They work great - clothes are so much healthier to eat when you steam them rather than deep frying them!

Sorry, I couldn't resist :-)

LOL :P)

Maybe I can use my Gaggeneau Combi Steam Oven then and just forget about the Jiffy?????!!!

lsander - I am hoping more people respond as to a good quality steamer. I have been looking for one for years.

I have a friend who has an in - home clothing sales business and has to steam all her samples when she receives them. She swears by the Jiffy steamer. I believe it is generally acknowledged to be the best of the lot.

ctkathy--thanks for the info. Could you ask your friend what model of Jiffy she uses and what advice she could give us--

Thanks!

Hi Isandler - Here's a serious answer for you! ;-)

We've owned the Jiffy J-2000 garment steamer for nearly 5 years now... (I had thought about it for years before finally "splurging" on one, since it's not cheap compared to most irons and other steamers.) Now I can't imagine living without our Jiffy! It's no longer a luxury, but a necessary appliance in our household. Even my husband is a convert, and happily steams his own stuff before work daily - it only takes him a couple of minutes. I bought one for my mom one Mother's Day a few years ago, and she loves it too. A friend of ours owns 2, just in case one should ever break down. (She's the one who first turned us one to it. That, plus if you go into many clothing boutiques, such as Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, a Jiffy is standard equipment for them.)

Steaming clothes is surely better than deep frying them - LOL, weissman! It pays for itself by saving us A LOT of time compared to ironing. We don't iron anymore. We don't even own an iron anymore. (If you have lots of men's dress shirts, an iron still works better than a steamer, IMO, but we send my husband's shirts out to the cleaners since it's only 99 cents a shirt.) It also saves money by decreasing the frequency of dry cleaning. Steaming refreshes most clothing very nicely. If there's a small stain on a suit jacket, sweater, or slacks, I often just take a wet towel to spot treat it. Now we only take clothes to dry clean when they're really dirty or sweaty.

We also bought the Steamboard, which makes steaming easier for beginners, and also allows you to make creases (i.e. in slacks) if you wish. To be honest, we don't use it most of the time, since we can steam a shirt on its hanger so quickly. However, my mom still prefers steaming w/ the board better than on the hanger since the clothing does move around a lot more on the hanger.

It's a cinch to use. There'll be a learning curve for about the first week. Be careful, you might even steam burn your hand a couple of times V That steam is HOT! The unit heats up in under a minute, which is awesome. Be wary of other brands which might be cheaper than Jiffy, since they may take longer to steam up, have a smaller water reservoir, and not produce as much steam. The last point is crucial, since the quantity of steam is what makes steaming either quick and easy, or essentially ineffective for anything but the thinnest fabrics. The power of the Jiffy allows you to steam even blue jeans with ease.

As far as problems, I've let it run dry by accident a few times; I wish it had an auto-shut off, but it doesn't. As a result, the rubber baffle on the check valve cap for the water reservoir melted. You can order replacements from Jiffy for 75 cents per pack of 3. Also, they sell a longer hose than the standard. It's sometimes easier for me to just hang the clothing on the back of the bathroom door to steam it. Sometimes I've wished that I had ordered the longer hose for that purpose, although it's just fine most of the time. Also, if you order any of the specialty heads for steaming other things, you may wish to have a longer hose for easier access.

You will have to use the Jiffy liquid cleaner to clean the machine periodically. How often depends on how often you use it and how hard your water is. It's easy to do and doesn't take long. We end up cleaning ours about once every 10 months or so. (You'll notice the steam volume start to decrease.)

If you wish to try it before buying the entire unit, consider getting the Jiffy Esteam travel steamer first (about $50-70 depending on where you buy it). It's nowhere near as powerful as the J-2000, but you'll get a good idea of how it works. The Esteam is not tiny/compact, so it is a little bulky to put into a suitcase (like a pitcher), but it's very lightweight (like a lightweight plastic pitcher), so we always take it with us when traveling rather than having to deal with hotel irons. If you like it, you'll love the J-2000 since it'll steam way faster and easier than the travel version. In any case, I think the Esteam is better and more powerful than any other travel steamer available.

Also, I've seen the J-2000 for sale at Costco in the past; not sure if they still have it now but that's a good place to try it since they have such a great return policy. It really doesn't matter, since I'm sure you'll love it and never want to return it!

WOW eleeny--thanks for such a great response.

I think I am going to order one today!

Thanks - that's exactly the kind of information we were looking for!

My pleasure! Let us know how you like it. Happy steaming!