Wednesday, July 30, 2008
New Iron
My steam iron seems to have suddenly given up the ghost. It overheats almost instantly. I scorched the cloth that I had over my new ironing board cover. Lucky I had that cloth on there. Now I am wondering if it is worth it to invest in a Rowenta. My present iron is a $100 cordless that I really like but it's only about 4 or 5 years old so I am feeling a bit leery about replacing it with the same one. I suppose that is a long time considering that it is on for several hours most days. I am also wondering if I might prefer something lighter to save the arm muscles when I don't stand up to iron a short seam. The other concern is our hard water. I know they say self-cleaning but most irons that I have owned have started spitting grit out after a year or two. Any advice???
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12 comments:
I'm running a sunbeam heritage series -- it has an automatic shut off which I love, but heats quickly, has LOTS of steamif you want it, and can easily be cleaned so should work with hard water OK...
I get much more life out of an iron by using distilled water. I didn't like the weight of the cordless ones. I go into stores and see how they feel in my hand. I also like lots of steam holes and a very pointy tip. Not having an automatic shut off would be a deal breaker for me. Good shopping.
Good luck with the iron search.
I have found that since I stopped ironing clothes, my irons seem to last longer!LOL!
That K quilt is going to be fantastic.
I'm hard on irons and am lucky to get 2 years out of one! Have managed to find one I like so I just keep buying the updated one of that model. I like a heavy iron with good steam!
Wow. That's a loaded question. Everybody seems to have such definite ideas!
As for me, I cannot abide an auto-shutoff iron. Like you, I have mine on for hours a day, so I have never been interested in investing much $$ into something that's going to be abused as I know it will. What if I spend upward of $100 and it's crap? Nah, not for me.
I'm good with the $30 Black n Decker or Sunbeam, as long as they don't have auto-off. Currently I'm using a T-Fal iron that Mr. W. found inexpensively on Amazon. I'm very happy with it. Surprisingly, my inexpensive irons tend to last 4 or 5 years, so I am happy with the bang for the buck.
I had a Rowenta several years ago. Although I worked at a fabric store then and got it at a considerable discount, it was still expensive. It only lasted about 5 years. I was quite disappointed when it didn't heat any more. (I didn't have it on for 8 hurs a day.)
I now have a Sunbeam Steam Master and have been very happy with it. It probably came from wal-mart. I'm not big on light weight or auto shut off. Like Katie, I also use distilled water. It comes from wal-mart, too (about .75 a gallon). I'm not sure why I use distilled water but my mom always did. My father collected it from the a/c hose.
I'd look for one that has variable levels of steam (not that I use anything but high. . .) but I think it says "something" (not sure what) about the quality of the iron. Lois
we have a rather expensive one that lifts automatically and shuts off by itself. I wouldn't get one personally, the buttons stick and that lifting is annoying. But we have some customers that swear by it. Personally, the cheapies seem to be the best and seem to last as long or longer than the expensive ones. Besides, then if you don't like it you haven't lost a lot of $$.
I just got a cheap one at a big box store (to replace a 5 year old cheap one from a big box store) & I couldn't be happier.
I know "pro's" & "All the time quilting" quilters who had Expensive ones & "used them up" in a year - so they are now using cheapie ones too.
I have had a Rowenta for a number of years now - purchased from Costco. The first one began overheating - I returned it for another. The second started dripping water, making a huge mess on everything - I returned it for another. Because of our hard water situation I use only distilled water now and have no problems. Still I keep the box and receipt tucked in the garage . . . thank goodness Costco has a liberal return policy.
I am still using 3 irons. *smile* I discussed my irons in this old post.
Joyce, to be honest I'm seriously hard on irons, partly due at the old house to hard water but can't claim that at this house as it's very soft. I've had posh expensive irons and they've lasted no longer than the cheapies so I'm afraid I go for the £4 ones in either Asda (our branch of Walmart) or Lidl (pile it high, sell it cheap German chain of stores) and I buy three or four when the price is good and keep them in the loft ready for when the next one goes - I do tend to leave them on a lot so that won't help either
One more opinion -- cheap lasts as long as expensive. My Rowenta lasted less than 2 years, and I didn't abuse it in any way. It had the auto shut off. 2 of my Auto shut-off irons stopped shutting off, or was it turning on ... several dials of various irons was waaaaaay, some don't get hot enough, and steam ALWAYS quits no matter what kind of water I use. I am not a happy camper when it comes to irons.
My theory ... I believe they are ALL programmed to QUIT in 2 years or less. That way, the dirty buildup that sometimes spurts on our garments/fabric, never accumulates, which seems to be the worst of the problems from the manufacturer's point of view. So, the engineers just made them to quit BEFORE the dirty buildup can spit.
I ALWAYS used distilled water, but it seems to make no difference. Now I buy cheap, and use a spray bottle.
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