Before the arrival of the electric iron, various methods were used to smooth out washed and wrinkled clothes. Charcoal-filled pans dating back to ancient China lasted through to the seventeenth century when they were replaced by cast iron flat irons, which were heated up in open fires. By the late nineteenth century, flat irons were being heated by a range of fuels including kerosene and animal oils.
But ironing was a sweaty, tiring, and dirty task typically involving a hot coal stove and numerous flat irons, which required continuous heating. With the coming of electricity it was inevitable that someone would spot an opportunity. Henry W. Seely an American inventor based in New York, was the first to develop and patent an electric iron in 1882. The electric iron uses resistive heating—heat produced by resistance to an electric current. This is used to warm a metal hot plate, today made of aluminum or stainless steel. The plate is attached to a handle to make it portable. It was difficult to control the temperature of the plate of early electric irons and they were dangerous to handle. Seely and his partner Richard Dyer (Thomas Edison's patent lawyer) responded by developing a type of cordless iron that sat, when not in use, on a stand heated by electricity.
By the 1920s most homes in developed countries had electricity, and electric irons were very popular, being fast, efficient, and clean. A thermostat that controlled the temperature by switching the current on and off was introduced in the 1930s, followed by the modern steam iron. By 1941 more than three-quarters of all U.S. homes had an electric iron.
