Has anyone bought and used a mangle?

6 years ago

My beloved Chinese lady has closed her laundry - building was bought and new landlord is throwing her out. She does not wish to relocate. I've had her iron all my top sheets now for many years. Yes, I DO like my top sheets (and pillow cases - do them myself) ironed! The sheets are simply too big for me to manage anymore on my ironing board, so I'm considering buying a mangle.

Miele appears to be the brand most people recommend but this is NOT an inexpensive purchase and I would only come out ahead financially if I were running a B&B, which I am not! I'm talking about ironing about 30 sheets a year!

Have any of you purchased one of these? Brand? How do you like it? Is it hard to use on large sheets (kingsize)? How has it held up? Is it difficult or costly to repair?

Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated!

Featured Answer

homepro01

6 years ago

I have a Miele Rotary iron, you can see my posts on the laundry forum. Mine is roughly 11years old. I use it weekly. I probably iron 1000 pieces on the unit in a year. I iron all my sheets and duvets. It has worked flawless without a single issue in that time.

I have upgraderitis and recently demoed the Miele rotary iron with steam. I think I may get one in the fall. I also have a Laurastar iron that is about the same age and is due for a change. I will probably get the Miele fashion master but not sure yet.

All my sheets are king sized sheets flat sheets, I don't use fitted sheets. There is a strategy for using a mangle, I iron all the edges first, fold the item into four and them run it through the iron on each side, open the folded unit and run through for the other side. Each sheet takes about 8minutes. The sheets are slightly damp when I iron them. My Miele dryer has a rotary iron Setting to keep the sheets slightly damp for ironing.

You should look on Craigslist. In my review of Craigslist and eBay for these units, the one thing that bothered me is that it seemed the owners had changed the plugs on the unit for some reason. It always made me wonder if these were not items originally retailed by a Miele retailer. There are also two vintages of the Miele b890 series, one that was 220v and the more recent units, 12years old or newer were 110v. I have the 110v unit but the new steam iron is 220v.

Good luck!

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Comments (9)

friedajune
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Several people who frequent the Laundry Forum (link below) have a mangle.

Also check Craig's List.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/laundry
Anglophilia thanked friedajune
writersblock (9b/10a)
6 years ago
The Miele ironers seem the most popular around here. If you do a search you'll find several threads about them.
Anglophilia thanked writersblock (9b/10a)
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THANKS homepro for your support. I see the plug, thanks for linking. I looked at my dryer plug and it is huge, but similar in integrated style as the one you posted. My dryer plug has 4 prongs, so is different. The posting for the Miele in Minnisota, is too vague for me, and along with your information, I am going to pass. I don't like the fact that the dial is dirty. If a seller doesn't spiffy up an item, it sends red flags-a-wave'n. I think that has bothered me the most with this listing. There is a pro model down by St. Louis, but that is tooooo far away, and he/she hasn't returned 2 emails I've sent. This morning I've been milling around the house trying to figure out where I would keep an Ironrite. I live in a small house that is fully furnished. In the spare/guest bedroom, I can move my treadle sewing machine away from one area to another and place the Iron right in the spot, allowing full functioning of both. But it does fill up the room a bit. I don't want to put it in the basement. I found the best video! This is the style of the Ironrite that I am looking at, but the one I'm looking at is in really nice condition (new cord too) Enjoy. "Mangle Love" Craigs List Ironrite for sale
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future_retiree
6 years ago
I have a Miele Rotary Iron. It is best for flat items, sheets, tablesloths etc. Ok for pants, and marginal for long sleeve dress shirts (mens). I suspect a plain old flat iron will do a better job, but take more time and effort, on a dress shirt. I don't have a flat iron or an ironing board with which to compare.

A big word of caution on fitted sheets, If all you want to iron is the top (the part of the sheet that lies flat) it works great. But if you want to iron the sides and/or create a crease that is straight then that is hard or impossible to do. Elastic at the edges makes it so.
Anglophilia thanked future_retiree
Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
As great as the Miele rotary iron is for large flat cloth, could you not find someone who would iron your sheets at her home? A part time laundress would be a lot easier. Maybe a housekeeper looking for extra income would consider the job?

ETA I do have the Miele rotary iron. It works wonderfully. I am very happy with it.

ETA squared--- to be perfectly clear, the rotary iron only works on flat cloth for me- bed and table linens specifically. I am unable to make it useful for ironing clothing.
Anglophilia thanked Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
homepro01
6 years ago
I iron shirts, pants and other items on my rotary iron. There are a few YouTube videos that show how to do this. But as stated, it does not replace my Laurastar for detailed ironing.

Good luck!
Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
6 years ago
I'll check out the YouTubes. Thanks for the heads up homepro.
PRO
Anglophilia
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for all the advice! I hadn't thought of Craigslist but did find one there. No one home (it's about 1 hr away) but I'll try again tonight. Seems like a good buy! I've never bought anything off of Craigslist but if this is still available and we can agree on a price, I will have to take my SIL, his Suburban and my DGS with me to go get the VERY heavy thing! I'll feel safe that way,
PRO
Anglophilia
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Okay - I bought the Miele Rotary iron on Craigslist. SIL drove me to pick it up today. It's going to be a learning curve. I'll post my questions in the laundry forum.

Thank you to all who suggest Craigslist - would not have thought of looking there!

Forgot to say, I paid $500 for it. It's the B 890 model, so it's an older one.

Has anyone bought and used a mangle?

homepro01

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