Do You Need a Steamer Glove? What It Does and When It Helps

You are steaming a shirt on the hanger, the sleeve keeps swinging away from the steam, and you reach in with your bare hand to hold it still. That is the moment most people start wondering about a steamer glove. You do not strictly need a steamer glove, but if you steam clothes on the hanger more than once or twice a week, a padded glove makes sleeves, collars and plackets faster to smooth and keeps your free hand out of the steam. Below you will find what the two kinds of steamer glove do, when they help, when you can skip them, and how to use one.

What is a steamer glove?

A steamer glove is a hand-held pressing surface or a heat-resistant glove that you use with a garment steamer. The name covers two different things, and it helps to know which one you are looking at:

• A padded ironing mitt. A thick, flat pad with a pocket for your hand. You slip it inside a sleeve, behind a collar or under a shirt front, so the steam has something firm to press the fabric against. Our steamer glove and ironing mitt is this type: polyester and sponge padding, a mesh hand pocket with a finger strap, and a rounded head that slides into sleeves and shoulders.
• Heat-resistant gloves. Five-finger knit gloves that protect the hand that holds the fabric taut. The RosyIron Steaming Glove pair is heat resistant up to 150°C and has grip dots on the palm and fingers for smooth fabrics.

Both are made for steaming on the hanger. If you use a handheld steamer and iron such as the RosyIron SteamerPro, you can also turn the head flat and press on a table, which changes how often you will reach for a glove (more on that below).

Do you need a glove to use a clothes steamer?

No, you can steam without one, but a glove solves the two most common hanger-steaming problems. The first is that thin fabric has nothing behind it, so it moves away from the steam and the wrinkle relaxes only partly. The second is that your free hand ends up close to the steam while you pull the fabric straight. A padded mitt fixes the first problem, heat-resistant gloves fix the second, and many people use both.

You can skip a glove if you mostly steam long, loose pieces such as maxi dresses, curtains or knit sweaters, where gravity does most of the work. You will probably want one if you steam dress shirts, blouses with cuffs, or anything with a collar and button placket.

Where a steamer glove helps most

• Sleeves. Slide the mitt inside the sleeve and steam down its length. The pad gives you a firm surface without a sleeve board, and you can move it toward the cuff as you go.
• Collars and cuffs. Hold the mitt behind the collar or under the cuff so the fabric lies flat against it.
• Button plackets. Steam the area between the buttons with the mitt behind the front panel.
• Shoulders and yokes. The rounded head fits the curve of a shoulder, which is awkward to reach on a flat table.
• Pleats and hems. Gloved fingers can pinch a pleat in line or hold a hem taut while you steam.

How do you use a steamer glove?

Put your hand in the glove, place it behind the fabric, and move the steamer slowly over the area in front of it. Step by step:

1. Fill the tank with distilled or filtered water and choose the setting for the fabric: Cotton for shirts and tees, Blend for wool, Silk for silk and fine knits. If the label says cool iron, choose Silk.
2. Hang the garment and button the top button so it sits straight on the hanger.
3. Slip your hand into the mesh pocket of the mitt and secure your finger in the strap.
4. Reach inside the sleeve, behind the collar or under the front panel, and hold the fabric smooth against the pad.
5. Move the steamer slowly over the fabric in front of the mitt, top to bottom. Keep the head moving rather than holding it in one spot on the glove.
6. Shift the mitt to the next section and repeat. Let the garment hang for a minute or two to dry before you wear it.

For a full walk-through of hanger steaming, see our guide on how to use a handheld steamer.

Steamer glove vs. pressing flat: which do you need?

It depends on the finish you want. Steaming against a glove relaxes wrinkles and gives a soft, natural finish, which suits blouses, knits and most everyday shirts. It will not give a sharp crease. For a crisp collar point, a pressed placket or a trouser crease, you need flat pressing.

That is where a 2-in-1 tool earns its place. With the SteamerPro you steam on the hanger, using the glove for sleeves and collars, then turn the head 90 degrees and press the collar flat on a table with the ceramic plate. The two methods work together rather than replacing each other. Our guide to steaming a dress shirt shows how to combine them on one shirt.

Safety tips when steaming with a glove

• Keep the steamer moving. A glove protects your hand, but holding the hot head against one spot is still not a good idea, for the glove or the fabric.
• Do not rest the hot plate on a glove. Glide over the padded mitt and lift off, and never hold the hot plate against the knit gloves.
• Point the steam away from your face and from the hand that is not gloved.
• Let it cool and dry. After steaming, let the glove air dry before you put it away. The knit gloves are hand wash and air dry.

FAQ

Is a steamer glove the same as an ironing mitt?

Often, yes. "Ironing mitt" usually means the padded pad you put inside a sleeve, and many shops sell it as a steamer glove. Heat-resistant five-finger gloves are a different product that protects the hand holding the fabric.

Can I use oven mitts instead of a steamer glove?

You can in a pinch, but they are bulky and hard to slide into a sleeve or behind a collar. A padded steamer glove is thinner and shaped for clothes, and five-finger steaming gloves let you pinch a cuff or a pleat.

Do you need a steamer glove for a handheld steamer?

No, but it helps. Handheld steamers are used on the hanger most of the time, so a firm surface behind sleeves and collars makes a visible difference on shirts and blouses.

Can you use a steamer glove for travel?

Yes. The padded mitt is 22.5 x 15 cm, light and flat, so it fits in a drawer or a travel bag next to a compact steamer.

A steamer glove is a small, inexpensive add-on, and it is most useful if you steam shirts and blouses on the hanger regularly. Pair a padded ironing mitt with the RosyIron SteamerPro 2-in-1 steamer and iron, which is ready in about 15 seconds and has 7 fabric settings from Silk to Linen, and you can steam sleeves on the hanger and press collars flat with the same tool.