Another dull thread: ironing boards

[Abeona]

I stopped ironing years ago and disposed of the old ironing board I'd inherited from an elderly aunt. It was probably pre-war and the board bit was, I'm pretty sure, made of solid wood and covered in several layers of blanket and ticking hammered tautly in place with round-headed nails on the underside of the board. I used it for ironing all my work shirts and blouses in the days when I had to look smart in an office. I had no idea what a brilliant ironing board it was: so solid and smooth-surfaced. I could use plenty of pressure and get great results even with an old-fashioned non-steam iron. Then my life changed, I stopped needing to look pressed and got a tumble drier and the ancient ironing board was chucked away.

In the last couple of years I've started trying to look a bit more groomed and have invested in a lovely new Tefal iron. I bought a cheap ironing board from Wilko but hated the grid pattern the metal mesh left on everything, no matter how many layers of padding I put underneath. I also hated the way it wobbled and couldn't take any pressure. I took that to the dump and spent £100+ on a posh Brabantia one from John Lewis and still, despite buying extra layers of padding to go under the cover, ended up being able to see a pattern on my ironing — and it was also wobbly.

Thoughts, please, from those of you who iron. There are solid wood boards out there like this:
https://www.gardentrading.co.uk/products/ironing-board.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv_Tm_fawhAMVd4NQBh1VtwczEAQYASABEgKrG_D_BwE

Anyone use one? Anyone found a solution. Anyone got a 90-year-old wooden ironing board they want to rehome?

My Brabantia is perfect. The steam gen iron may help.

Which type have you got? Does it have a metal mesh table? Or do they do a more solid metal top? A friend's mum has a 1990s Brabantia with a solid metal top with just a few holes in and it gives great results. I know because I sometimes help her mum out with the ironing and it's a joy to use — really solid. My friend has promised that should she inherit the ironing board one day, she will give it to me. But in the meantime...

I've used other peoples' steam generator irons and I hate how hot and steamy they make a room and me. I've got quite a small house and it would be yet another bulky item to find room for. I'm not planning to do loads of ironing each week, but I want my shirts to look a bit crisper.

@Abeona there is a mesh top. It's size D. However, the base layer and then a foam layer under the cover prevent any mesh marks from coming through. The mesh can't even be felt from the top of the board. I have tried other types of ironing boards but they have not lasted.

Oh I'm looking too. Every board I have wobbles, tilts, gets soaking wet, the mesh issue too, not high or wide enough, what I've spent on them all I could have bought a really expensive one to begin with.

I no longer iron anything much but I've never been disappointed with anything recommended by the Independent, so if I was looking for a new board I'd start here https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/household-appliances/best-ironing-board-argos-john-lewis-b1823794.html

I can recommend buying a sleeve board and using it on a kitchen worktop, it makes it easy to smarten up collars, cuffs and other fiddly bits that show without having to go the whole hog (or maybe I'm just a slattern).

Thanks, but none of those reviews says what the table part is made of. The Mesh-based Brabantia was as bad for leaving a mesh pattern on the ironing as the cheapie from Wilko. And this was despite two ironing board covers and a double layer of special ironing board padding bought from John Lewis.

@Wendysfriend sorry you're in the same boat but glad there's someone else equally as disappointed in the wonderful world of ironing boards. It sounds silly, but I'm really gutted that I ditched what might have been the world's best ironing board, even though it looked like a clunky ancient piece of kit.

Could you try looking for a vintage/antique ironing board like the one you had?

Oh I have a brabantia which I love - bought recently for about £100 to replace my old Brabantia which was about 15 years old. I remember the label saying it would last at least xx years and mine was xx +2-3 years.

I don't find the mesh a problem at all. Also it doesn't wobble. And I iron a lot

Sorry @Abeona not very helpful.

Edited to say: Mine is the Brabantia Titan recommended by the Indie

@Abeona sorry to resurrect this but did you buy the GT ironing board? If so do you like it?

I have just come across this thread, I’ve got a huuuge ironing board, given to me by my parents, so big that I can’t iron some of our clothes without doing it double sided flat on top which is frustrating as things with a back centre seem are awkward. I’ve been meaning to change it for ages, sick of the mesh marks too.

I’m leaning towards the wooden one.

I recently got this one as it has a shelf for my steam generator iron.

I use a tabletop board from JosephJoseph for pressing seams when sewing. Whilst it has a mesh base, the cover is very solid and the mesh does not come through. It is very stable. They also do full size boards.

Thank you 🙏.

I am really fancying the wooden one, I’m shocked to see that the far too big one my parents bought me was almost as much as that one cost wise. 🤯, I haven’t bought an ironing board myself ever.

It isn’t clear from GT whether you need a cover + padding or just the cover.

Didn’t say that I had a wooden one when I lived abroad and rated it (as far as these things go). They’re readily available in 🇮🇹, without the extortionate price tag.

Available on Amazon too but I cba with that post brexit when returning something is a pita.

If you’re looking for solid wood
https://www.foppapedretti.it/en/
This is the sort of thing people in Italy give as wedding presents. We got a few pieces as wedding presents and the high chair when DC1 was born. Really sturdy stuff.
There’s the full size wooden ironing board or the cupboard style with space for your iron which is a good ironing work station if you’re short on space.

I think I had the exact same ironing board in my apartment in northern Italy @Sgtmajormummy.

@Sgtmajormummy , so now I know the brand thanks to you 🙏, I can buy Foppapedretti at Amazon.

Not sure if I’d appreciate the difference between that and the GT one (have got a 20% code at GT). But I think I’m swayed because you can buy replacement parts for Foppapedretti.

Im one of the ironing minority. I have this Brabantia one www.argos.co.uk/product/9182431with an extra felt pad added and I made a thicker cotton cover for it. It doesn't seem wobbly or to show the mesh through the padding. The benefit of the mesh is to let steam through isn't it?

Your post made me smile remembering my grandmother's ironing board. Hope you fond what you're looking for. I have a cheap one, but it's sturdy and takes pressure so I think I got lucky. I've got several layers of padding on it pulled tight.

Yes @NotMeNoNo , the wooden boards have holes for steam.

I don’t want another metal one, there’s nothing wrong with the metal one I’ve got, I just hate it. Hopefully the charity shop will take it, I’ve got a new cover for it somewhere, must dig it out.

New ironing board arriving tomorrow 🇮🇹, Amazon warehouse purchase so no import fees.

Hope you love your new board!
I just found this wool pad I might upgrade mine with it!