Mangle

As a child, I learned to iron on a mangle. It lived in our basement and was usually heaped with clean clothes waiting to be folded. I loved that mangle. And I loved to iron on it. I ironed mostly pillow cases and my dad's shirts. I have no idea where it came from and I'm not sure if it was my mother or my grandmother who taught me how to use it. I remember her telling me she used to iron bed sheets on it so I'm guessing it was my grandmother since I think we had moved past ironing sheets by the time my mother was ironing.

A mangle is an ironing machine with a large "ironing board" that is broad and arched. Above the ironing board is a heated plate with the same shape that could be moved up and down. The newer version has a tubular ironing board that rotates with a rounded heated plate with a similar curve. Either way, the plate gets screaming hot and does a fabulous job of pressing all the wrinkles out of pretty much anything.

I don't know what happened to the mangle I grew up with but I'm sure living in the basement didn't do it much good in the long run. It's long gone now but I always hoped I would find another one. It was in the same category as being able to find a wringer washer.

I never managed to get my hands on a wringer washer but I was given a lovely old mangle by my friend Marion. Us two fat old ladies managed to get it into the back of my car. Ron and I managed to get it out of my car and into the house. I don't know what it weighed but is was rough work moving it. This was a 1940's version of a mangle that sat inside a metal cover. It was styled to go in the new electric kitchen of the 40's.

I had that mangle for a couple of years and never could get it to work. I had countless people look at it and no one could fix it. The heating plate heated up but nothing else would function. In the end I moved it on to someone else who thought they might be able to get it working.

Then last fall we bought a house in town and moved from the country. I told Ron that one of the things I was going to do once we sold the house was buy a mangle. And I did!

The new versions are not inexpensive and they don't sell in great numbers. When I asked the manufacturer where I could find one to try out, they told me they had one in their showroom in Chicago. Ouch. 

So I bought it sight unseen and they shipped it to me. I love it. Pressing pillow cases is dead easy. I'm still practicing on ironing my linen shirts. The top folds down and I can easily store it in the closet. 

The mangle is perfect for pressing hand woven table linens!