Steaming a dress shirt vertically allows you to remove wrinkles quickly and easily without setting up an ironing board and performing the tedious task of ironing. A garment steamer creates steam quickly and is an alternative to ironing, especially when it comes to delicate fabrics like silk and wool. Steamers are safe to use on all types of fabrics, and there’s less risk of scorching or burning the fabric than with ironing. Steam your dress shirt properly to ensure you get the wrinkles out without any hassle.

Set up the steamer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Various models of garment steamers require specific instructions for filling the water reservoir, turning on the device and heating up the steamer.

Hang the dress shirt up on a hanger and put it in a place where you have easy access to both sides of the shirt. Fasten all buttons on the shirt.

Apply heat from the steamer to the front of the shirt’s fabric. Most steamers have a hose with a steam head attached or the steamer is a hand-held device with a small head that releases steam onto the fabric. The steam head should be in contact with the fabric at all times.

Run the steamer from the top of the shirt down toward the bottom, starting with the collar and moving your free hand along the fabric the whole time to keep it taut. Move the steamer slowly down the fabric. For tough wrinkles, move the steamer even slower over that area of the fabric. It may take more than one pass over any section to completely remove the wrinkles.

Repeat this process, working in vertical sections, until the entire front of the shirt has been steamed. Move to the back of the shirt and steam in the same manner.

Leave the shirt hanging on the hanger for 10 to 15 minutes to cool down completely before putting the shirt away for storage.