A Pressing Discussion!

Do you like to iron?  I don’t!  But, from time to time, ironing is necessary.  From pressing a crease in my slacks to blocking an almost completed crochet item, I much prefer to work with an iron that will put out a lot of steam, heat up quickly, has a good selection of heat settings, and is easy to handle.

When I received this iron to review, I gave it a brief testing on a stack of wrinkled linen napkins since linen requires the hottest setting and benefits from the most steam.  I was pretty amazed at how quickly and easily I replaced the wrinkled stack with a nicely pressed, neatly creased stack of napkins!  But, I wanted some other opinions, so I took the iron with me to the March meeting of the St. Louis Crochet Club.

We had a bumper crop of attendees for the iron assessing event.  Fifteen or so women each handled the iron, checked out its features, and ventured an opinion.  Three passed it along with ‘I don’t iron!’ – and I’m usually one of them!  But, the more serious crocheters all ventured more positive opinions.  Our one bonafide textile artist (Hi, Mandy!) lusted after the iron, noting its large reservoir and continuous steam capacity and that it would do most of the muscle work for her when she’s finishing various items.  Another unusual feature of this iron is the ability to use it as a vertical steamer so you can steam a hanging garment without actually touching the iron to it.  A nice plus!

So, why would you put out $169.00 USD to buy this monster iron?  Because, if you find ironing essential to your wardrobe or craft, the features on this one will wow you!  A built in steam sensor produces steam even when the sole plate is not touching anything.  Further, the steam is continuous and includes two heating elements that produce that steam without the spitting or leaking I’ve suffered with other irons.  As long as the iron is plugged in and there’s water in the 10 oz water reservoir, you’ll have steam.  There is an easy to read and adjust heat/steam setting, a 360 degree swivel cord, ergonomic design (it’s rather large) that makes it easier on your hands and arms, and is approved for use on all fiber types.  The cord is over 8 feet long so with that 360 degree swivel, the iron is very easy to operate around corners, pleats, and contours.  The iron also has a built in anti-scale cartridge and, for safety’s sake, an automatic turn off after 8 minutes of idling.

I crochet, quilt, and sew so having a great iron is essential for my finishing work.  In the past, I’ve battled with under-performing irons for which I paid a lot of money (up to $80 ten years ago).  Most electronic devices these days are made with pathetically short cords, forcing one to perform gymnastic moves to execute the simplest tasks.  I’ve even had delicate fibers scorched when the steam iron spat out too much water – not steam.  Not so with this iron.  It’s earned its place on my ironing board.