I bought a Bernina iron about 18 years ago and its still going strong. When I purchased it I think it was about $100.00. I do use cheap irons also depending what I'm doing.

I have the Rowenta Professional also. Bought one for me and one for my MIL. Hers is fine, mine leaks so much I can't use it anymore. I left the iron laying flat with water in it (not plugged in), came back about 2 hours later and ALL the water had leaked out, soaking my ironing board and the floor! The first Rowenta I owned lasted 10 years, no problems, but the Professional lasted 8 months. I now use a $27 Shark and I love it. I have had it about 9 months and no problems yet. I will never buy an expensive iron again.

My opinion after using them all is go to where ever and but the cheapest iron possible. Love the Rowenta irons but where I live their just toooooo expensive. Just make sure they have a nice point. I bought my last one at Walmart 4 years ago for $10 and it's been great.

I have a Panasonic iron that I purchased years ago, and it is still working fine. It has fallen to the floor many times, and it still works just fine. Just my two cents.

I love my Rowenta, but also love my cheapy Black and Decker from Wal Mart and the one I paid $5 for at an estate sale. None of the three have leaked except when I tried to iron with them before the water in them had time to get hot. I always empty mine before putting them away. My Rowenta was made in Germany and according to what has been posted on the board, that seems to make a difference. froggyintexas

I have found the German (check the iron - it states where it's made) Rowentas are the best. They're heavier, but work well.

Thanks for this info. This is my 2nd Rowenta and while I love how it irons, and love to use steam, it started leaking a couple of months ago. If I decide to go with another Rowenta, I'll definitely make sure it's made in Germany.

I bought a Shark. I have no complaints. It is fairly light weight. It has auto shutoff, which I need. I got it about six months ago. So far, so good. I don't like to pay a BIIIGG price for one so if I drop it or it tears up I throw it away and get another one.

I bought an inexpensive one at Walmart and it's worked fine for two years so far.

I bought a Sunbeam at Big Lots for $10. I use it a LOT! I've had it for about 2 years. This is after going through 3 Rowentas within a year and a half. I use the one I have every day-steam or not-and have not had one leak with it. My cat also uses my ironing board in her acrobatic act, and it has hit the floor more times than I care to think about. It has a 20 minute shut off, and that works for me.

I love the Rowena's, I have bought many but mine don't leak, apparently I must keep up to hgh and they burn everything from my husbands golf shirts to my children's school uniforms. I bought a cheaply from Walmart haven't brnt a thing on a while.

I've had a Rowenta for 3 years with no problems but I've also had a heavy duty Sunbeam I use weekly and it has been a dream, too.

I belong to a fairly large guild, and it seems everyone I know, including me, who has purchased a Rowenta in the past few years has had it leak badly, usually about six months after the purchase. I thought it may be because some were made in China, but mine was made in Germany and it also leaked. Obviously they are using bad gaskets or something in both places of manufacturer. I love my cheap, $20 Sunbeam that I bought at Costco years ago. It keeps working and working!

I'm on my second Rowenta. The first will not hold water, other than that issue, it works great for dry ironing. I bought a second one in hopes that it was a fluke. I was wrong. It hold water sometimes. I just have to remember to empty it when not using it. With that being said, they both work well as for heating up fast even with the auto shut off feature.

My mom has a black and decker for ten years or so with no problems.

When mine dies, or I just get tired of dealing with the water problem, I'll look for another manufacture that makes a quality iron that does not spit/leaks water, the ability to controll the amount of steam at any tempature with an on off ability, stainless steel plate (haven't tried the teflone plates).

Thanks all. It looks like the Rowenta's if bought many years ago are better. Of course that is how many things are. They just don't make things like they used to. So, I am still not sure what I will buy. The reason I was looking at the Rowenta's is because of the tip. I like the way it is shaped . It would make it easier for me to iron the baby clothes I make for my grandbabies. And I liked the way the steam goes close to the tip also. So I guess I will just go to the store and look at the tips and decide. I did see one called a Delonghi also. No one commented on that kind. The reviews are few but seem to be pretty good. Also some who reviewed said they like them better than the Rowenta's. Again. Thanks. I am so glad I found this site. I love it. I am just getting back to sewing. And teaching myself quilting and the advice here is wonderful.

I like Roweta but mine fell off the iron board and quit working. I had a cordless Oreck i liked but it didn't last but 7 yrs. I went to Walmart and bught a Balck& C
Decker for under $25 and it works ok
But I did see a Rowenta on QVC for about $50. that has a narrow pointed tip to get into seams better than others and I thought that would work well for quilting. Go to their website. You can also click on a reminder request when they will present it again as they may drop the price duting the show.

