Creases, they're to blame.

[wyleu]

After charging round wyleu towers measuring all and sundry with the fine power meters avaialble for very few of your English pounds from the up and coming german supermarkets a genuine culprit has been identified, that is probably the real reason we're in the nergy mess we are.

It's the domestic Iron, swallowing great lumps of electricity for no other purpose than shameless vanity!
Every household has one, and boy do they get some use! and to what purpose? who needs ironed underpants? what purpose does a neat crease serve? Vanity I tell you! all just vanity!

A back of an envelope calculation demonstrates we need 5 GWatt/h's of electricity just to make everyone at Waterloo station look slipery every morning. That's a copule of power stations right there.

What we need is the crease police and the arrest of anyone with a crease in their shirt or a strong line down the fromt of their trousers.

Crumple your way to energy comfort!
Chuck out the iron's!

[Panda_Badger]

wyleu,

Yep, you've spotted the evil power chewing banshee. But wait, it's not the humble iron that's at fault, as this has been used for many a year before developing its' symbiotic connection to the grid. The culprit which has weaselled its' way into our lives, is........THE ELECTRIC HEATING COIL.

This nefarious armour plated piece of wire was never meant to be a heater, that's a by product of eating soooo much current without so much as a proper load to justify its' existence. Whoever it was that brought it into existence could do with a good slap in the face with a freshly caught fish. Nay that's not fair on the poor fishy, how about being suspended head first for a day over a newly filled septic tank until he repents.

Anyway, the point is that around our homes are devices containing these little fellas everywhere we look. Some might justify their 10.5KW electric showers by stating that they are only used for a few minutes. I would say ......you are missing the point. Yes this is true, but it's the amount of power they draw instantaneously which puts a strain on our ageing power supply infrastructure, when everyone else is doing the same.

People seem to lead busy lives and require instant gratification (no ooo-err intended). This amounts to instant showers, instant irons, instant kettles, instant access tv, instant toasters, instant electric convection heaters, instant coffee and Instant Whip. Okay ignore the last two, but you see my point.

If you look at how much effort it takes to generate a KWh of mains power, and you had to personally generate this by your own means, you probably wouldn't manage to do it.

There are lots of alternatives around if you look, and I for one (that sounded like I am about 82!) am going back to using a hob kettle for a start and will turn my iron into a paper weight.

So, if you see a crumpled looking chap about 40 walking round Halifax, it might be me, but I'll be a happy chappie in the knowledge that I don't have to rely on multi-kilowatt appliances to live an ordinary life.

Keep smiling,
Pete.

[sws]

Pressing (uniform) trousers under the mattress was the norm in my days at sea in the 60's and 70's. Not a very good idea for shirts though, looks like its back to good old bri-nylon for them!!   Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveH]

 These are quite effective & cheap to run....



 Not that it ever gets used...

[wookey]

That's a very nice Charnwood Country 4, and I see your airwash clean glass system works about as well as ours :-)

Nice little stove though. Just plumbed ours back in properly to the new house, as it conveniently fits the size of fireplace we have (if you aren't too picky about the regulation spacings).

[Ivan]

I've got a couple of irons like that on my woodstove (mainly to increase the thermal mass a little). They never get used either. I did try once, but they are just as unwieldy as the plug-in variety.

I have virtually never ironed anything. I never saw the point - too time-consuming. Vicky occasionally irons a shirt for me, but on the whole my wardrobe is 100% un-ironed. My tips are 1.) Hang to dry, having given a sharp flick to get rid of the worst creases. Pulling the garment tight as it hangs from a clothes line will get rid of a few more creases. 2.) Fold garments immediately as they are removed from line, smoothing out any creases as you do so 3.)Remaining creases will fall out within an hour or two of wearing the garment. 4.)you get used to the semi-creased look.

That's my theory, anyway! Perhaps people are too polite to tell me that I am wearing creased clothes

[goodnoisefella]

Creaseless List,

How pleasing it is to hear from so many crumpled people.....I posess a single dress shirt that needs ironing.....and I havn't worn that since I had to go to court 15 years ago ....(I was an 'expert witness'....no handcuffs involved, I promise)

When I married the current Mrs Goodnoisefella, we brought the house down with the line '....promise to love, cherish and not do your ironing'....the Vicar was more concerned that we insisted in removing the 'obey' bit 

Personally, I tend to mistrust anyone with sharp creases....they're ether salesmen, JW's ....or coppers 

One day the rumpled will rise up and take over.

Cheers!
Tim

[SteveH]

 Sorry for resurrecting this fossil. I just noticed I'm on 999 posts & thought a "Blast from the Past" might be a way to celebrate.

 Thanks to everyone for all the great info...

 Steve (Still crumpled after all these years)...

[Eleanor]

Steve, well done on your 1000 posts and for resurrecting such an informative thread. We need more like this 

[biff]

im sorry folks,
        i have to disagree, creases are sometimes necessary to create an impression that one is an astute,power driven business person,so creases are "go",but not for me,
   the real culprit is a more insidious brain destroying programme,,"corry" or cornation st. this rot is beamed into the brains of millions of poor unsuspecting victims.they become addicted and sit and wait for the music to start ,mouths hanging open and eyes crossed.
 the minute the music starts the grid goes into overdrive,one only has to think about it a little to realise that this is happening, not by chance but design.the load id designed to max each night at a predetermined time,so no nasty surprises and the power boss,s can look efficent and clever.meanwhile the public gets another dose of infidelity,scandal,tale carrying and the latest slant on current affairs(of the heart).
      with corry over,the screen goes blank,the public sit numb for hours afterwards and the grid hums peacfully freewheeling. lets face it,!!! you cannot have the grid going into overload and catching the power boss,s on the hop,, no way,,
                                                                                                                biff

[rogeriko]

Iron! Electric Iron whats that must be something terribly English. I don't think you can even buy them here, everyone just wears jeans and a t shirt.