Another Iron Question?
 

My Rowenta has bit the dust. I am needing to replace it. I am undecided if I want to replace it with another Rowenta or the Panasonic 360 Freestyle Cordless. Maybe there is a better iron that you like. I use an iron mostly for quilting, but will press clothes from time to time.

- I don't want anything too small or light
- I like steam

Thank you all for your help and hopefully this subject has not worn itself out.

I like steam too. I've had the Panasonic cordless one for a couple years and it's starting to leak pretty bad. I love a cordless iron though so I'll replace it probably with the same one.

I don't have the cordless one, but I do have a Panasonic. It's been a great iron for me.

I am curious to see what people recommend too. I'm on my second Rowenta and it is already on it's way out and it's only about a year old. I swore I wouldn't by another one. I am starting to believe none of them are made to last, so I will probably just buy an inexpensive iron as they all seem the same.

Honestly I replaced my Rowenta with an oliso and within a month I had purchased a Rowenta off QVC so I realized quickly how much I liked my Rowenta but it's hard to find the German made ones

I have a Oliso and love it. It took a bit of training not to put it on it's heel.

I have a Shark Professional, it is 1800 watt so it gets hot enough. There are 2 ways to steam, one is constant and the other is the shots of steam. I have been using it now for 7 months and like it very much, but I primarily use it without water, it doesn't have the teflon on it. You do have to "cure" it first, if you don't it doesn't seem to get hot and stay hot. It drove me crazy until I read the directions. I was trying to turn off the automatic shut off and found out what I had to do first.

Rowenta users- can you figure out what's breaking on them? It seems to me that the cords get a short in them.

As far as the auto shut offs go, I had to transplant one from one Rowenta into another one. It seems like you could take it out if you don't like them.

There are a lot of threads on irons if you use the search function. I have a rowenta that leaks. Then I used a black and decker digital advantage and then saw someone here liked a Maytag with a removable water reservoir so got that. It works fine.

I had a GE iron that I could have used without heat, it was so heavy but I had it for 20 yrs.

I am long overdue for a new iron also. I was going to order one from the AQS catalog.

I have had way too many irons in my life-cheap ones and expensive ones. I have been disappointed in Rowentas because of the leaking. I had one that caught fire at the cord attachment to the iron. I have a Rowenta now that I got on sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I empty it every night if I had put water in it and I turn it off with a switch. I hope this helps. The only items that rival sich poor performance are coffee pots.

My current iron is a Rowenta purchased in 2014. Although it is a steam iron, I made the decision to NOT use water in it because it was like the 3rd iron in as many years. I have well water and it has minerals in it that just eat up an iron. I use a spray bottle of water for "steam". So far this Rowenta is still going strong. I did some research on irons and found that it is the water and the "residue" it leaves behind in irons that cause the leaking, spitting, general problems.
I paid about $50 dollars for this iron, so it was not the most expensive Rowenta made but after 4 years it is just like new.
Point of all this......it may be your water that is causing the problems with your iron, not the iron itself.

I was intrigued with Jenny Doan's Oliso pop up iron. Now I can't use anything else. Heaven help you if it breaks or leaks. Just get a new one. Once you train your brain not to set it on it's heel, you can't change back. This time I read the instructions: use a cheap bottled spring water.
Marcia

I'm starting to think that steam is what ruins irons. I got a new one a few months ago and instead of using steam I spray water on the surface instead.

I have a Shark now and I love it. The orange "Ultimate Professional" one is the largest and it's huge and has tons of steam. The red one is smaller but still good steam output.

These have auto-shutoff, but it's after 15 minutes, which is long enough that it works for me. It doesn't take that long to heat up even if the auto-shutoff has kicked in.


There are a LOT of topics that come up over and over again, but you never know when there will be something new on a topic. If I'm sick of a topic, I don't click on the thread (I don't have time to read them all anyway). I would still recommend searching the archives, because some threads end up being better than others.

I have an Oliso also. It is a heavier iron and does a great job. It is hard to go back to an iron that has to be set up after using an Oliso but I do like it a lot. Don't know how long it will last though. It's a throw away world.

I am on my third Rowena. Movers broke my first one, the second one leaked and the one I have now has not had water in it ever. I love it and use a spray bottle for water. If I decide to use water, I will use distilled. I like a heavy iron though I ha e friends that buy and love cheaper ones. I am so “old school” I still iron napkins, linens and clothes and I sprinkle them just like my grand mom did

I've had 3 Rowenta's and everyone of them leaked.

I have an Oliso which I absolutely loved! I was so sad when it just stopped working. I loved the lift up feature but wasn't excited about cost to replace it. I was delighted to find that Oliso will repair/replace for a flat rate...maybe $90? Packaged it up, mailed it off and POOF..a new iron appeared. It is an expensive iron but I can't imagine going back to a normal iron!

The Reliable iron is getting the top reviews now. I use an Eureka 1800 watt. It's big, heats fasts, lots of steam, and easy glide sole that so far nothing has stuck to. The tip is great for opening seams. I found a sale online for half off and bought the 1600 watt Eureka, then I found a half off sale on the 1800. Now I have a quality back up iron.

