Help !!
 

I have seen a lot of threads on irons. Here's what I learned, the cheaper irons get the most votes, Rowenta irons have water leakage issues, look at what the auto shut time is because that get annoying if its too short. I'm no help on brand at the moment because we're stationed in Germany and I have a 220volt. I wouldn't pay over 20.

I get mine at walmart 20$ or 25. They all leak at some time. I tell people who sell these expensive irons "I'll tell the iron when I want it to shut off. LOL

I had a rowenta iron. It leaked and went out. I now use a balck and decker. I won't buy any more expensive irons. When mine goes out I will buy a cheap dry iron. I don't use steam, just a spray bottle if I need water.

I go for the cheaper irons too. Black and Decker. I do have one iron that never gets filled so that it never leaks. Or as I learned, any iron with water in it can be incontinent.

I had a Rowenta for over 15 plus years before the leaking issue. I felt I got my money out of it. I like a shark iron but one did have a leak. Shark has a goofy way of turning it on, so if you take it to share with quilters, you have to do a tutorial with them when they go to use it. I would only buy another Rowenta if Costco carried them again and I could get it as a good price. I would like to get a portable small Rowenta and have my eye on one in Joanns, but am waiting for a sale. When my Rowenta died, I just picked up whatever Costco was selling at the time, I think it is a Sunbeam, I have my Shark as my travel iron right now as it is lighter, but I perfer the Shark over the Sunbeam. I picked up several Sharks as gifts in Costco, but they don't always carry them.

Got mine from Big Lots for under 20; Black n Decker or Sunbeam. I've also had the shark. I won't spend over that for one. I like the concept of the Olisimo (the one that auto raises itself), fons n poter and Nancy Z uses it but it's a lot of money to put out if it doesn't last.

I love using steam and have never had an issue with these leaking. I had one that was a little on the small side with ridges along the tip. That was a pain because when pressing small pieces it'd catch the fabric. I gave that one to my daughter. I do love the on-off feature and the auto off if it tips; especially with animals and kids in the house. I did find one that the on-off feature was a little longer than my shark so I like that. There are some you can turn the auto off feature off but I like leaving it on for safty plus I keep it plugged into a surge protector and just cut that off when I'm done.

I bought an iron, the DeLonghi, that has it's own resevoir. There is no water in the iron itself. I love it. It is so lightweight and no leakage. I push a button when I want steam and I get lots of steam. It's the best iron I ever had. It cost over $120, but I'll never have to buy another. I have four irons and it's the only one I use. I fill the reservoir and it lasts for days. I can use it as a dry iron or a steamer. I think it's wonderful. I have a dry iron, a Reliable Velocity, and an Oliso. The DeLonghi with the reservoir is by far the best iron I've ever had and I've had many. It's worth the money!

lol,me too cheaper is better then if it dies in a year or two you are not upset about spending a ton of money.

I have a Shark iron and I LOVE it!!!

I'm currently using a Shark which I purchased at Target a couple of years ago. It is the best steaming iron I've ever owned. It was between $20 and $30. They had several models--I picked the lightest weight one. Had an older Rowenta before, which I had had for years. It was great but their newer versions wouldn't maintain temperature, etc., so I returned a couple. My attitude is, buy an inexpensive one and use it until it fails.

I too was looing for an iron! I saw the Euroiron on QVC it looks AMAZING !! But it's $150.00!!! Then I was at my local thrift store and got a brand new sunbeam in the box for $7.00!! I really like it so far. I did like the last one cause the cord was retractible but was so old the bottom plate busted and hard to stand upright! :-) good luck on your search!

i always buy the cheap one at WM. they last quite a long time considering the abuse i dole out :)

I'm of the "you get what you paid for" camp. I was buying irons almost every-other-year for one reason or the other (leaking; breaking; not turning on; falling over; cord not long enough or easily tangled; etc). Two years ago at the fair we saw the Oliso Iron being demo'd. Tried it, liked it, husband bought it, and love it. Will probably never need to replace it - built strong, no leaks, great steam (which you can turn on/off) - plus I don't need to worry about it falling over - it lifts up/down when you touch the handle. Cool! It has a huge side-fill water tank, an extra long cord (that pivots 360 degrees) and a 30-minute shut-off (plenty of enough time for me so I don't have to keep turning it on). LOVE MY OLISO IRON!!!

I have a shark and I hate it. You have to tip it down to turn it on..and it shuts off like in 10 min..so I am always turning the dang thing back on. I am going to get another one soon

I would go with 2 relatively cheap ones (one for back up). In this case, expensive does not mean better.

I will second this vote! The Oliso Iron is wonderful, excellent with steam, or dry, heavy enough to do the job, but not too heavy. But the best part is just taking my hand off of it and it stands up! I don't have to worry it about it falling over, and it saves my hands a lot!

Before I lucked into owning a wide ironing board, I had a tendency to DROP my iron from time to time. (My old board sat at a just a bit of an angle.) Check your local thrift stores....non-quilters who happen to own irons seem to sometimes decide that they are absolutely done with ironing anything at all, and donate their perfectly fine iron to SA or Goodwill. And, like "Jingle," I keep my large spray bottle handy, too. It works for me!

I have the Rowenta and I do love mine and also have the smaller one for classes,etc. Mine only leaks when hot and filled with cold water and you try to use it right away.

Yeah. Stop at Walmart and pick up a $20+ Black and Decker with stainless sole plate. :D :thumbup:

Jan in VA

Personally I'm very fond of my Panasonic cordless iron. Not very expensive and works great! (and the best part...NO CORD!)

Dollar Store for me. One to put water in and one that water is never put in it. Have had both, for 5 years now. Figure I have gotten my moneys worth. So if they go out now, I'll just go back to the Dollar Store or Freds. $9.99 not a bad price for 5 yrs and on.

