I was wondering if any of you use either Mary Ellen's Best Press or Niagra Non-Aerosol Spray Starch. I have read reviews on both. Many say they are equal but Niagra is a lot cheaper. I was using Faultless Aerosol Spray but they have changed the top design and I have been having trouble with rust collecting in the top around the spray valve resulting in rust being blown onto my fabric. I really would like to hear what you use and your suggestions.

Love that Mary Ellen's stuff, but boy is it pricey! Maybe one of our board members can direct us to a do-it-yourself version. The rust collecting on the can bugs me too. I use starch for my table linens and I always have to rinse and scrub the top of the spray can before I use it. What a pain.

I'd like to try liquid starch and make my own. But does it go bad? The Sta-Flo liquid starch is inexpensive.

I can't help you with the non aerosol spray starch. My mother use to mix her starch up with water and spray or should I said sprinkle it on our clothes and then iron them. She would keep it in the frigorator if she did not use it up. When I was little our clothes were all cotton. I don't see why it would work on fabric as well.

I like Mary Ellens and watch for it to be on sale at Hancock fabrics..makes it a little easier on the wallet.

I have a recipe for homemade spray starch that I recently ended up trying, as I ran out and didn't want to run to the store:

Homemade spray starch recipe

This is a great money saver and it does an excellent job.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon cornstarch (depending on amount of stiffness you want) in a few tablespoons of cold water in a heat proof 2-cup measuring container. Add boiling water to make one cup, stirring constantly. Then add cold water to the 2 cup line. Let cool and use in a spray bottle.
Shake it every time you spray.

You may have to dilute it a little if it is too thick or builds up white flakes.

Discared after a week or so and make a new batch. You can also refrigerate between using to keep it fresher.

When I was a kid, Mom made starch -

I think it was Argo - blue and white box - put some in the "bread bowl" - added some cold water to dissolve it - then added hot water - it changed from cloudy to "not cloudy" - and then stirred in a little rectangle of some blue stuff (Satina, I think)

Then she'd dip the whole garment to be starched in the solution and then wring it out by hand. The stuff to be stiffest was done first, and then what needed only a little body was done last.

I do not miss all that ironing!

I don't find that they are the equal. I have used both products and Niagra is a starch. I think you would have to use a lot of Mary Ellen's to get a starch effect, but this is just my personal opinion.

Thanks for the recipe. How easy!

Remember ironing (and starching) bed linens?! I remember my mom or our maid doing that. I'm going to try it! Even if just the pillowcase.

Faultless has a non aerosol starch now. I found it at Walmart. It's a big bottle for $1.89. It is lavender scented. The Mary Ellen Best Press is good but too pricey for what it is.

Home made spray starch...

I heard of people making homemade spray starch and adding a small amount of clear vodka to help it last longer, i thnk about 2 oz of vodka to a recipe similar to this site:

http://tipnut.com/homemade-lavender-starch-recipe/

I havent tried it, i like Niagara its $1.39 for a big can and lasts me a long time.... I saw the last time i got starch in the store a non-aerosol spritzer next to the Niagara, but they hadnt put a price on the product or the shelf, i checked the front 5 items, so didnt buy any. But I like Niagara.

I like the scent of Mary Ellen's but for a cheaper non aerosol I purchased Niagara, it was under $2.00 for a big hand spray bottle. I have mixed my own in the past but even though I prefer the convenience of ready to use I plan to reuse the pump bottle to mix my own again. I don't like the spray cans because of the damage to the environment, making, filling, emptying and disposing of both the metal and the plastic not to mention the propellant and what it may do to our lungs. I think we should all try to do our part to preserve our planet for future generations. That's my soapbox message for today.

Have a great weekend.

Longarm

I like this recipe. I am also reusing the plastic bottle to make mine in.

ditto :thumbup: I too like this recipe. And I am saving it.

Take a nip or 2 of the vodka and you really won't care if the starch worked or not...Haha...

LOL p38flygirl! I was going to say it was a wonderful excuse to buy vodka! Hic!

I've been using the non aerosol Faultless starch. I found it at Walmart. It works fine and not expensive. I don't think I'll ever go back to using aerosol can again. The sprayer always gets clogged up making impossible to use.

I use Niagra non-aerosol and it works fine. I'd like to make my own though so thanks for the recipe :D

Thanks for all of your input! I think I will give the Niagra a try.

