An issue with irons
 

Bummer 4th for me. I planned on sewing and bbq in between raindrops but then my iron quit working for me! I bought a Shark Rapido Electronic Iron about two years ago at K-Mart. The iron shuts off automatically if you are not moving it after so many minutes. (VERY ANNOYING) Today, the senser light will not funtion and the heat level would not rise above the nylon setting. I wiggled, shook and moved the connecting electrical cord, to no avail. I think this is $40 of scrap material!!

So now I am in the market for a new Steam Iron, but, being energy aware, I wonder how energy efficient are those little, triangular shaped, seam pressers? I am wondering if I would be better ahead buying both a new Steam iron and one of the smaller seam pressers? I only have one electricle outlet and one ironing board. Opines on brands encouraged, please.

I don't use a steam iron. I purchased a "dry iron" (no holes in soleplate) from Amazon, love love it. If I need steam I sprits with water and poof instant steam. AND AND no auto shut off. Yippppeeeee

I have a small iron (I do use it for classes and it's great), however, having a heavy steam iron works so much better pressing seams and blocks. I bought a reproduction of the original GE iron. LOVE IT...it does have auto shutoff because its new and its a requirement for new regular irons. The weight is great as it really sets the seams and my blocks look better. One thing, I wouldn't spend more than $25 for an iron. All the cheaper irons like Black and Decker have worked great for me. Good Luck

I suggest using the search function above and putting in "irons" because you will get lots and lots of opinions. I have a Black and Decker Digital Advantage and like it.

About a year ago I broke down and purchased an Oliso steam iron with the itouch system and I have not regretted it. It is 1600 watts heats up fast and puts out a lot of steam. For class and group meeting I use my $7.00 Rowenta that I got at walmart. I tell you this about the Oliso....do not purchase the Pro version usually a yellow colored one. They haven't gotten the bugs ironed:-) out yet.

I agree that a dry iron is best, I have used one for the last 30 years. Hate steam irons

I prefer steam to dry irons. I have a shark...for a couple years now. I have been happy with it except for the fact that it shuts off too darn fast! So frustrating that in the time it takes me to stitch something, it shut off. And, just recently, it has started spitting water...occasionally leaving a water mark on the fabric. I have a birthday coming up so I may treat myself to a new iron at the LQS.

I have the aqua colored Oliso and love it.

I too like a dry iron and spritz with water from a spray bottle when needed. I find I only need moisture when trying to iron stubborn wrinkles after fabric has been washed and sat in the dryer too long. I put up with a leaky iron for too long at one time and decided I would never put water in an iron again. It's been the right decision for me.

I am still very fond of my Panasonic cordless iron. It "notices" you're using it every time you set it on the cradle so it has never shut off prematurely on me. It does cool down if you leave it off the cradle too long, though - it only heats while it's sitting there. I have to adjust fabric constantly though so it's in and out of the cradle quite a bit - so far not a real issue once I learned not to just prop it up on the board when I'm not using it.

I have a little travel sized steam iron for pressing seams while sewing that I really like too, it's a "Steamfast". Just got it a few weeks ago and it works perfectly for what I need it for. Heats up super fast, although the cord annoys me. I wish it was cordless too!

I have a full size Rowenta steam iron which I love. Only issue has even been the plug connection to the cord and DH fixed that for me. I also have a small travel iron that could be used for seams but it doesn't work for beans in terms of getting hot enough. The little clover triangular iron gets plenty hot enough but is not stable enough to leave set up anywhere except upside down in a coffee mug.

I have a Sunbeam that shuts off automatically if I prop it up. Through out my whole life every time I propped an iron up I would burn myself. Then got smart and found an antique trivet for an iron. Used it until my exH used it for a prop out in the garage. Never thought of it being there. Found the trivet shortly after I filed for divorce and pitched it at him. Sorry I got off track. Anyway I found in the store an iron rest that's made out of the same stuff some of the new bakeware is made of. My iron doesn't shut off anymore if it's in the ironing position. Paid too much for it though. $50.00 (current DH wanted it and does use it so I guess that's OK. I still have my old iron that 30+ years old for back up.

Sandy, I think we have the same iron. It's made by Continental and costs about $40 on Amazon. I either use water or spray starch, depending on how stiff I want the fabric. I originally bought it because I was just starting to do fusible applique and always had little spots that weren't fused because of the steam holes. And it gets hot quickly and stays hot as long as it's on.

I did spend a lot of money on my two irons but they are worth every penny. I have the Reliable (orange colored Velocity) that I use for quilting. I paid $60.00 for it from All Brands. It was an "open box" purchase. I absolutly love it and it can be programed to stay on. It absolutely does not drip and you can turn the steam on and off as you press. My other Reliable is the more expensive one @ $150.00. Some people may laugh at this but I have spent that much replacing Rowentas every year so I indulged. I do hope to have this iron for a life time. It is the blue colored one and I use it for my clothes. It has a good weight and absolutely does not drip. I love this brand of iron.