I love my Black and Decker inexpensive iron. The weight and feel of an iron is important to me. The first Black and Decker one I got a few months ago quit heating. I contacted customer service and they were great. I had to cut off the plug, fill out a form and send it in and they sent me a new iron very promptly. No hassell, no fuss. The replacement has worked wonderfully so I think it was just a fluke that the first one malfunctioned. I'd buy one like it again.

I'm with you Jingle. Right I'm using an iron from the "40's", it's a dry iron that has to be layed on it's side to get it up off the ironing board and has a cloth cord. Bought it along w 2 stainless pots for $2 at a garage sale.

I had a Rowenta focus for 3 years and loved it while it worked. One day it would not heat up. I contacted Rowentas Customer Service. I explained that I was disappointed in the quality of the iron for the price I paid. I expected it to last for more than 3 years.

I was sent a mailing label to ship the iron back (for free). The iron was to be checked as to why it wasn't heating and the results sent back to me.

Surprise! Several weeks later a brand new Rowenta Iron arrived at my door. It was an updated model of the same Iron I had sent in for trouble-shooting.

I believe all irons have lemons in the bunch. Keep your receipt and contact customer service if you are disappointed with your iron purchase no matter what the original cost may be. Large company's want happy customers.. especially quilters who buy a majority of irons on the market. Good luck with your search.

Bought a Rowenta a long time ago. This week it shorted out. Luckily I was standing right there when it happened. Went to Family Dollar, 10 minutes away, because all the other stores are 1/2 hr away, and bought a Procter-Silex. It's not heavy enough to bend the cord when I sit it down. I have to force it to stay or it topples over. It's going back just as soon as I can find another one just a little heavier. Thought I would like like weight but this is just too light. It also has a non-stick finish, which is scratched already.

I recently bought a Panasonic cordless (after several Rowentas) and really like it. It has a base which holds the iron. The base has the electric cord. I iron on a big board that sits on a counter top in my sewing room. Because there are cabinets and drawers below the counter top, my cord used to get snagged on the knobs. Now I can iron the full length of my big board with no problems. Love it!

I had a rowenta, worst iron I ever had!!! Leaked and sputtered everywhere! Go to wal mart!

My Rowenta - 11 years old, recently died, I priced them and now that I'm retired couldn't replace it, so I bought a cheapie I felt like it have some type of 'gripper' on the sole plate, very hard to use. Then bought a Sunbeam, although it's not as nice as the Rowenta, it still is nice, not too heavy (why would a company make a iron that is heavy?) Probably any iron in the $30 to $50 range will perform well - but do watch the weight!

If you're looking for an inexpensive iron that doesn't have steam, I recomment the Continental, which you can get on Amazon.com for around $40.00. It's great if you do a lot of fusible, because since it doesn't have any steam holes, so you don't get those little places where it didn't fuse. It's a little heavy, but that's good, too, because you don't have to put any pressure on the iron -- just set it on the fabric and let it's own weight do the work. Also, the Continental doesn't have an auto-off feature. It stays on (and hot) until you turn it off.

For steam irons, I have heard several teachers talk about the Reliant irons and all the comments were good. From what I understand, the heat for the steam and the sole plate are separate, so you can get a lot of steam at a low temperature, and vice-versa. They're a little pricey, but one teacher said the company stands by their product and will replace it if anything goes wrong. And he should know, because they have replaced his three times. I noticed on their show last weekend that Fons & Porter have switched from the Oliso to the Reliant.

Black and Decker makes a good product at a reasonable price and can be found at WM. Most comments I've heard about Rowenta is that it is overpriced and eventually leaks.

Consumer Reports says that the Black & Decker is every bit as good as any iron. I find mine a little heavier, which I like a lot, and it was much much less expensive

I agree that the cheaper irons work best. I have a GE and a Black and Decker and have had no problems my Rowenta does have a water problem.

cheap is good as long as it has good steam and auto shutoff. I have a rowenta with the separate waer tank and have never had issues but it was pricey

I have to recommend Walmart, got a great little Iron to use on mini projects and a regular iron both for less than $30.00 - have had them for more than a year after my $69.00 (less than 6 months old) began spewing water everywhere. Love both the irons. And they work!!!

I have a rowenta I bought in 1999 and it has always worked really well for me. After reading here about some catching fire I was afraid to use it so I went to Walmart and bought a shark for 59,00 and I hate it, not only does it steam poorly but it is so heavy it hurts my wrist with my RA it is so hard to use. I am back using the rowenta and hoping it stays safe.

I too, have had lots of trouble from Rowenta. The last iron I got was from Wal Mart ....the brand was a Shark. I like it a lot, except the shut off time is quite short and that is the only thing I found I do not like.

Personally, I wouldn't spent more than $20, maybe $25 for an iron. I love the one I have now, can't remember the brand, however, it has steam/dry, lots of surface on the iron and an automatic shut off for when I forget to unplug the iron when sewing/quilting. Would not buy another iron without an automatic shut off, for safety if nothing else. I think I bought my iron at Wal-Mart.

Black and Decker Digital Advantage for $40 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Depends on if you want a stainless steel bottom, tank that holds lots of water, heavy iron because I feel I can press seams better with it. But I have had other B&D and can't beat them. Mine also has automatic shut off but re heats fast. My husband loves this feature as I have been know to leave my previous iron on all day.

I have this same one (Oliso) this is absolutely the very best iron I have ever owned and have had many before this (Black & Decker, Sunbeam, Rowenta, etc). I love the automatic lift on this Oliso when you touch the handle up/or down, and don't have to worry about it ever falling over and it doesn't leak either. A little more pricey but I've had it for 3 years now and no problems. I would definately recommend it.