainly semi-industrial complexes for steaming clothes. In the segment of cheap home appliances, the Italian company Pony and the Chinese company Termaxi are represented.
Equipment
The scope of delivery of the devices usually includes:
- a base (in which a heater, a control unit and a fan are usually located);
- mount for inflatable parts;
- a set of accessories for fastening clothes;
- Inflatable element for ironing shirts;
- inflatable doll for trouser ironing;
- auxiliary elements for stretching individual items of clothing (cuffs, bottom of shirts, collars).
Moreover, if almost all household models incorporate dolls for trousers and shirts at the same time, professional options are often supplied with one fixed inflatable piece, which allows you to iron only one type of clothing. This is due to the fact that professional devices are often included in the continuous technical process of the atelier, laundry or other business, and the loss of time to replace the doll, in terms of production volumes, will be irrational.
Floor models are additionally equipped with a crosspiece, which often has wheels. Often this part is equipped with a pneumatic control (gas lift), which allows you to set a comfortable height of the product. Optionally semi-professional and professional devices can be completed with steam generators.
Industrial plants have a similar configuration, however, they necessarily include either a built-in steam generator or connectors for connecting an external steam generator.
Benefits
The main advantage of ironing mannequins is a significant reduction in the volume of physical labor and the time that must be given to ironing clothes. For manual ironing, the hostess has to:
- lay the ironing board;
- adjust iron;
- to carry out a long ironing from the inside and the front side;
- disassemble the board;
- let the iron cool.
The use of the dummy requires the hostess to only install clothes on an inflatable doll, select the mode and remove the clothes after the process is completed. The rest of the ironing on the dummy is automatic, at this time you can safely do other things or relax, only occasionally straightening clothes. In the case of continuous production, mannequins become almost indispensable, because their use can significantly reduce the number of ironing staff.
Ironing clothes on the mannequins can be immediately after washing and spinning, they need not be dried before. Another important advantage of such devices is their significantly greater safety both for fabric and low-melting items of clothing (for example, buttons), and for the hostess — after all, their surface does not have hot elements, which means that the risk of getting burned disappears. At the same time, the cost of electricity when using household models do not exceed the energy consumption for ironing with the help of an iron - after all, their power (about 1.5 kW) is comparable to the power of popular electric irons.
disadvantages
The main disadvantage of these devices is their relatively high cost - household models cost from 70 to 200 thousand rubles, and professional devices will cost between 200 and 300 thousand rubles. Industrial steam automat so far have many shortcomings that are not typical for household models:
- very high cost;
- high power consumption;
- the need for installation of ventilation, connection to the water supply system and the power supply network of 380 V;
- danger to personnel (steam has a temperature greater than 100 ° C).
Using
Ironing using a dummy is carried out in the following sequence. Place the clothes on an inflatable doll and fasten it with clasps. Turn on the inflation mode and wait for the inflatable element to stretch the clothes. Use additional fasteners to evenly stretch the front and back of your shirt or pants. Turn on the heating mode on the device. After waiting for the end of the process (usually a signal is given), be sure to switch the equipment for 30 seconds to the cold air supply mode. Unplug the dummy and take off his clothes. When ironing shirts, make sure that the cuffs and collar are tight.
Perspectives
The universal ironing robot created by the American firm FoldiMate will help to further reduce the time and effort. The dimensions of the device slightly exceed the dimensions of the washing machine, while up to 20 shirts or trousers can be simultaneously loaded into it.
On steam ironing and the subsequent folding of each of the items of clothing this machine takes up to 1 minute.
Reviews
Most home appliance owners say that using them saves a significant amount of time. Separately, the authors of the reviews say that you can iron the shirts on the mannequin immediately after washing, which allows you to completely eliminate the procedure of drying clothes. Of the shortcomings of some models, the owners say a high noise level when inflating the doll. Owners of devices with a capacity of less than 1.5 kW mention that they do not provide a sufficient level of smoothing products made from dense or natural fabrics.
An overview of the ironing dummy, see the video below.