I will never buy another Rowenta as long as I live. So many failed and one caught fire.
peace

I guess I am in the minority, I prefer the auto shut off on my older Rowenta irons. Here is the humorous stories of what happened to my first two Rowenta irons. First one had an invasion of ants getting into the detachable water tank but they refused to exit. Still thousands of little dead bodies still in the water tank. I have tried over the years to flush them out but so far little success in that venture. The second, I accidentally placed the iron on a small section of puff paint on the front of the t-shirt when I was making a T-shirt quilt. I have never been able to get the paint residue off the iron sole. It has a Teflon iron plate so I can't use anything to abusive on it. But there is NOTHING worse than having your iron go belly up except for having your sewing machine DO THAT!! That is another story !!!

Passing along what I learned from Anita Grossman. She uses dry irons because they don't stretch the fabrics like steam does. When she needs steam she sprays water or starch on the fabric. She recommends picking the irons up used and she likes the heavy weight and the sharp point of the old irons. I really enjoy her conservative and efficient way of sewing. She may have a steam iron, but from what I've seen in her Craftsy and youtube classes she uses the dry iron. I'm going tomorrow to get one. Like most of you I've had trouble with the spewing and auto shut off.

I have about half a dozen irons at any one time. I find good vintage irons at yard sales and thrift stores and when one of mine acts up it goes in the trash. I found two of the Black and Decker Classic irons on clearance for $8 at Lowes several years ago. They are good irons. So far the Continental dry iron has been the best for quilting. I bought the Reliable and my DD borrowed it and has never brought it back. She keeps 'forgetting'. LOL I don't mind. She irons her clothes. I don't do clothes.

Walmart use to sell cheap dry only irons. I decided to buy a backup iron. The cheapest iron was 25.00 or so. Of course they were out of those. They had a couple for 50.00 or 60.00. I left without a back up iron.

Have used all kinds of irons. My mother owned one iron I was forbidden to touch and she had one I could use. For some reason I can break any iron after only a few months even mum never could work out why. So are you the same and must accept whether cheap or expensive I could break it.

I have the same one and love it! It doesn't take that long for the elements to heat up and so I can't complain about it at all, except maybe that it is not totally automatic - that being set the iron down on fabric or clothing and it does all the work for you. Ha Ha!!!!! I'd pay a million for that little puppy!!!!!! Edie

I got a Black and Decker iron that I loved the weight/feel etc. It quit working after a month or so. I called the company and they replaced it. All I had to do was cut the plug off the old one and send a copy of my receipt. The new iron came in the mail a week or two later. In the meantime I liked it so well I went and bought another one. Now I have a backup. The customer service was great and I think the iron going on the fritz was a fluke. Only down thing about the iron is that to totally shut it off you have to unplug it otherwise it just goes into a sleep mode where it cools down but doesn't shut off.

I recently bought this iron, and love it. Have you ever had the sole plate leave a grayish mark on white fabric? I am now being careful to "press" and not iron my blocks to avoid this...especially with very light fabrics.

Whenever I'm in a thrift store I look at the irons. Right now I have two old General Electric irons and they work great! I paid $5 for each of them. They have steam, don't shut off, and heat more than the newer models. They also don't spit when the steam is on, though I seldom use steam.

I've had good and bad luck with regular sized Rowenta irons. The travel iron by Rowenta works like a dream for smaller projects, though. My steam generator was leaking water from the base and it would also splatter. It was sent back to the factory for repairs. It was a few months before I finally got a brand new replacement yesterday. I will be trying it out today. Wish me luck. If it acts up like the first one did, I will NOT buy any more Rowenta irons!

Osilo Pro itouch Iron
 

I just purchased the Oliso itouch Pro. I hope I don't have any problems with it. I choose this one because of the 1800 Watts and the fact that it don't turn off automatically for 30 minutes. So far I love it, sure do hope I got a good one. Hope the bugs are worked out.

Of Irons and such
 

I have always had good luck with Black and Decker. Other brands, big names, have gone toes up but I learned my lesson, inexpensive, bottom of the line Black and Decker works great for me.
On a more humorus note, back in the day, being so absent minded, I would forget to turn off the iron, a lot. So when going out for the day I would put the iron in the fridge. My son once asked me why I did this and I replied, " there are no outlets in the fridge" . Well it worked, I never burned down the house. Now I have a surge protector to plug in the iron and a lamp. So when I leave the sewing room for the day I turn off the surge protector. How do I know it is off.....cause the lamp is off. I have no fear of Azimers, I have been so absent minded all my life I would probably not notice it. I like to think I am absent minded because I am always thinking deep thoughts...I do like to think that.

