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Different types of old fashioned heavy cast metal clothes irons in Mysore. |
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Mysore is the second largest city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Ironing or smoothing is the process of using a heated tool to remove wrinkles from clothes. Ironing works by loosening the bonds
between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibres, when the molecules are hot, the fibres are straightened by the weight of the iron and they get their new shape as they cool. Some fabrics, like cotton, require the addition of water to loosen the intermolecular bonds. Ironing may also be used for germ killing hygienic operation.
Metal pans, filled with charcoal were used for smoothing fabrics in China in the 1st century BC. From the 17th century, sadirons or sad irons, they were thick slabs of cast iron, delta-shaped and with a handle, heated in a fire. A later design consisted of an iron box, which could be filled with hot coals, which had to be periodically aerated by attaching a bellows. Now these designs have been superseded by the electric iron, which uses resistive heating from an electric current. The hot plate, called the sole plate, is no longer made of iron but of aluminium or stainless steel. The heating element is controlled by a thermostat, which switches the current on and off to maintain the selected temperature.
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© imagesofasia 2007 |
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