I'm hard on irons. Tried the Rowenta. Thought if I spent a lot of money it would be good. Not so. My favorite is the Sunbeam. This what I look for. One without a teflon bottom, a large soleplate, and one that takes a lot of water so I don't have to be refilling all the time. This one works for me and has lasted longer than all the rest. I can't stand when they start "spitting" after awhile. Try the Sunbeam "spitless". It is reasonably priced.

Teflon - yes.

Steam - yes.

Light weight - yes.

Spray - yes.

Auto-off - yes.

dcarch

This will be my next iron.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon iron

Tell her to look for cheap!!
I like a heavy iron because most of my ironing is linens.
I actually have an ancient non steam heavy iron I use when I have a bushel of dampened linen to iron.
Linda c

I've had several Rowentas in the last few years... They all leak and spit after a short period of time... I even tried the steam generator and hated it.... I had to wait for it to cool before I could refill it and had no way of knowing how full I was filling it until water spilled out of it. I also didn't know when out was running low until I was out of water. The final straw was when the steam got stuck on... The trigger broke and I marched that sucker back to Bed Bath and Beyond for a full refund. Then I bought an Oliso from Joanns for 125. It has little legs that come out when you release the handle so you can leave the iron horizontal at all times... A feature you can't fully appreciate until you've tried it for yourself. It heats fast, produces plenty of steam, and has the control dial right at the top where it belongs. It is also easy to fill with a large, side mounted fill hole. The only one at Target that is the least bit intriguing is the Sunbeam Convertible iron... The handle can be removed from the base and converted to a hand held steamer. I don't have any real world experience with it though. A long cord is a great feature to have. Another is an easy to fill and monitor tank and easily accessible temperature dial. Most people also prefer an iron with a bit of weight. What I have learned is that an expensive iron doesn't necessarily mean a good one.

Of course if money were no object, I would have a Laurastar.

Another good feature that comes on almost all irons is an auto off ... I have 4 irons (2 Rowentas, one GE with a super long cord and the Oliso) because I kept the old ones in case I ever needed a back up... I switch back and forth out of boredom sometimes but they all have auto off and I can't count the number off times I've been thankful for that feature.

Unfortunately, you won't know if you've got a spitter until you've spent some quality time with it. Good luck! Stay away from Shark/Europro... Their products are awful quality and Target peddles them in abundance!

Just don't buy a Rowenta. I have one (purchased new) that doesn't get hot enough (for cotton). Got another Rowenta, at a rummage sale. It got plenty hot the first time I used it. The second time I wanted to use it, it wouldn't heat up at all!

If you have a little time, peruse thrift shops, garage sales for irons from the 1950s and 1960s. The ones with the cloth cords, silver bodies, black handles. They don't build them like they used to!

Ebay: look for 'vintage iron steam' US only, maybe add General Electric. Sample below.

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay item

And if you do find one of those wonderful G.E's, run it with a tank full of white vinegar for a bit. Sit it on a trivet and let it steam the gunk out.....then dump refill with distilled water and let it steam some more....dump and it should be good to go.

Gee and I thought that we were the only ones who were dissatisfied with Rowenta! I don't recall which one that I bought but it's a cheaper, American brand from Costco.

You may want to consider a dual voltage steam iron if you travel out of the USA.

Hamilton Beach 10090, for instance.

dcarch

Thanks everyone. I'm sorry to post and run. Life has been kind of crazy, some good, some not so much, some just busy.

To explain why I needed your help, one project last weekend was to fix up our closets. We installed new rods, shelves above the rods, and I built shelving units to fit in the dark corners of the closets where there were crooked shelves and dissolving wallpaper installed by (apparently) a lazy blind man many years ago. So all the clothes got piled on the bed, we started sleeping in the kids' beds, and naturally it didn't get done last weekend. And it didn't get done last week. It finally got done this Saturday and then we had the bright idea of starting a new project to sort through our clothes and getting rid of the too-big, the too-small, and the crimes-against-fashion that seemed to fill our closets. We're still sleeping with the kids at that point. I got rid of all my 36" pants and most of my XL shirts. Wait, I have almost no "office pants" that fit now. Thankfully SWMBO had saved all my 32" and 34" pants so I don't have to spend a bunch on a new wardrobe. But it is all creased and rumpled. I had a mountain of ironing to do. Our iron proceeded to dribble cold water over everything while not heating up. I was exasperated! So we needed a new iron right away.

We now have a shiny new Hamilton Beach iron. It has all the features you all recommended, except a non-stick sole. I don't like non-stick pans so I figured why use a non-stick iron. I have a closet of freshly ironed pants. We are still sleeping with the kids, but the day of returning to the conjugal bed is in sight.

Oh, there were some embarrassments and peculiarities hiding in my closet. When's the last time you cleaned out your closet? What's lurking in there? How about

- A body-hugging, stretchy-fabric shirt with black and gold stripes and gold buttons. As God is my witness, it was a gift.

- Several "tropical adventurer" shirts, with quick-dry fabric, big breast pockets, mesh ventilation panels, safari epaulettes. Indina Jones as interpreted by Speedo. Really, what dork wore these?

- A football jersey from July 12, 1998 at 9 pm Paris time when France won the World Cup and men sobbed in the streets, crying that it was the greatest day since the Liberation. With all the sweat, beer, and cigarette stains of that moment and the next 12 hours, perfectly preserved through 14 years of not laundering. Gross!

- A pair of 38" pants. Apparently I was preparing for the next stage of my ascent to Heaven, where I would have assumed the proportions of Buddha himself.