Minky Stowaway Ironing Board Review – We recently moved home and in the rush and panic of relocating we overlooked our storage options. The home we were moving from was a very dated and old property. What it lacked in looks it made up for in storage and space though. But we needed to move on, it was starting to get dangerous. Our new property is a lovely modern place. We did however struggle to find storage for a lot of our items, this meant having to clear out a lot of our belongings.
One item that we simply could not find a home for in ours was the ironing board. Folded up it took up more space than we could spare so it had to go to the recycling centre. I confidently told my wife that it would be fine and we would find some clever solution at Ikea – the home for the storage deprived. True to form I picked up a teeny tiny ironing board on our next visit.
On my first day back to work I grabbed the new ironing board out of the cupboard and gave it a whirl. The results were not exactly amazing and as I have to wear shirts for work, I needed a solution fast. The mini board is about a quarter of the size of a normal boards surface, and stands a few inches from the ground/table. On a worktop it was ok, but the shirt kept getting stuck underneath it or I would iron creases back into the shirt as I tried to tackle another area. The only workable solution I could find was to iron with the mini board on the floor in the front room – I had to find another way.
Step forward my salvation – The Minky Stowaway ironing board, a full size ironing board that folds down to about half the height of a normal board. I was sceptical at first when I first got it out of the packaging and was imagining some horrific set of instructions and allen keys. To my surprise the instructions were clear, concise, simple and easy to follow.
To get the ironing board up to full size you unlock the legs from the lock position and get it level on the ground. Next, hold down an unlocking mechanism and pull the body of the board up. Then tilt the board until it is level, finally flipping over the top of the board. This is super easy and takes probably less than 10 seconds. I am also happy to report that anyone who is older or maybe has trouble with their fingers/hands will have no issue. The locking device is a nice big palm sized button on the main body.
My first thoughts were that it was going to be flimsy like so many other foldaway, temporary items, but I was wrong, way wrong. To be honest I think the Minky Stowaway has more metal in it than a standard board, and when fully built it feels more robust than a normal ironing board. You can really exert some pressure on the board and it does not feel like it will move or topple. Height is also usually an issue for me as I am a 6 foot 4 inch guy, but the Stowaway is at a more than comfortable height for me.
Putting the item back down is a pleasure as well, you more or less following the instructions in reverse. The only difference is that you must first release two catches on the underside of the main board before it will allow you to swing the top back down.
Overall I am really impressed with the Minky Stowaway ironing board, it is a fantastic well made unit that will help any family who struggle with space in their home. Assembly is fast and easy and the cover that comes with the unit is a really good quality one. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.
