favorite "new" iron

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I must say I have never used a modern ironin years. We had a light weight Hamilton Beach iron and it was to light for me so I found a NIB General Electric iron from early 60's it was model F-92 I love it it gets hotter than new irons and I feel the weight is necessary too. I gave my iron to grandma to replace her GE which was the same model as mine, hers the cord was all taped and the steam and spray buttons were gone and the heat regulator switch broke off and it was always on the cotton setting. Her Proctor Silex iron that she had in a closet from the mid 70's was too light for her. I now am using a self cleaning Hoover steam, spray and dry iron which is okay until I can find another GE. If anyone has an older GE steam and dry iron I would love to buy one.

If I were to buy a new iron I would go for the Black and Decker Classic series iron or a panasonic.

Sam
 
I received a fancy schmancy Rowenta as a gift several years ago. I'm at work now and don't know exactly which model, but I think it's a Professional Luxe or something like that. It irons beautifully, although the electronics are misbehaving and it likes to shut itself off after 10 minutes of use. Last year I bought a new T-Fal Aquaspeed iron that was the top pick on Slate.com. I couldn't be happier with it! Cranks out the steam, glides smoothly over fabrics, and is easy to use. I think I paid under $40 for it at Bed Bath & Beyond.

At one point the Rowenta had some gunk on the sole plate. Not having the patience to go out and purchase one of their cleaning kits, I just cleaned it with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge which worked perfectly.

http://www.slate.com/id/2152086/
 
Steam Generator

I bought the Rowenta Pressure Iron and Steam about two years ago and it is doing great. I also bought the matching ironing board as it has a place for the base unit. The plate does not heat up that much, but what gets the wrinkles out is the steam and this thing will glide across the ironing board. I bought mine at Macys on sale at $150.00 and about another $100 for the board. If it should go out, I would get another one. I do a lot of sewing and I do iron all my clothes and this thing really is a timesaver. You can also use it as a garment presser. Here's a link to it.

http://www.artofironing.com/
 
I have to agree with Mike, a good friend gave me the Rowenta Pressure Iron and I love it!!! It really makes a difference!
 
"Pressure Irons"

Are the domestic versions of commercial steam boiler irons.

There are two basic models:

One gets steam from a true steam boiler, though the boiler is small, it none the less is boiler. Such an system requires setting up and installing by a qualified person.

The other are industrial versions of the Rowenta and other models. These are designed for "light" commercial use such as drop stores and perhaps seamstresses/tailors who do not a constant supply of steam all day.

Had an Italian made steam boiler system, but the boiler finally went and got rid of the thing, but kept the iron.

Beauty of the commercial steam boiler systems (Reimers and Sussman were big in this area), is they produce true "dry" steam, much like what one gets from a steam boiler system. Though cannot remember what PSI indicates dry steam, it does wonders with pressing,ironing and the like.

Vacuum Tables,

Again, systems such as the Rowenta, Laura Starr, and the like are domestic versions of systems used in commercial laundries and dry cleaners.

Steam boiler irons, and to a lesser extent gravity irons produce so much steam that it quickly overwhelms standard ironing boards, especially when doing many items in sucession. The padding becomes wet with moisture and that excess moisture wicks bac, up to the garments, slowing down the ironing process.

Vacuum tables/ironing boards pull the steam through the garment and exhaust it out elsewhere. This drys and sets whatever is being ironed much faster, and again is a boon when using the amount of steam generated by boilers and generator systems. Because the item is dried not by relying on evaporation only, one's ironing tends to look neater and more professional, then when steam ironing alone.

Many vacuum ironing boards also contain built in heaters to keep the padding and cover dry, again this is done to cope with all the steam generated by high steam ironing systems.

L.
 
I have a preference for Tefal and Braun...

Tefal are effortless to use with their wnderful soleplate, but I don't like the way the new ones fill from the irons heal...just asking for a leak...

My current daily driver is a Braun that we have had for 4 years thanks to my partner who decided to iron across some hemming tape with the original Braun...still irons, but is now the back up iron...

