I'm so sick of Rowenta!

[vacuumfreeeke]

2 months ago, I bought the Rowenta steam generator iron at Bed Bath and Beyond. It's ALREADY broken! The steam now stays on whether I press the trigger or not. I guess this is my opportunity to get something better, but what? I've had three Rowentas over the last few years and they always leak and spit after a period of time. Disgusting! This steam generator was awful from the beginning... there was no way to tell when it was running low on water until it stopped producing steam, and no way to tell when it was filled until water started pouring out of it... plus 11 minutes to heat up is a bit insane.

What's better? I want a powerful blast of steam!

 

[panthera]

Rowenta, like Maytag

is no longer Rowenta, but some cheap-ass trash thrown together in China and marketed under a once-great name.

Today, seeing a "good" name on an appliance is almost reason to be cautious.

I have no idea if or who still makes good steamers. I had an Italian unit which lasted for 10 years, but they're no longer Italian, either...

It's discouraging.

 

[ronhic]

For an iron....

...I don't think you can beat Tefal or Braun...

The Tefal's are still made in France and the Brauns tend to be made in Spain...

My very basic Braun is now 12yrs old, is used every day and steams up a treat....

We had a Tefal in the UK which was one of the BEST irons I have ever used...

Here is the link...just avoid the $29.95 one as it doesn't have the soleplate that Tefal are known for...

http://theconsumerlink.com/TFal/list/linentfal/13

 

[brisnat81]

We've had good luck with the Philips (Norelco) Irons and such, made in Singapore and outlast the Sunbeams that we were replacing every 13 months.

 

[maytagbear]

I am surprised no one mentioned this before-

look around, and GO Vintage.

Keep your eyes peeled at the usual places. Goodwill, Sally Ann, local resales....

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[hoover1100]

Philips or Tefal

Mum has had both these brands and they're the only ones that have lasted, her current philips is now pushing 5 still going fine, despite having been dropped down the stairs onto tiled floor and numerous other accidents like this. Her Tefal was the same, we replaced it still working because it had been dropped so much it was all cracked and falling apart but it still worked.

We were very disappointed with her Siemens iron, that just died completely at a couple of months old, expected more from them.

If Tefal and Philips can survive my Mum's somewhat heavy handed treatment of irons then they have to be pretty decent.

Matt

 

[nmassman44]

Good thread here. I have a Rowneta Focus iron that is having issues with the power cord. I took the back of the iron off and took the power cord strain relief apart and noticed that the relief had worn out the cord and broke the wires inside the cord. I have to look for a new cord now and this after about a year and a half of owning it.
And of course its out of warranty so they wont cover it. So in the meantime I got a cheap remanufactured Rowenta iron from Big Lots for $20 and it has the retractable cord. Cant say I am took keen on it plus its made in China. The Focus made in Germany.
One thing I have noticed between the 2 irons is that the German iron does a much better job keeping the proper temp...the Cheap Chinese one not so much. Plus the Chinese one spits and drips.

 

[frigilux]

I had a Rowenta for a few years, and had the same infuriating issue you mentioned, vacuumfreeeke, SPITTING. The thing glided effortlessly and produced plenty of steam, but the spitting and leaking drove me crazy. And frequent cleanings seemed to make no difference.

One day, I checked Consumer Reports, and they top-rated the Black & Decker Digital Advantage, which was only $40. It produces as much if not more steam than did my $100 Rowenta, and it doesn't spit. It doesn't glide over fabrics with quite the finesse of the Rowenta, but handles very well, overall.

CR's latest iron tests top-rated the T-FAL Ultraglide FV4379, at $50. Note: Other, more expensive T-FAL irons scored significantly lower, around the middle of the pack.

 

[xraytech]

Bobby,

My suggestion is to try a vintage iron. I think that the all metal GE or Hoover irons are the best. they may not be the most powerful steamers, but they heat in like 2 minutes. The Hoover also had a stainless sreel sole plate

If you would want to buy a new iron though, I would also suggest a T-Fal

 

[frigilux]

Here's a photo of the top-rated T-Fal Ultraglide FV4379. I found it for $42 at Amazon.

I doubt any iron is going to match the steam blast of your Rowenta with a steam generator, but what's the extra steam worth for all the leaking, spitting, etc., headaches of a Rowenta?

 

[favorit]

Was about saying JURA but ....