I bought an Oliso ITouch at Joann about a year ago. I really like it. When you are through ironing you just sit it down flat and legs come out raising the plate off of the fabric once you release the handle. Once you touch the handle they go back in and you are ready to iron again. It doesn't turn off until you turn it off or sit it up on end. The only problem I've had is the legs don't always retract. I just sit it down and pick it up again and it is ok. I think it might have something to do with just where your hand is on the handle. And it has been knocked to the floor a few times.

Well I actually went to Kohls and held a Rowenta in my hand. And was able to see the wonderful tip. I really like it. But the cost was $119 on sale for $107. Well I decided to look at WalMart. Well I found a Black & Decker Professional Steam Iron which has a good tip also. $25. Got it home and took it out the box. Saw there is no off on it. So I guess to turn it off you have to unplug it. Put it back in the box and will return it tomorrow. I can get the Rowenta Focus at Kohls with 30% off so I may go get it. I just don't want to pay that much and have it leak. I would be really upset. I just really want one that does not spit on my fabric and has a nice narrow tip. Looking for an iron should not be so hard. LOL

I tried a T-Fal iron for my quilting room and loved it, so I bought another for my laundry room. They have large water reserve for steam ironing, automatic shut off, but heats up again very quickly, and great steam. They run about $45-$50. The reviews I read about Rowenta and Oliso were so bad that I wouldn't spend that kind of money.

Off and one I hear complaints about Rownta, but I have had mine for over 10 years. It does have an auto shut off that is quicker than my old iron, but it heats up so fast that it isn't much of a problem for me.

I've had 2 Rowenta irons--the first quit heating and the second one leaked after just a few months and I checked it and it was made in Germany. It gets really frustrating following the instructions to use the recommended water, etc. and still have an iron leak. I now have a V100 Reliable which I love but it is heavy. I've used the Oliso at classes and I like it a lot. I still use my inexpensive Hamilton Beach.

My Reliable has had service twice. Had to ship to Canada. $$$$

Well I bit the bullet and bought the Rowenta. It is wonderful to iron. Only thing is when I put it in the upright position it spits. So I guess it is going back. I mean after it spits it leaves something on the plate that wipes off on the material. I was not sure if I could use my tap water because we have a water softener on our house. So I called and they said No softened water. So that would mean I have to buy water for this iron. I don't think I want to do that. This is just crazy. I will bring it back to the store tomorrow.

My Rowenta's manual says NOT to use distilled water as it will cause the iron to leak, spit, etc. It says to use tap water. And if your water is very hard to use a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture of tap & distilled...or to use bottled spring water.

(this is going to sound silly), but I don't know the brand of my iron, but I've had it 1 yr and I love it. I ordered it online at Vermont Country Store. It is a dry iron (that gets really hot) for about $32.

My Reliable Velocity just died. It worked fine yesterday and today I can't get it to heat up. I am not a happy camper. I've had it about 2 years, a little less. It was expensive and worked great. I guess I am running over to Target to see what I can pick up since I am in the middle of several projects!!!!:(

My Rowenta Focus was made in Germany and it more than spits. I have water dripping all over my ironing board. It is just a few months old. Not sure what I am going to do.

FWIW, my two thrift store $3 (half-price day) Proctor Silex irons are the best I have used in a long time! TONS of steam from both of them. I have two Rowentas that DO NOT have the auto shut off feature and they have worked for years with no problem. I had two earlier Rowenta models with auto shut off that both quit heating. Could the problem be with the auto shut off feature? One I threw away and the other will continue to heat but if I let it click off using the auto shut off feature, it won't heat back up again. I have to let it sit for a couple of months before it works again! Talk about tempermental!

Are you aware that Bed, Bath and Beyond carries Rowentas and they will give you a new iron if ANYTHING goes wrong with it no matter how long you have had it? Just save the receipt.

That's where I bought my last one and I have the receipt. I guess I'm going to bed bath and beyond tomorrow to get a new iron. My Rowenta just peed all over my table, again.

Hi! I just bought the Reliable V100 iron today and saw where if you press the steam volume selector button and hole it for 5 seconds, you can over-ride the automatic shut off and tahe iron will hold the selected temperature. Hope this helps! You've probably figured it out already. LOL!


with the Reliable V 100 and absolutely love it. Have had it for about 8 months (not long I know) but we do a lot of ironing! I long arm quilt so I iron backs and fronts of all of those - plus I have 2 groups that come over monthly (5 people) and my mom's senior group all comes over to iron and cut, so it gets a lot of use. I have a couple of friends who havd had theirs longer and they are still happy. It does have an auto shut off, but in the directions there is a way to turn that off. Unfortunately ours got thrown out and I haven't figured it out yet.[/QUOTE]

thanks, i posted a question on Reliable irons and no one would even read it!