You won't find my answer helpful if you don't like Rowenta because that's what I've had many years, last one came from Costco. I do have a love/hate relationship with the auto off feature, especially if I'm doing some sewing, I can't leave it on to press open seams etc.

Truthfully, I have very few things that require ironing, just an occasional touch up to a few clothing items, and some attention to table linens once in a while.

DH on the other hand, insists on even his work jeans being creased. He doesn't wear them to an office setting, he's out hiking in the darned woods :) He does his own ironing, I won't.

Had a Rowenta, was not the crazy about it. These are the things I look for in an iron..... silver sole plate not teflon, (it can be cleaned with a scrubbing pad (Brillo, etc.) a large sole plate and a large water capacity (mine holds about 2 cups which means you aren't having to fill it often). I have a Sunbeam and it fits all these qualifications. Before this iron, it seems like I was replacing my iron every two or three years. I've had the Sunbeam for quite a few years now and it's still going strong. One other thing, it has a real long cord which I also love.

I quilt, so I use my iron at least 5 days a week, and sometimes have it on for 5 or 6 hours at a time.

While some people do love them, I find Rowentas are vastly over-priced and over-hyped. My first one failed within the first month - the plastic water reservoir leakedn (no, it was never dropped, just shoddy construction). It took 3 months for the under-warranty replacement to arrive. That one failed in 6 months. A few years later, I got a very good deal on another Rowenta, but a different model. It failed within a year. Believe me, I learned my lesson.

I got a Sunbeam Steam Master at Target for about $25. It has been going strong for about 5 years. It never drips, has multiple steam volumes, has a cleaning feature, runs on tap water, gets very hot, and is lightweight. It also has automatic shut-off.

I had a (Costco) Rowenta for a few years, then it quit. I wear mostly cotton clothes so I do iron often, but for the price it should have lasted much longer. I decided to try a Panasonic cordless about a year ago, and so far, so good! I really do like it, though it's nothing fancy. The unit stays plugged in, then I set the iron back on the base as I'm moving the piece of clothing around for a few seconds. Sometimes I'll do more than that before setting it back for a sec or three. I don't think it takes any longer to iron a piece than it did before, and I don't have to deal with the cord. (I'm left-handed.)

You choice looks good. I have always bought Sunbeam because they have lots of steam holes in their plates.

My son bought a Rowenta for his sister, and I have used it. You have to buy the models made in Germany, not China. I researched it and found this model that seemed reasonably priced and had lots of high user recommendations, and I do think it is a great iron, moreso than my Sunbeam by far.

I still am using the inexpensive iron we got as a wedding gift 25 years ago. I don't use it very often.. maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

Good luck with your shopping!

I never iron~~~my DH does some of his shirts, I won't buy anything I have to iron life is too short~~~;) I do have a small steamer thingie I use if needed~~I carry a spray product on vacations I think it is from Downey~~you lightly spray your clothing then shake and let it dry good to go~~

Like my iron, just don't like to use it!

I love my Rowenta, but I have to say - I used a Panasonic iron in one of the zillion-and-a-half hotels I've stayed at over the past few years, and I was very impressed by it.

What I do is go to Walmart and look at the few at the lowest price range. I handle it and see how it feels. My only requirement is that it can steam and I can see the water level. I normally walk out with one that cost around $10 +/-. It lasts for yrs. and when it dies, I start all over again.

Due to limit spacing, I have to unplug and fold away the iron board when done. Thus, I never have the need to have the auto shut off.

Really, it's just an iron. and all models & brands do its job. Why sweat over it.

Really, it's just an iron. and all models & brands do its job. Why sweat over it.

I'm not sweating, Ntt_hou--I'm having fun. I enjoy researching purchases, and I love anticipation.

Morz8, I was wondering about the auto shut-off feature, which most of the current models have. Most of my ironing involves sewing, and even though I don't do a lot of it anymore I could see how it would be frustrating to come back to the ironing board and discover the iron shut itself off.

Hi again alisande,

Have your tried yard sales?

If you get one that you don't like ... go yard-saling again.