At 1400w it isn't a particularly powerful iron, but it hasn't failed to remove or set a crease and the steam is strong (whilst acknowledging their are stronger ones)...one benefit is that because the wattage is low, I tend to iron everything on a fairly high setting without any issues at all....

http://www.braun.com/global/products/irons/steamirons/optistyle/models/si3120.html
 
Rowenta

like Miele refrigerators, can be but need not be the 'real' thing. Unfortunately, much of Rowenta's fabled quality is a thing of the past and most new Rowenta irons are really just cheap Chinese built shit.

I paid a small fortune to get my mom one of the last of the 'real' Rowenta irons in 2000, it is still perfect. And yes,it also says not to use distilled water. Times change, RTFM is a natural law.

Just as the new owners of a Miele refrigerator in the UK might actually have just paid several times what they would have paid for the exact same unit from a cheap B/S/H brand, so it goes with Rowenta products. Sad. My first Rowenta was agift, it was already over 30 years old and I used it for another 12 in happiness. Died in the move what done in my first Miele dishwasher.

As we used to say about Grundig, Außen hui, innen pfui!
 
Thanks for coming to my rescue, guys! I was starting to question whether or not I could actually read! I was going to scan and highlight the manual and post it here just to prove that I'm not crazy (though I am, just not for that reason, and proud of it!).

I considered the steam generators.... I've seen them at Khols and Bed Bath and Beyond, but I couldn't justify the cost and space it would take up in my small apartment.

I know I could have made a lot worse choices... and for the first couple weeks ironing will be fun and new again!
 
Bobby did you see that post I made a week or two back on the Maytag cordless iron I got cheap. I haven't tried it yet but will eventually. I did like my old cordless iron years ago, they take a bit of getting used to because you have to keep putting them back in the cradle, and have a place for the cradle. But overall I preferred it.
 
I'm glad to read the good reviews about the "pressure" irons. I have considered getting one of those, partly because they hold more water, and because the new Rowenta Professional does not have a removable tank, which you will always want once you have. I think someone above mentioned another brand that has it however.

I have a Rowenta Professional from about 1989. It does indeed say it was made in West Germany, so it was before they tore down the wall. For that reason alone I'll always keep it, along with my Hobart KitchenAid mixer.

Anyway, that iron also says to use tap water. The iron works great and although it does throw water sometimes, it's not a problem for me, I just iron over the spot until it dries. Apparently where the issue comes in with that is there are certain fabrics that can be damaged by this.

Old GE irons are great, so if that Black and Decker Classic is still made, I think that would be great for a reasonable price. Sometimes you can find nice older irons on Ebay, probably people that got more than one for weddings and so forth.
 
I visited Costco today and they have the Rowenta Professional 1700 watt iron, made in Germany, for $70. I read the manual that came with it, and it says never to use distilled water, that it might cause the internal parts to separate and leak. Well... I've been using distilled in my older Rowenta for several years without a problem... but since I can't locate the manual I guess I'll start using tap water in it just in case. I have to say I don't recall the owner's manual ever stating not to use distilled water, but my memory may be a bit hazy on that.

I do like the most recent one at Costco - it looks like it has a bigger reservoir, and it also looks like it would be easier to fill - it has a little door over a fairly large fill hole instead of a labyrinth fill hole.
 
We have a Rowenta Advancer (1800W) and love it. Made in Germany. Be sure to use it on its own circuit (20A preferable to 15A). It's heavy, and creases so effectively you have to be careful (errant creases made with the iron are sometimes hard to remove).

The manual recommends tap water, not distilled. We split the difference and use bottled spring water, and have never had spotting, sputtering or clogging problems.
 
I went online and found an owner's manual that is close enough to the Professional (1200 watt) model I have. Yep, it says use distilled water only, or the unit could split and leak. Well, mine hasn't started leaking so I'm switching it back to tap water (which is what I recall using when I first got it) and hopefully it will be fine.

Thanks for mentioning the requirement here. I would have gone on using 100% distilled until the iron started to leak!

LOL.
 

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