I have the B&D Classic and it works just fine. Nice and heavy. No complaints.

ETA I should mention that I don't use the reservoir, just a spray bottle for dampening fabrics.

I have a Rowenta and love it-don't know about the "gold standard". I've never had the bottom plate gunk up except when I've accidentally ironed synthetics on a cotton or linen setting. Hard water can also cause that in any steam iron;distilled water is recommended and does prolong the life of the iron.

I have a rowenta also. It works very well for me -- no issues with the plate getting "gunked up". I admit, I usually use tap water but I do know that distilled water is recommended.

I love my iron. Steam is my friend, and this iron does the job for me. I only use tap water; I've had it for two years, and no complaints! This is a copy and paste from Amazon: SINGER Expert Finish 1700 Watt Anti-Drip Steam Iron with Brushed Stainless Steel Soleplate, LCD Electronic Settings and Smart Auto-Off. It has never gotten "stuck" or "gunked". If something happened to it, I would buy another.

Not sure what brand I have, but I always get one with a nonstick soleplate, plastic water container, with shot of steam and a sprayer. I don't buy an over priced brand, but I don't buy the cheapest either. As long as it has all the above, I've been happy. I'm on my second one only because I accidentally dropped my first one. I was not happy, as that was the first iron since the one my Mom had when I was a teen that I never had a problem with. On this latest one has a bonus of a retractable cord.

Our very first laundry lady brought her own Rowenta iron to our house after turning up her nose ---very politely---at my Sunbeam. (We had three children in school uniforms which they changed out of after school and two in riding lessons and a DH who played tennis every day, so we generated laundry in epic proportions.) When we moved house to another state our new lady also used a Rowenta, but she made me buy my own, lol. She recommended the heaviest one, and used only distilled water to fill it. It lasted for about five years in every other day use and the replacement was not as good because they weren't as heavy anymore. It's only used weekly now so the "new" Rowenta will probably last as long as we do. I personally loathe ironing but I love wearing ironed clothing and sleeping between ironed sheets!

Another important feature (besides those recommended by justgotabme) is one that turns itself off after not being moved for a period of time, usually around 10 min. As I get older and more absent-minded, I rely on my appliances to think for themselves!

Not sure if it's still true, but the major iron mfrs. all used to recommend tap water only. They blamed distilled water for causing drips and water leaks. I haven't gone iron shopping for a long time, so may be behind the times on this.

The only times I've had a gunky soleplate were from ironing synthetic fabric on too high a heat and getting the bonding material from fusible interfacing on the iron.

Another important feature (besides those recommended by justgotabme) is one that turns itself off after not being moved for a period of time, usually around 10 min.

The B&D does this, but I don't think it's as long as 10 minutes, more like 5.

I personally hate to iron. But DH will iron and doesn't seem to mind it. We have had B&D, Rowenta, and a couple of Sunbeams. Hated the B&Ds, but those were a long time ago. The Rowenta was very heavy and didn't last long. The Sunbeams have been the best IMO, and I really like the one we have now. It is relatively lightweight, has not gummed up on the bottom, and has an auto shut-off. It was pretty much at the top of their line iirc, when we bought it several years ago and is pink. Yes, it was a special run and got it at a special price.

Withoutanh, we are on a well, and even though our water is filtered it is still harder than that from most municipal sources. When most people say "tap" water they are referring to city or county supply water. If we used plain well water in our iron and coffee maker they would not last long!

I bought a cheapo iron for our vacation place. I didn't realize it was so poorly designed (and I wasn't expecting much) until I used it. There was nothing preventing the water from shooting back out from the area you pour it in. So with each back and forth motion of the iron, hot water shot out the top. I brought it back and after I explained the reason for the return, the clerk said "well, you get what you pay for." I bought a slightly better one and it's been fine for how little I use it there.

B&D Classic irons are my preference. The Rowenta that turned itself off drove me nuts. The classics last 10-15 years. I had both about that time and they both went within a span of months. Replaced with same. Heavy enough, gets hot quickly, and has excellent steam. Just requires distilled water so it doesn't spit out gunk.

My Rowenta is 11 years old. I've always used tap water. The instructions specifically say "Never use 100% distilled water since this can cause the iron to spit and leak." If you have hard water then they recommend half tap and half distilled.

withoutanh, thanks for bringing that feature up. Mine has that too. Just forgot about it.

Maddie, I'm going to look at that iron. I don't mind ironing, as long as it's not alot at one time. I iron most everything (hubby irons some of his items), but not sheets ;-). I love a good steam iron. My iron also cuts itself off, as does my curling iron (used to straighten bangs LOL), but I don't trust that feature. A plugged in small appliance could still cause a problem. I guess it's better than one that doesn't cut itself off, but I strive to unplug any such item. Don't ask my hubby how many times we've gotten in the car and I ask "did I turn the curling iron off?" HA! I have gotten to where I say out loud when I unplug it "curling iron is unplugged", so that I will remember unplugging it!!

i currently have a rowenta and i like it fine... for an iron! i just wish that the water tank was larger! i 'save up' my ironing and do a lot at one time (infrequently) and the iron always needs to be refilled at least once...

i either use RO water from the spigot or distilled...

I only use a Rowenta. None of the other brands get hot enough to do a good job on heavier materials like cotton and linen. I have never had a problem with the soleplate.

Many years ago you could buy an inexpensive Sunbeam or Proctor Silex and get decent iron. My first lasted for probably 20 years. Then I was buying them every couple of years. Got sick of that so bought a Rowenta about 10 years ago. No problems with it all and I iron almost every day.

Rowenta here. I dropped an older iron and broke it -- the replacements were not as good, so I decided to bite the bullet and try the Rowenta. Followed the advice of only getting the models marked Made in Germany. Bought one and DH, who does most of the ironing, loved it. I now have one for my sewing room too and one son has one. The other is using my parents' last iron, but I may have to replace it. Both of the boys are musicians and wear dress shirts and tux shirts often.

We use half and half (distilled/tap) water. Our water isn't that hard, but we found the mix works best. Also, you do need to clean the Rowentas. They have a cleaning cycle and it's easy to do.

My Rowenta is close to 20 yrs old and I love it. I wish I had someone else to do my ironing for me though!

After going through several inexpensive steam irons I finally bought a Rowenta and as lascatx mentioned made sure it was made in Germany.

I've had it for over 10 years and it works fine, I've never had gunk on the bottom and I'm careful to avoid ironing synthetics on high heat, even the little care labels may be synthetic. And I use tap water.

The only complaint I have is that it doesn't have an off switch - you have to unplug it. It does have an automatic shut off if it isn't used but I'm stumped as to why t doesn't turn off. My Dad always told me to turn all electrical appliances off before unplugging and I think of him every time I unplug mine.