6 Best Ironing Boards of 2024 (2024)

Brabantia's Size C board has everything we look for in a quality ironing board: stability, sturdy construction, an adjustable iron rest, a rack to hold your freshly ironed garments and an almost 10-inch adjustable height range. With child and transport locks, plus non-slip caps on the board's legs, you can be sure that the board will not collapse during use or open inadvertently in storage.

While we haven't Lab-tested this model yet, it is virtually identical to our Lab-favorite, Brabantia's Size B ironing board, though it is just over four pounds heavier. However, the Size C provides you with three extra inches of ironing surface, making it especially useful for ironing bed linens or tablecloths, or for sewers, quilters and crafters who need the extra width. For a pop of color, you can purchase the brand's ironing board cover in tons of fun patterns when you're ready for something fun and new.

All the basics at an affordable price plus lots of great user reviews convinced us that this Household Essentials ironing board should be our best value pick. While we haven't tested this board in our Lab, we like the V-shaped double leg construction and the iron rest with a rack to hang the items you've just ironed, something many basic boards don't include.

It's about four pounds lighter than our best overall board, but a few reviewers commented that it was a little more wobbly than they expected and the cover that came with it was a bit thin. At 14 inches wide, it's also slightly narrower than many others. Like more expensive boards though, it has a mesh steel top to permit heat and steam to pass through fabrics and with over 600 Amazon reviewers rating it a 4.4 out of five, many called it "sturdy." One said it's "just what I needed."

The space constraints that come with living in a small home, apartment or even a dorm room often mean that having a full size ironing board ready to use at a moment's notice is the stuff dreams are made of. But living in tight quarters doesn't mean you're relegated to wearing crumpled clothes. If you've got a door, you can still look smooth and professionally pressed with this model from Honey Can Do.

From a company whose organizing products we love, Honey Can Do knows a thing or two about saving space. Its door-mounted ironing board is a generous 14 inches wide and 44 inches long, providing a large ironing surface for a board this compact. We haven't tested this model in our Lab, but it has mostly excellent consumer reviews and is from a brand we know and trust, though some complained it didn't fit securely on their doors, leading to stability issues.

Ironing for hours can be a grueling task for anyone. But if standing for long periods of time is uncomfortable or painful for you or you are in a wheelchair, this Brabantia board can make this laundry task less painful and more possible to do. Infinitely adjustable, it can be set to any convenient height and the legs curve out, making it more comfortable to use while seated.

You won't find extras like a clothing shelf or iron rest here, but the end of the board features a heat-resistant parking zone, so you can place the iron soleplate down without any fear of damaging the cover. This Brabantia boasts one of the largest ironing surfaces we've seen. It is pricey, but we think worth it for the convenience. We love all the products we've tested from this brand and online reviewers agree, with over 9,100 giving it five stars on Amazon.

For those times when you just need to de-wrinkle a shirt collar or press a pants hem, a full-size ironing board may be overkill. It's much easier and faster to pull out and set up a tabletop model for small quick jobs, like this one from Household Essentials. Home Care and Cleaning Lab Executive Director, Carolyn Forté, especially likes this one since it sits higher off the table, meaning your clothes are less likely to wrinkle as they hang over the board.

Unlike others this size, it also has a retractable iron rest to keep your iron handy and off the table while working. When you’re done ironing, it comes with a hook so the board can be stored over a door. Though much smaller than a full-size board, it's perfect for touch-up ironing or if you're not a frequent ironer, could suffice as the only board you need!

Our Cleaning Lab experts have logged hundreds of hours ironing fabric swatches for steam iron testing, cotton shirts for evaluating the wrinkle-preventing performance of clothes washers and dryers, and even the Good Housekeeping Institute Lab coats we wear, so we know a great ironing board when we see one.

In recent years, we've tested high-end and no-frills models as well as full size and tabletop designs. In fact, a new one just arrived as an entry in our 2023 Good Housekeeping Best Cleaning & Organizing Awards, so we'll be testing and reporting on it soon.

Here are a few things to consider when shopping for the best ironing board.

✔️ Material: Steam irons get very hot, so you want to be sure that your ironing board is not made from a material that can be easily damaged by heat. Plastic iron rests are big no-no; instead, opt for ones with metal iron rests trimmed with heat-resistant silicone to withstand high temperatures. Same goes for the board itself: While the top cover is usually made of sturdy cotton, underneath this cover there should be a thick padding layer and then a final metal mesh frame underneath that.

✔️ Size: There are a several size considerations to take into account when shopping for an ironing board. You not only want to make sure that you have the space in your home to use and store an ironing board, but also that the ironing surface is big enough to iron clothing on comfortably. Most standard ironing boards have an ironing surface that is about 15 inches wide and at least 49 inches long and they adjust up and down to accommodate users of various heights. Ironing boards with retractable or removable iron rests, tabletop options and even ironing blankets are great options for homes with limited available space. Wall or door mounted ironing boards, like our picks from Iron-a-Way and Honey Can Do, are also great, out-of-the-way options that won't take up any precious floor or closet space.

✔️ Extra features: Some ironing boards have extra features that aren't absolutely necessary, but are nice to have, like a shelf underneath the board to hold your to-be-ironed or freshly ironed clothing, adjustable iron rests that can be adjusted for left- and right-handed users, extra stability locks on the board's legs and height adjusters. Wheels, cord holders and sleeve boards are also some add-ons you'll often see. The more customizable an ironing board is, the more likely it will be able to work for a wide variety of ironing needs and the more expensive it will likely be too.

Jodhaira Rodriguez has been testing consumer products for GH as the Home Appliances & Cleaning Products Lab Analyst since 2021. She most recently helped test dozens of laundry detergents, stain fighters and other specialty laundry products for consideration in our annual Cleaning & Organizing Awards.

Jamie (Kim) Ueda is a consumer products expert with over 17 years of experience in areas of product development and manufacturing. At the Good Housekeeping Institute, she has tested products and written reviews across dozens of categories, including cleaning, textiles and kitchen appliances.