You may think you’re a master of laundry and ironing, especially if you’re used to washing and drying dress shirts and other wrinkle-prone materials on a day-to-day basis. However, there might be one teeny-tiny thing you’re missing that will change the way you iron your clothes forever.
If you have your iron nearby, take it out. Have you ever noticed that groove around the edges? You may have seen it and ignored it, assuming it was just part of the product’s design. Well, after talking with our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, we’re here to tell you that it actually serves a real purpose — one that’s actually so helpful.
“It’s a button groove,” says Carolyn Forté, Home Care & Cleaning Lab Executive Director. “It allows you to iron under and around buttons, and shields them from the hot sole plate so they won’t melt.” So if you’re dealing with an extra-wrinkly piece of clothing that’s creased all the way through (even down to the buttons), you can get as close as you need without damaging them. Pretty clever, right?
If you weren’t aware that that groove even existed in the first place, don’t worry, you’re not alone. When we polled Redditors (yep, we’re on Reddit!), many people also didn’t know there was a groove. But now that you do know, you’re about to have dry cleaning level dress shirts without having to go to the dry cleaners.
Laura Millar (she/her) is the assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home design. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2024, she wrote for NBC’s TODAY.com where she covered everything from entertainment news to product reviews to pop culture updates.
Carolyn Forté brings more than 40 years of experience as a consumer products expert to her role as executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab. Using deep analytical testing and writing expertise in appliances, cleaning, textiles and organizational products, she produces cleaning and home care advice for GH, has authored numerous books and bookazines for the brand and partners with the American Cleaning Institute to co-produce the Discover Cleaning Summits. She holds a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences from Queens College, City University of New York.
