I Tried 6 Ways to Get Wrinkles Out of Clothes and Discovered 2 Clear Winners

I rarely have to iron anything these days, but that doesn’t mean I don’t deal with wrinkles in my house. Whether it’s a dress that’s been hanging squished in the closet for months since I wore it last or a shirt that sat in the laundry basket for way too long before being folded and put away, wrinkled clothes are still very much a thing — and knowing how to get rid of wrinkles fast is helpful when you want to avoid the rumpled look.

I’ve used garment steamers, irons, and wrinkle release sprays in the past, but I wanted to find out what’s truly the best way to get wrinkles out of clothes. I decided to put six very different methods to the test. Here’s what I discovered.

To test these six different methods for getting wrinkles out of clothes, I collected six similar dresses, each made of cotton with a T-shirt material top and a stiffer weave (like sheets) for the skirt. I liked that these dresses showed results on two types of fabric.

Each dress was in a similar state of being wrinkled. I washed and dried them, let them sit in a laundry basket, and then hung them up on a hanger. I then applied one method per dress to see how well it would get wrinkles out. 

Ratings: I ranked each method on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best. I rated ease of use, which includes both how complicated the method is to implement as well as how long it takes and overall results. 

Results: 4/5 

Ease of Use: 3/5

Method: For this method, I used my favorite, travel-friendly garment steamer. I steamed the garment from top to bottom, passing it slowly over the dress, section by section, while it hung on a hanger. 

How it went: This method takes a bit of time, but it’s reliable and easy to do. You can’t rush it because the steam needs time to loosen the fabric and you need to allow a good amount of “dwell time” of the steamer over each section of your garment. All the time this method takes, which for this dress was about 10 minutes, is hands-on time. However, the results are reliable and impressive. You can count on being able to take a garment from embarrassingly wrinkled to going-out ready. 

Results: 3.5/5

Ease of Use: 4/5

Method: For this method, I used something else that I almost always travel with or have at home: Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray. All you do to use this product is hang your garment (although you could also lay your garment flat) and spray the entire surface liberally. Let the garment sit for a little bit, allowing time for the mist to penetrate the fibers. Then give the garment a couple strong shakes to help relax the fibers. 

How it went: This is a longtime favorite product of mine. It works quite well, although not quite as well as a garment steamer or an iron. However, what it lacks in perfect results it makes up for in ease of use. Not much could be easier than spraying a garment! And the results are perfectly respectable. 

Results: 3.5/5 

Ease of Use: 3/5 

Method: This method, which I learned about on Apartment Therapy, requires you to make your own wrinkle release spray. I filled a spray bottle with warm water, 2 teaspoons of white vinegar, and a generous squirt of colorless hair conditioner. I shook the bottle until the conditioner dissolved and then sprayed the dress thoroughly, to the point where it felt slightly damp. I let the solution sit on the fabric for a while and then shook it out, just like I did with the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray. 

How it went: Although making my own wrinkle release spray was more time-consuming than using one that’s ready to go, the results were nearly as good as those with the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray. I was honestly shocked at how well this DIY version worked, but it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise considering that white vinegar and the conditioner both relax fabric fibers.

Results: 2.5/5

Ease of Use: 5/5

Method: This method is super simple and one I’ve tried before. All you do is toss a handful of ice cubes in the dryer along with your wrinkled garment and turn the dryer on the highest heat setting the garment will tolerate. As the dryer runs, the ice cubes melt, releasing steam that loosens wrinkles. Sometimes I also add a towel, which helps “beat” the garment you’re trying to de-wrinkle to further loosen the fibers. 

How it went: Although simple, this method takes a bit of time (10 minutes or so, depending on how many ice cubes you put in the dryer), but it’s almost exclusively hands-off time. As far as results, while the dryer and ice cubes method does reduce wrinkles, it definitely doesn’t make anything entirely wrinkle-free. It’s great to use in a pinch when you’re short on time, or if you need to de-wrinkle a bunch of clothes at once for something not too important. But if crisp, completely put-together results are required, this isn’t the method for you. 

Results: 5/5 

Ease of Use: 2/5 

Method: For this method, I heated up an iron, put it on the correct setting for my fabric type, added water for steam, set up the ironing board, and got to work. I ironed just like my mother taught me, inside out, pushing the point into the gathers, pushing down hard enough, and so on. 

How it went: Ironing is satisfying and works extremely well, but it takes a long time and needs your full attention. It also requires having an iron and ironing board and knowing how to use them (both of which are increasingly rare these days). But the payoff is huge. Ironing yields the most crisp, picture-perfect results of any method for removing wrinkles. 

Results: 2/5 

Ease of Use: 5/5

Method: To try to get wrinkles out of clothing using the hot shower method, I hung a dress over a bar in the shower and took a hot shower as normal. I left the dress in the steamy bathroom until the steam had dissipated. 

How it went: This method is super easy, requiring virtually zero hands-on time. However, the results aren’t too impressive. The dress got a tad less wrinkled, but not enough that I would have felt put-together wearing it. I also don’t like steaming up the bathroom because of the risk of mold. 

I’ve used just about all of these methods in real life, and it was interesting to test them all at once on the same types of fabrics. I would say that there are two clear winners, depending on whether the best results are most important to you or if ease of use with really great results is what matters.

For top-notch results, nothing can beat an old-fashioned iron and ironing board. If you’re going to a fancy event like a wedding, make sure to leave enough time for ironing everyone’s outfits (or get them professionally pressed). No other method will give you crisp collars and cuffs or completely wrinkle-free, flowy skirts. 

However, if you’re iron-averse or don’t have an iron and ironing board, the next best method is using the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray because of how easy it is to use. It’s also inexpensive and travel-friendly. A garment steamer will yield better results for a bit more effort than the spray but a lot less effort than an iron. 

Now that you know what works best for the commensurate amount of effort you put in, you can choose which wrinkle-removing method is best for you in every situation.