It’s best to avoid ironing your ties if at all possible. Prevention is far better than cure in this case. Don’t tie your knot too tight. Always untie the tie after it has been worn. When you travel, fold your ties and put them in the pocket of your suit or else in a box in your luggage so they don’t become wrinkled.

When you untie your tie, do so carefully; wrap it around your hand and lay it on a flat surface. If you do this every time, most wrinkles will come out. Try hanging your tie on a towel rack in your bathroom when you take a shower so the steam will work on the wrinkles.

Be careful, however, that you don’t splash the tie. Water splashes are very difficult to get out of silk ties. When you store them, make certain they are moved around occasionally so creases don’t form because of the hanger.

Some things you can do to remove wrinkles from your tie short of ironing it are to hang it up for a period of time and see whether the wrinkles have disappeared. Try rolling it up around a towel. That also may help with the wrinkles.

If all else has failed and you have decided that ironing your tie is the way to go, follow the following instructions. First of all, never, never iron a tie that has a stain on it. If you do, the stain will become permanent. Remove stains before the iron touches the tie. Blot, don’t rub when you’re removing spots. Be careful not to spot your tie when you apply aftershave or cologne.

Now you’re ready to iron your tie. Look at the tag on the tie to determine fabric type. There may also be cleaning recommendations. Make certain the cover on your ironing board is clean. If not, put a clean cloth over it before you put the tie on it. Plug your iron in and set the temperature for the fabric your tie is made from (you got that information when you looked at the tag).

Silk and polyester ties need a cool setting. Wool ties can handle a medium setting and cottons will need a fairly high temperature. Lay your tie out on the ironing board, backside up. Use a pressing cloth on top of the tie on the area you are going to iron.

Work from the bottom to the top, doing small portions at a time from the edges inward to avoid creases. Lift your pressing cloth from time to time to see what’s happening as a result of your ironing. Now turn the tie face up and do the same thing. Be careful that you don’t let the iron rest in one spot for long. Once you’ve finished, hang the tie up so it can cool without wrinkling.