I have just discovered this Swiss company sells irons only in Switzerland and Italy .... it's a pity, these irons are built like tanks and last forever, the only downside has to do with wallet . As Keven wrote today Rowenta has no more a similar build quality.

One question : what's the most common wattage of US irons ?

Here in EU in the past is was 800 - 1000 W. Today it is 1800 -2200 W.

JURA Coffee Machines: Latte Macchiato, Cappuccino, Espresso and Coffee - JURA

JURA coffee machines - outstanding Swiss quality automatic coffee machines.

www.jura.com

 

[sudsmaster]

Are you using tap water, or distilled water, in your Rowenta steam generator iron???

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Tap only as recommended by the book. Thanks for the advice guys.... I'm about to go return that sucker now. I may hurl it through the window like they did in that tire commercial a few years back )

I still don't know what to replace it with.... I looked at Wal-mart last night just for fun. They only had two that I even considered touching (the rest were sharks, and I despise Europro)... the Hamilton Beach Easy Touch and the Sunbeam Steammaster with retractable cord. However, they felt REALLY cheap, and looked awful. I couldn't find any reviews about the Hamilton Beach at all online. I'm going to look at Kohls, Target, and Bed, Bath and Beyond today...

Vintage is out of the question.... I want a powerful blast of steam and the old ones, the steam just kind of oozes out!

 

[danemodsandy]

Sunbeam:

Since my vintage GE shot of steam iron is still in storage back in Atlanta, I recently bought a Sunbeam shot of steam iron at Wally World for like $17. It's not as good as my vintage GE (or the vintage Rowenta before that), but it's good enough, and since expensive irons are conking out as fast as cheap ones these days, I figure I'll certainly get seventeen bucks' worth of use from it. The model I got was the GCSBBV-101, a non-stick iron with auto-off, shot of steam, spray, swivel cord, self-cleaning and a non-stick soleplate. Styling is just as goofy as the expensive irons, too:

 

[gansky1]

The Iron Maven - love that name.

This is the one I have - a Reliable steam generator. It has a water container and pump so you don't have to stop to refill - just add water to the external tank which you can even remove from the unit and take to the sink for filling. The steam is tremendous and the ironing unit is light and easy to handle. The cork handle assures no slipping and plenty of room for those of us with less-than-dainty hands. I've seen this unit made for other brands as well, Bernina among others. They also make an ironing board with a vacuum unit that keeps the fabric stable and pulls away the steam. I don't have the board, it's pretty spendy but the iron itself was worth every penny. I found mine on ebay but just in a regular auction for far less.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[launderess]

General Consensus

Amoung craft persons and others, is that modern Rowenta irons are garbarge. They all leak sooner or later and cost too dear for what one gets. Quality has truly gone done for units made outside of Germany.

The problems OP reported with his Rowenta Steam Generator iron are common, and probably why eBay is flooded with such NIB units. If one doesn't mind paying good money for a few years of service (depending upon use), then have at it.

Personally don't haven't bothered with domestic steam irons in ages. Prefer professional gavity fed irons (have several but my current favourite is by Naomoto).

 

[supersurgilator]

AGreed, Rowenta isn't very good anymore. One of my friends works in a laundromat that does ironing and they used to buy Rowenta irons. They went through I don't know how many of those things, one only lasted a couple of months. I know that was under heavy use but still I felt they should have lasted better than that.

 

[ironrite]

I think I was one of the ones that recommended the Rowenta steam generator when that discussion came up awhile back. And I did post a thread when I bought mine. I've had mine for about 2 1/2 years now and it is still steaming strong. Sorry to hear that yours did not do so well.

And I agree, once you get used to the amount of steam these things produce a regular iron doesn't quite cut it.

The one thing I did different was to use only distilled water in it. Our regular water is too hard and I had already lost a couple of irons and a steam cleaner to the calcium build up.

 

[mixfinder]

Just Lucky

I was a devotee of the Sunbeam Shot of Steam iron and when they were no longer available I switched to Rowenta. Mom starched and ironed about 50 pair a Wranglers every week for their crew to wear at rodeos. As a sponsor, Wrangler had very high expectations for lots of starch and heavy creases in their pants. Mom saved the money and did it herself with a Rowenta after washing them in her Maytag. I have given Rowenta irons to each of the kids and none us have had issues. Consumer Report just rated irons and based on that, I upgraded to the Rowenta Advancer. There is a notable difference in effectiveness with the new sole plate design. I still iron on the bed and so far have never had to sleep in a wet spot.