I have adventurous cats, so I got an iron shaped silicone pad with little dull spikes that the iron lays flat on. I can even set it on it when it is hot, to cool. I can’t have an iron that tips easily with cats in the house. When I first got the pad, I only used it to put the iron on for cooling and storage. I was doing some freezer paper appliqué one day, (which forces you to pick up the iron a zillion times an an hour), when it occurred to me to lay the iron on the pad between uses. By laying it flat on the pad, I could keep the auto-off switch from activating (mine activates if the iron stands too long without being tipped) and keeping the iron hot for the full time I am using it. It also keeps me mindful of exactly where the iron is since I am losing peripheral vision. When you live on a tight budget like mine, you find the inexpensive solutions to problems. Someday I might have a fancy Oliso iron, but until then I make do with my cheaper Walmart irons. I get 7-10 years per iron. Works for me.

I never use steam. I keep a small spray bottle of water near to my iron and use that instead of steam. A couple of light quick sprays works great and does not over saturate the fabric.

I liked my Rowenta but it leaked right after the first year so I went with a Reliable instead of paying the Rowenta price. So far the Reliable has been working swell for nearly two years.

You don’t want small and light but I’ve been using a travel iron and love it for setting seams. I have to turn the dial back because it gets super hot. I picked it up at a garage sale because I thought it would serve me well in our summer rv travels (and it does).

Yes, mine did have short in it; it was right at the end of the plug where it goes into the socket. My husband's friend was able to put another plug on it yesterday, and it is working just great! Glad to hold on to that $100 plus for awhile longer.

One of the reasons I bought my Rowenta was that I could use tap water instead of the distilled water I was having to use in my old iron for steam When I tried it with tap water it leaked...same with the distilled water. I tried bottle spring water and it does not leak. I don't understand it, but I now buy bottle spring water for it, and it has never leaked.

I have a project runway Rowenta that I purchased from QVC , made in Germany,. It steams very well and is several years old..

If you have hard water you might try using distilled water....

I made the switch to Oliso a few years ago when I started learning to quilt. I love it. I leave it on all the time and just touch the handle to turn it on. It heats up super fast and does a great job. I’ll never go back to a pick up iron again unless forced to. Works particularly well with my wool mat underneath.

I have an iron from the late 70's that still works fine. I don't use the steam since it squeals after being dropped a couple of times. I had a Oliso for about a yr. when the feet started popping in & out at any time, even while ironing. 2 yrs ago I purchased the Panasonic 360 at the AQS show in GR & love it. It is wonderful not to have the cord to deal with. Since it has a charging base you don't have the same lifting from the heal so your wrist doesn't get stressed.

I have a Rowenta that is about 15 years old. The cord got a short so I took it to the local vacuum/sewing shop and had the cord replaced. It wasn't very expensive to have done.

Because of the occasional sputter of water (user error) and the cord dragging back across my quilting projects, I just bought the Panasonic 360 cordless one. I really do love it so far. I am also taking the suggestion of a misting bottle of water, rather than putting it in my iron.

For pressing seams and blocks, I love the travel Rowena. I keep it next to me by the sewing machine and my snack table pressing board. It does get hot, doesn’t shut off. The only drawback is it needs to be refilled often (as it is a travel iron). It’s not time efficient for bigger pieces

I have had 4 Rowenta irons and another one that I got from my mother-in-law after hers started leaking. I had my first Rowenta for over 20 years before it started to leak. Each Rowenta I bought after lasted a shorter time than the one before it. I finally stopped buying Rowenta after I read that they had switched to internal plastic parts and that is why they leaked faster than the older models. Although the last two irons sort of 'blew-up' and were unusable, I finally threw away all the Rowentas.

I purchased an Oliso, it started smoking and shorted out the first time I used it. I sent it back and they refunded my money. Thank goodness, that was an expensive iron.

I still have my mom's non-steam iron, that is probably as old as I am (68) and it still works really well and just use a spray bottle for steam. I use a lot of starch when quilting and this old iron works well with that and when it gets gunked up from the starch, it is a breeze to clean. There are no steam holes to have to clean, just a solid plate that cleans easily.

The only steam iron I have right now is a cheap Black and Decker that I bought for $10 and it has lasted so far for 5 years with no problems. Just goes to show that a cheap iron can last as long as an expensive one.

I have an Oliso too. I don't use steam either, just a spray bottle. So I can't comment on that.
However, I have LOTS of problems with the front foot (at the pointy nose end) of the iron. I doesn't retract all the way. It snags the fabric and crumples it under the iron. It irons in more wrinkles than it irons out. I've had it for a little over a year, & I would not buy another one.
I have replaced it with a Panasonic cordless, and a small Dritz Mighty Steam iron. I like them both.

I have three Rowentas. All 3 are different sizes and weights. I found 1 of them at thrift store, one at a antique type store with label barely used, and one at Goodwill. I paid approximately $5-6 for each. Only one did I have to have repaired and is like a brand new one now. They are older models made in Germany. I love all 3 of them. They don't leak, they get hot, and are very nice irons. I am satisfied and have no need to venture out! Occasionally I see a Rowenta at the thrift stores, and I always have to pick it up, see if it is Made in Germany, etc. They do still pop up now and then. I know buying them this way is a risk, but so far I'd say I've been quite lucky.

Look at the one that Peggy Saggers from Silhoutte Patteren uses. It sit on a base and she says the only time she's had any drippage which for some seems to be a problem is when she has overfilled the reservoir. Its around 100, Shoe plates are also good to put on the sole of your iron, you can then iron any fabric with any chance of damaging the fabric

I wasn't aware Maytag made irons...you learn something every moment. :-)

Bought my Maytag iron at Sam's Club. It was a good iron and I was happy with it. My DGD going out of state to collage in two weeks didn't have a iron and loved mine so i gave it to her and went back to Sam's to get another but they didn't have them anymore. So I am iron shopping again.

try amazon. I got a Maytag recommended by someone on the forum and I like it