And put the one you didn't like into your next one ... or one at the church, social agency, etc.

ole joyful

I iron so much that I keep a back up iron in the closet in case my iron dies. I too had a rowenta at one point but was not impressed by it at ll. It was constantly spitting. I have a Sunbeam that is a real workhorse. Its lasted a long time. A bit difficult to add water to it, and it spits a little here and there. Looking at what others here say so I have ideas the next time I am in the market for an iron. I didn't realize some have larger water capacities-that would be nice! I use a europeon ironing board-love the size!

Joyful, I like yard sales, but I don't think I've ever seen an iron at one. If I did, I'd probably figure there was a reason someone discarded it. :-)

All irons are not created equal, that's for sure. I have a t-fal and it doesn't get hot enough. And I hate those 10 minute shut off safety features, I used to have one that was 18 minutes and it was perfect. I'm about ready for a new iron as the plastic is starting to disintegrate near the tip on this 3 year old one, so let us know if you get this purple one, Susan, and if you like it!

I've read too many bad reviews about Rowentas to ever buy one. No thanks, I'm usually happy enough with a $30 one if it lasts 3 or more years. I use mine almost every day. I never put it away.

I have seen irons at yard sales and flea markets. I'd like to find a retro shiny chrome beauty with a black handle!! I can't believe I admitted that.

Lisa - Is this the one? I don't do much ironing, but when I do I want this workhorse. Had this one going on 13 years. It does use distilled water but a gallon lasts a loooong time. I can't stand those lightweight irons.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black & Decker Classic Iron

When I Ironed many year ago it was my husbands dress shirts , I had a Rowenta. I must say it made my ironing go so much easier. Now that he is retired and I don't iron that much I would give the pansonic a try. Sounds very nice.

Lisa, here's another option:

Hamilton Beach Retro Iron

Eighteen minutes sounds a lot better than 10, Flamey. I see the Panasonics are 10, but that seems to be the standard now. I guess you get up at the 9-minute point and shake it or something. ;-)

This post was edited by alisande on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 8:40

I don't like ironing at all. I own an iron and a board but I haven't used them in years. I will never buy an item of clothing that requires ironing. I like things you can wash and dry easily.

Okay, I just ordered the purple Panasonic, along with a Woolite silicone-coated ironing board cover. My last cover was Teflon, which I liked because the scratching cats couldn't do much damage. I hope this new one holds up just as well.

I looked up the Sunbeams, but was a little put off by negative reviews of the current models. I realize people are more likely to post negatively than positively, but I found myself coming back to the Panasonic.

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Yes, that is the 'style' I want for my next iron! Some of the ones I looked at once in the store were $60-$80. Maybe they are larger. Hoping to find one of those at yard or estate sales. Many people don't iron, so they get rid of them. I remember metal electric toy irons my sister and I had. They got quite warm and we would iron our faces with them lol.

LOL, I didn't even know what you meant when I opened this post. Not even when I started to read it, it's been so long since I have used an iron. I was expecting the thread to be about beef or something. It wasn't until you referenced that some people like to use a heavy iron that I caught on but until then I was ??????, seriously.
Yeah my clothes are on the casual side, to say the least. Good luck with the new iron.

I prefer liquid Geritol for my iron ... what? Not that kind of iron? oh.

I iron almost every day. I've had everything from a Rowenta to el cheaporino iron brands and all started leaking and spitting water in short order.

I finally stopped using the steam setting when I press clothes and have now used the same iron (a mid-level Sunbeam) several years without complaint. I hate ironing without steam but it sure cuts down on the staining and frustration.

Wish I had though to try it when I had the Rowenta because I paid a pretty penny for that baby. I think one of my kids now has it.

Jodi-

Reading all the comments, I realize I've never ironed with steam. Well, maybe that's not quite true.....I remember something to do with distilled water back in my youth. But for as long as I've been married I've spritzed the clothes with spray from a water bottle, and used the iron dry.

I can tell there's a lot I don't know about ironing.

Jodi, with the hard water here it's important to use distilled water to alleviate the "spitting." I keep forgetting to buy it, so I'm dealing with the spitting and deposits landing on my clothes right now. Oops.

I don't know anything about the iron you posted.Just want to give you a heads up on something I found out the hard way a few years ago when I got a new one.

I got a sunbeam,not that that matters,what does matter at least to me is the color of the resovoir.Mine like the one you are showing is a dark color like yours,only blue.It didn't come with a filler cup or anything.I found that every time I filled it,i over filled it because I couldn't see the water level thru that dark color,and always ended up with a wet ironing board.

