British housekeeping expert Mary Marlow Leverette has advised placing a handful of ice cubes into a washing machine drum to eliminate clothes creases. The simple trick helps people avoid spending extra time ironing laundry that has bunched up into tight lumps during high speed spin cycles.
Washing machines frequently leave laundered items heavily wrinkled, forcing people to spend lengthy periods with an iron. Leverette explained that adding ice after the main wash and spin cycle can eliminate the need for traditional ironing altogether.
How ice steam flattens fabric
According to Leverette, users should throw a handful of ice cubes directly into the machine drum alongside the damp clothes and turn on a drying setting for roughly 15 minutes. As heat builds inside the appliance during drying, the ice cubes begin to melt and rapidly transform into steam.
The resulting moist, warm air penetrates deep into fabric fibers to soften them. This steam action causes creases and wrinkles across the clothing to gradually smooth out without requiring direct pressure from a hot iron soleplate.
Steam has long been used in laundry care because heat and moisture relax natural fibers, allowing garments to regain their shape. Washer and dryer combination appliances and standalone tumble dryers generate heat through electric heating elements while rotating the drum to tumble clothes through warm air.
Best fabrics and cycle timing
This ice method is particularly effective for cotton clothing, T-shirts, and bed linen. Following the process, items emerge noticeably smoother, though they will still feel slightly damp rather than fully dry.
Adhering strictly to the 15 minute drying window is crucial for the trick to succeed. Leverette cautioned that running the dryer for longer will melt all the ice entirely, leaving the laundry excessively wet and ruining the smoothing effect.
Preventing creases after drying
Once the 15 minute program comes to an end, laundry must be removed from the drum immediately. Leverette advised shaking out each item right away and hanging it on a coat hanger or a clothes drying rack.
Allowing laundry to remain sitting inside the machine drum after the cycle finishes will cause fresh creases to form rapidly in the damp fabric.