I just have a cheap one - but it has auto turn off - hate that.

I plug mine into one of those power cords with the shutoff switch - and it is mounted right at the edge of my ironing board so I not only have lots of cord move room, I don't have to reach down to unplug and plug back in - and best I like is I can see in less than an instant if my iron is on or off when I leave the room. I put a nail polish dot by the ON side of the plug and I know in a fraction if it is on or off. It is also handy for me because I tend to have a "favorite" heat setting. :-)

Marysewfun

I have an inexpensive Black & Decker Steam Xpress bought at Target a long time ago, with auto shutoff & I have no problem at all. Mine stays on for a long time. I have this nightmarish thought: one of these days that auto shutoff doesn't work; I'd leave for work, and disaster may happen, like someone had posted a while ago about her house fire :(

I have a Panasonic iron. I've had it for years. It's been bounced off the floor and it still works. From what I've read on this board, you might be better off with a cheaper iron. Some of the very expensive irons leak, a lot. Good Luck!

I have two cheap irons that are dry. I have a rowenta that just died after 19 years and a lot of use....I plan on buying another as soon as I get to Costco.. That is where I bought the one I have and it was a lot cheaper at Costco. I plan to buy another. I love the auto shut-off feature because I have been known to forget to shut off the iron.

You can buy the dry iron here: http://www.always-free-shipping.com/...-dry-iron.html Free shipping of course! Keep a check on Amazon sometimes a store seller will have them for under $15.

Consumer Reports listed Black and Decker as an excellent choice. It has the weight, a longer on time, steams well and is much less expensive than the shark or rowenta

I have both a standard size German Rowenta and a travel size Rowenta (China). Both are great. I just don't put water in them and use a spritz bottle of water. Sometimes I will use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of Best Press and water.

They both work great. I am actually on my second travel size Rowenta. I wore out the first one.

I am not sure on which iron you should buy, but, if you want more outlets than one, you can buy one of those surge protectors that has lots of extra electrical outlets on it. You only need one outlet for that to plug into.

I totally agree--after two leaking Rowenta irons (one of which stopped getting hot) I will never purchase another one of them I have the Reliable 100 Velocity that I really like but use my cheap Hamilton Beach for a majority of my pressing.

I have to have the auto shut off because I would forget my head if it wasn't attached. Within the last year I came up to the sewing room one morning and found the iron flashing where it had been since the previous day. Maybe it wouldn't burn the house down, but it most certainly would use a lot of power in 15 hours if it didn't go to sleep. It saves me from finding myself halfway to the grocery store or in another state worrying about my iron.

Also, the new iron gets fully hot in under a minute. If it was on continuously that's a lot of wasted energy, probably more than having every light in the house turned on, now that we use CF bulbs. Anything that produces heat is an energy hog.

I haven't had my newest iron long enough to know how reliable it will be, so I'm no help with picking it, but it's a Singer - not the cheapest iron out there, but pretty low end. I have very little faith that the fancier ones are much better than what I got. I have read through other threads on this board about irons, and nothing seems to stand out as a favorite. Basically, the concept reached the peak of perfection at least 30 years ago, and nothing can be done to improve them except to provide a helper to do the ironing for us.

I honestly believe that the biggest effort in designing modern appliances is twofold: eye candy and planned obsolescence. The folks making these things really don't want us to be so happy that we will hang onto them for the rest of our lives because that's just not good for business. My Kenmore iron, bought in 1986, and the one before that, bought in 1966, were each ugly, clunky brown and black things that lasted 20 years before they started to sputter. The older one actually didn't fail until after it was dropped on concrete! Keep in mind that I used to do a lot of ironing in those days, too! I wouldn't be willing to bet on that kind of life for any new iron, no matter how expensive.

I am ill about irons. On 2 separate occasions I bought one that was in the $50.00 range and both went out within 3 months of purchase. The company sent me a new one, and it croaked in about the same amount of time. The next one I got from one of the fabric stores. It stopped steaming 2 months after getting it. The store gave me a new one. It went on the fritz same as the first one, so last Christmas I saw an ad for an $8.00 iron at Home Depot...DD gave it to me for Christmas. Here it is July and it still works. It isn't fancy and doesn't cut off by itself, it has habits that I don't like, but it has lasted 6 whole months! I am impressed this time with CHEAP!

Where did you find your reproduction of the original GE? I've been looking for one of those.

Just last week had to purchase a new iron, a happy day the Rowenta finally died. I found at Walmart a Shark Ultimate Professional steam iron. So far I have been very pleased with it. But then maybe it seems extra nice as the Rowenta was just that bad..I did purchase the Shark based on some of the feedback here on QB.