I emailed them and told them the problem I was having with it,and about a week later they sent me a measuring cup!!

Now I ask you,why didn't they include that with the iron?? I'm sure i'm not the only one that had this problem.

So as a caution to you,check to see if you can see thru the water window.

Other than that it is a very good iron.I had had rowentas before this one.
Kathi

What's an iron?

What's an iron?

We do not do much ironing at my house. 30 years ago when we had 3 kids running around, I was concerned about starting a fire with the iron. We lived in a 2 story and the laundry and ironing board were in the basement. The potential was high for someone to leave the iron on, run upstairs, and forget about the iron. In fact, it happened in our house. Fortunately, the iron was parked on end on a pad and was not on high heat.

I bought a Sunbeam because it had automatic shut-off. If the iron is sitting with its face flat (horizontal) it shuts off in about 1 minute; if the iron is parked on its end (vertical) it stays on for a longer period of time, but will shut off if it not moved. It does not shut off the power, just the heating element. A orange light flashes to remind you it has shut off the heat, but is still powered. This is a great safety feature.

I do not recommend this brand because of the disruptive changes that has happened to their factory and it may be out of business. What I do recommend is the feature described above.

what iron?? don't have one anymore...got to love the no iron dress shirts..esp the ones from Costco!

I hardly ever iron clothing, but I'm constantly ironing fabric or applying fusible webbing or pressing open seams. That's why I use my iron every day.

Jodi- some of the newer irons say DON'T use distilled water, use tap and then use their cleaning feature. Ha. I read those instructions and decided to just never put water in my iron, use the spritzer bottle instead. Works great for me, we have really hard water too.

I read somewhere that somebody had a radio or a lamp hooked up to come on when the iron was plugged in, to help remind her to shut it off when finished ironing. Must have been before all these annoying safety-features were invented. Yeah, I know, safety is important, but they should give us options for shut-off times.

Here's another tip- clean the groove in your iron occasionally, where the body of it meets the sole plate- it can fill up with lint which always seems to fall out when you're ironing something white. LOL I never could understand where those dark smudges were coming from until one day I took a look in there, wow!

Alisande,
Can you tell me about the lightweight ironing board?

Shay, I think it was this one. Although mine has a printed cover. I bought it on Walmart's website, and had it shipped to the store. Very inexpensive, very lightweight, works well.

I think Rhizo recommended it to me. If she see this, perhaps she can confirm that it's the correct model.

I have my great grandmother's iron- probably from the 40s or 50s... I got a new one when I moved out but did not like it.

This one is super heavy and does a better job of getting wrinkles out- but it will make your back/shoulder sore

I think that I have about three irons around here, alisande ... if I can remember where they may be hiding.

I should have offered to send you one.

Or send it with Nita, who's to visit here soon - we're looking forward to that. She seems to get around to visit with so many of us.

ole joyful

Have a ironing board n iron but rarely use it .

Have a ironing board n iron but rarely use it .

I have never found a "no iron" article of clothing that doesn't look better after being ironed.

My poor grandfather wore "perma press" shirts that looked like hell because my witch of a grandmother got rid of her iron when "permanent press" became popular.

I iron almost everything we wear: pants, shirts, my dresses/skirts, even t-shirts and polo shirts. I'd rather look nice than like an unmade bed. (But even I don't iron sheets, although it's tempting... and yes _ I work outside the home, an average of 50 hours per week).

I've been hoping my new iron would be shipped quickly, but just discovered Amazon's shipping estimate is July 1 to August 10. I've been spoiled . . . everything usually arrives so quickly from Amazon. When I ordered it, I didn't notice it said it would ship in 1 to 3 months. Huh??

Newegg says that particular iron has been discontinued. Hmm......I hope this doesn't mean I'll have to start all over again with my iron selection.

You can cancel an item before it ships. I wouldn't want to wait that long.

I don't want to wait that long either. But no one else seems to have it in stock. That's why I have the feeling I'll end up picking another iron.

