I love my Rowenta also. Have seen the negative remarks also but from my point of veiw, I am sorry I didn't get one years ago. I've only had mine about 1 1/2 Yrs but so far, ABSOLUTELY LOVE MINE.

My trusty 25 year old Black and Decker still irons great but every once in a while, it unpredictably lets loose a drop of water out of the steam holes. The water must be rusty because I end up with a round mark that is brown on the edges.

Last weekend, went to Walmart with every intention of buying an iron. Most had far fewer steam holes than my B&D. Ended up at Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a German made Rowenta DW8080 - highly rated by Consumer Reports - got 20% off with my coupon.

I was hesitant after reading the posts but so far, so good.

BTW, the instructions say to use tap water. For really hard water, use no greater than a 50/50 mix of tap and distilled water. Says not to use straight distilled water.

i went to walmart and got the $6.00 iron and love it and its steam.

i thought my rowenta leaked too but discovered i was hittng the spray button djw

I have the Oliso; love it. Pricey so if you purchase, make sure you have a sturdy x frame ironing board. You don't want it taking a nose dive.

I HAVE THE $7.99 ONE FROM WALMART... WORKS GREAT

I got a black & decker "classic" from walmart after reading about it on this site. After trying it, I put my very costly Rowenta away. This iron really works well and it was cheap.

Mine is probably classified as an antique, as it has to be between 45-50 years old. Gift from my oldest daughter when a teenager. It is a GE and works perfectly--had the cord replaced once as I was afraid of the fiber-covered original one. No problem, but did have with a similar toaster cord. I use only distilled water, and hope it lasts as long as I!

I had a euro pro steam station that I bought from HSN for $100. After 8 years it finally died on me. They no longer make my iron so I did some research and bought a DeLonghi. It has been great though it doesn't hold as much water so I have to refill at least once if I'm on an all day sewing marathon.

I have a shark, and I hate it. It tips over all by itself with no cause, sometimes landing on the floor, and one time burning a hole in the ironing board cover because I didn't notice it had flopped. From the start is leaked water copiously, no matter what temperature and steam selection I chose. I'm this close to ordering the plain, no steam, solid faceplate iron offered in the Vermont Country Store catalog. I went to my very first quilt retreat in Oct '10, and everyone there used the same iron on dry setting with a spray bottle. Now I use mine that way all the time.