Like most people, I find ironing to be one of the most annoying household chores. It can take hours of standing and sweating to put away the weekly pile of laundry. So when cordless irons were first introduced, I was excited. Most importantly, cordless irons promise convenience, which is why I was a bit confused when I first tried one. Here are the pros and cons, as well as some details about the iron.

As the name implies, a cordless iron is an iron without a cord. Instead, they are placed on a separate base to charge, and when the optimum temperature is reached, they let you know that they are ready for use. It offers nearly the same settings as a standard iron, but the lack of a cord allows for more freedom and convenience of use. It should be added that even though there is no cord, the base still needs to be connected to a power source.

When I tried my first cordless iron, I eagerly awaited for the iron to get hot. It took about the same amount of time as a corded iron, so I wasn't surprised. A sound let me know it was ready. I picked it up easily, pressed it onto a cotton shirt, and was pleased to see that, with the first stroke, the creases came out as expected. But here was the problem.

As I pulled it back and continued ironing, I noticed that the quality of the crease removal had already deteriorated. The cordless iron had sadly lost its heat after the first stroke. I continued to iron, but noticed little change in the cotton shirts. I put the iron back on its pedestal and waited for it to heat up again. It took about 5-10 seconds each time to heat up, not a very long time, but it was enough to make me impatient for a second charge.

I continued this pattern until the shirt was ironed after five minutes. The additional charge took longer than it should have, and I was not satisfied with the result. It seemed to be hit or miss in terms of removing wrinkles from the shirt. Not being tied to a cord was nice, but there was no price to pay for this small convenience in terms of performance. So I've stuck with corded irons ever since.

If you're still not convinced, see Pros and Cons of Cordless Irons.

Some people praise the convenience of cordless irons despite the drawbacks mentioned above. Personally, I'm not convinced, but if you have a small amount of laundry to do and the cord is a real concern, then a cordless may be the way to go.