After reading this thread and seeing that even the great German products are now being made in China, my heart hurts a little or a lot...actually. So with that information I went to ebay and found a made in Germany Rowenta that has been "remanufactured" and paid $39.99, free shipping. Probably too much but what the heck. It had everything wanted, a retractable cord and smooth steel sole plate, clear removable water reservoir and it's kind of pretty : ) I hope I am as happy when it gets here. I stayed at the Marriott in La Jolla, CA a couple of weeks ago and they had the neatest irons but I failed to notice the manufacturer. It had the retractable cord with no issues with standing up straight. I loved it. I suppose I could call out there and ask them what kind it was. I didn't want to spend a fortune. I just bought a Black and Decker iron but it's not top 'o the line and really feels like it with that teflon finish on the sole plate that I now know I really hate. It makes ironing drudgery with dragging along. The only reason I bought it was for the retractable cord and it was $29.99 on sale at Macy's. It did leak and spit. Wah...but what did I expect for $29.99. But it was originally $44. Oh well. I do hope I will like my "remanufactured" Rowenta because iron shopping is a bit frustrating these days with everything made in China and not like what we were used to back in the day.

Some Rowenta irons are still made in Germany - but they're the higher priced models.

If you liked the iron you used at the Marriott you can call the hotel and ask to be connected to Housekeeping. They should be able to tell you the manufacturer.

I have a black & decker which I hate. if it gets too hot the plate starts "melting' and i get eon my clothes. Have to check it and wipe it with an old rag all the time.

marie_cate, that is what I should have done for sure is call the Marriott. As per my previous post above, I got the iron from ebay and was so excited to use it. I go to plug it in and the cord will not stay un-retracted (if that's a word). I am trying to start ironing and the cord keeps pulling back into the iron. It seems to be going on and off. I am distraught AGAIN! Why is it so hard to find a decent iron?

I took the Black and Decker back to Macy's because it leaked and made white circles on my clean laundry and the teflon was hard to move across clothes. Of course by this time the Rowenta had gone off sale and so I left with nothing. I'm not paying $90 for an iron that was $44.00 the day before.

Being back to square one, I went on Amazon and found the Rowenta (made in China) with the retractable cord that had gone off sale at Macy's for $5 less than the sale price. I immediately ordered it but then read bad reviews about it. Rowenta DW2290 Sheesh..I am supposed to receive it on Tuesday. We'll see if frantic housewife finally gets the ironing done.

The used retractable Rowenta DE480 I ordered on ebay had terrible reviews even though it was made in Germany. Gads, wish I had found those reviews first. I am thinking many got returned but the ebay guy said he had refurbished it but it wasn't refurbished at all. I will have to pay to ship it back to him if I ever hear from him about it. It will get resolved in time through ebay but just one more frustration and you can't do anything in the first 7 days of having received it unless you contact the seller which is what I did. My husband is an engineer though work is scarce right now and looked at it but I told him not to try to fix it because I wouldn't be able to return it and also why should he spend his Saturday and day off doing it?

So the saga continues. I prefer the retractable after the iron fell on my head when stored on an upper shelf because of the cord making it unbalanced to sit on, I know silly reason but I just like it better and was sold after using the one at the Marriott. ... I will be calling them. I'm sure it wasn't even an expensive iron but I liked it so much and it had the retractable cord that didn't cause any problems when resting the iron (like balance problems).

So far I have learned: I do not like any sort of coating on the sole plate of an iron.

Search internet for bad reviews then take all reviews with a grain of salt especially the glowing ones...

Made in Germany seems to have gone the way of made in the USA. It's impossible to find and a used one that is refurbished might have been a lemon model.

Lastly, they sure don't make things the way they used to!!! We are not in Kansas anymore Toto...

I am happy to report that the seller on ebay completely refunded my money for the faulty iron. I found a retractable cord Rowenta DW2290 iron on Amazon that I like pretty well now and got at a good price. I've been using it for over a month now. It glides smoothly on it's stainless soleplate, provides good steam with good heat. I love the retractable cord, but I am careful with how I retract it so it keeps retracting for many years to come. I do a lot of ironing and so it's important to me to have it go as easy and quickly as possible. So far so good. I did notice that because there are so many steam holes in the iron about 300 that I must refill the water quite often but that's not really a huge problem but just a little like sheesh! I just filled that! But it's fine. All is well again, thank you for all of your help.