The Best Press can be bought on-line in gallon-size, which is much less expensive

I am going to try the scented one of these days, but until then I buy a big bottle of Sta-Flo concentrated liquid starch and mix my own. Instructions on the bottle. The last one I bought was over a year ago and I starch just about all of my fabric. Of course I picked it up at my local Wal-Mart.

I really like the non-aerosol Niagara. It comes in a linen or lavender scent. I use it when working with applique pieces or if I have to piee bias edges. It helps keep the fabric from stretching and makes stitching easier.

Mary Ellen's Best Press is wonderful but it is expensive and I find for the difference in the price that the Niagara works great - the fabric is stiffer (starchier).

love that non-aerosol. it works great, is in-expensive, better for the environment and smells good.

Wow, guess I am the odd man (woman) here I tried Mary Ellen's Best Press once and fell in love with it. I really like the way it makes my fabric feel and look. I was lucky enough to find a LQS that had the 16oz bottle on sale for $4.97 so I bought several. I don't have to use as much of Mary Ellen's as I did of the other to have better results plus I like not using an aerosol can as well as recycling the empty bottle later.

I wonder if it'll help make me a happy ironer!!! :lol: :lol: Not my favorite job. I did use the recipe and it did work. Before that I purchased Sta-Flo and made a real heavy solution. Love to use it on my curtains for fall and spring cleaning. I wash the curtains, hang on clothes line and spray while still wet. Works great, especially for lace.

I have been using the Sta-flo and not having a problem with it lasting or going bad. I guess I use it too fast but I make it up by the spray bottle , one from the garden center. I do use distilled water don't know if that makes a difference. I added rose water to mine and it was really nice to smell that when I ironed.
I found something awhile back but no one carries it anymore. Dryel made a starch alternative and I loved that. They stopped making it however I can't even find it online anymore.

Thanks for all the hints, will look at Walmart for the starch and maybe try to make some using the recipe.

I don't use the store bought spray starch, I get the concentrate bottle for under $5, dilute it 50/50, put it in a spray bottle and it lasts a long time.

I love MaryEllen's - found it on Amazon in gallon jugs - much more reasonable than the quilt store prices.

My MIL has always made her own starch, before being diagnoised with Alz she came over in the fall and in the spring and collected all the doillies that she had crocheted for me and took them home to wash and starch and stretch them for me. She taught my husband to make the starch and it is all he has ever used and he irons and starches almost all of his clothes (you notice I said he straches).

I just looked at Amazon. If you buy the gallon you pay 36.70 cents per ounce and the 16 oz is 81 cents per ounce Now I included the shipping in the price per ounce. Yep I am one of Those people lol. As nice as it is, I have a bottle and save it for ironing clothes which is once in a blue moon. But I think for quilting fabric I will stick to my starch. I haven't figured out the price per ounce but I would guess its just a penny or two. I am cheap!!!

BestPrest is the B E S T!

Sorry. I should have spelled that Best Pressed, not Best Prest. I LOVE the lavender the most.

I wish they would make the Niagra Non-Aerosol in an unscented. I have the Linen and it gets a bit sickening to me after awhile. I'm going to take a stab at making my own. Kroger only had two scents- Linen and Lavender.
Oh no, I'm the complainer in the bunch!! :twisted:

It is strong but it also does work well if you dilute it a bit and then the scent isn't as intense.

I read that starch will draw bugs if left in fabric for a long time and they recommended Spray Sizing - switched awhile ago and I like it better (or as well as) Spray Starch.

I think Amazon has free shipping for items over $25.00?

Oh my goodness!!!! You must be very near MY age!! What memories you brought back talking about your Mom making her own starch..and the Satina!! wow, I remember watching it dissolve!! I was in charge of household linen pressing, plus my own clothes, from the time I was 8 or so. I loved sprinkling clothes, rolling them tight, putting them in a bag and into the fridge! I am smiling while I type and have flashbacks! Maybe I am "sick", but I love to iron, still.

I only use Mary Ellen's Best Press. Our Hancock's honors Hobby Lobby's and Jo Ann's 40% - 50% off coupons. I stock up when I have a coupon. Just buy 1 each day with a different coupon. And they put it on sale every so often.

It is great!!!

Starch drawing bugs is something I've heard only in the last years from quilters. My grandmother and mother starched and ironed every thing, we never had a bug problem. Starched linens stored in the big chests never had bugs. I can't find the non aerosol Niagara starch local, just the spray cans. I like Niagara, it doesn't flake at all.

I found the non aerosol Niagara at Target and Meijers in Michigan.

I have never seen the Spray Sizing in a non aerosol.