Ironing and Polishing Silver for the Holidays on Facebook LIVE
Are you ready for Thanksgiving? It’s less than a week away. If you’re hosting this year’s holiday feast, I’m sure you have a long list of tasks to complete - shopping, cooking, baking, cleaning and more. Preparing for any special gathering takes a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of advanced planning.
Yesterday, I hosted a Facebook LIVE on ironing all those exquisite linens that are used for special occasions - cocktail and dinner napkins, hand towels, and tablecloths. To care for such an assortment, it’s important that they are not only washed properly, but also well-ironed using the best equipment possible. I’ve used Rowenta irons for many years. Rowenta is among the leading manufacturers of high-performance small appliances. Recently, they sent me their newest iron - the Rowenta Pro Master 1700-Watt Micro Steam Iron - and I love it.
Here are some photos from our broadcast, with some of my favorite ironing and silver polishing tips - enjoy. If you’re planning to do some chores this weekend, and didn’t catch my Facebook LIVE, you can still watch it - just click anywhere on this highlighted link.
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- This is my laundry room at my Bedford, New York farm. It is white and bright, and has white-tiled floors. It is a very pleasant place to work and is well-outfitted for doing lots of ironing and washing. I love it down here – I can stay here all day.
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- For ironing, I use a well-padded ironing table top. It is very good for working on large linens, such as bed sheets or tablecloths.
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- After washing linens, they should be tumble dried until they are just damp – the water and moisture will release some of the wrinkles and make ironing much easier.
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- I iron everything. My linens are crisp, and beautifully folded. Rowenta has many models available and is considered one of the best luxury iron manufacturers worldwide. Here, I am using a Rowenta Pro Master Steam Iron.
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- It has a lot of useful features, such as variable-steam, burst-of-steam, and cool-mist-spray options. It also allows you to use vertical steam for hanging garments.
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- This is the highly polished stainless-steel soleplate with precision tip and micro holes for thorough steam distribution. I love Rowenta’s precision pointed tip for getting into those narrow areas.
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- I have used many different Rowenta irons over the years, and have always been very pleased with their performance, Always read the manual when getting a new appliance. The manual will let you know what all the symbols mean on the iron and how best to use it.
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- The surge and steam setting on this iron is so useful. It allows you to use bursts of steam to help flatten the fabric without using any chemicals.
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- Video web producer, Sam Schutz, captures all the details right on this iPhone. Thank you, Facebook, for making this broadcasting process so easy and fun to do.
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- And my “Homekeeping Handbook” is a wonderful source to help you with all your chores. It has tons of helpful tips for cleaning and keeping anything, Do you have a copy? https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewarts-Homekeeping-Handbook-Everything/dp/0517577003
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- I always place anything with delicate monograms faced-down on a towel to cushion the embroidery, so it protects it. Do some research on how much heat to use – cotton uses high heat, synthetics use low heat and silks use delicate heat, while certain wools need medium heat.
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- The steam can take care of everything – I never use starch. The steam gets every single wrinkle out.
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- And the spray is a great function also. Plus these irons use tap water and not distilled water.
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- For more tips on ironing small napkins, or large tablecloths be sure to watch this Facebook LIVE – I share my best techniques for ironing big pieces of fabric.
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- A viewer wrote into Facebook asking how I like to fold my napkins. I use very easy and basic napkin folds – folded in half, placed though napkin ring or standing up like this.
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- I love my new Rowenta Pro Master Steam Iron – I am sure it will get lots of use here at my farm.
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- These silver napkin rings are ready to be washed and polished. Here, I am showing one that is tarnished and one that is not.
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- Wash the napkin rings first and then use a soft sponge or piece of flannel to clean them. My cleaner is Wright’s Silver Cream. https://jawright.com
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- Wright’s Silver Cream is a gentle abrasive that really does work and bring back the gorgeous luster of your silver.
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- It comes in a pink paste like this.
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- You can see the black come out of the tarnished napkin ring. Tarnish is the oxidation on the silver. Depending on where you keep your silver, it can be more or less, but Wright’s takes it all out.
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- Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my November issue of “Living” – it has lots of tips for cooking America’s most popular meal. If you missed this Facebook LIVE, be sure to take a few minutes and watch the show – just click on the link above. https://www.facebook.com/pg/marthastewart/videos/?ref=page_internal
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