I'm in the market for a new one and I want one that'll 1) last a long time and 2) get those stubborn wrinkles out of fabric. Does anyone have a favorited iron or fabric steamer to recommend? I heard Rowenta Professional is good, is it?

Also, sometimes I spray starch the fabric for those stubborn wrinkles but that doesn't seem to work. Any recommendations?

Thanks so much!

okay, Crafty, you asked. I bought a Rowenta because it is supposed to be a great iron and I HATE it!!! It sticks to everything I try to iron. I have repeatedly cleaned the bottom, to no avail! I will never again buy an iron that does not have a teflon bottom. Mine is a Black and Decker with an extra long cord and I love it. I have had it for about 8 years now and it still works great. I know that there are others in this board who own and love a Rowenta, so do not go by my opinion, if that is what you want.

To get wrinkles out of fabric I just use a spray bottle with water in it--lots of hot steam from my iron and the wrinkles disappear.

I hate my Rowenta. The Shark is awful. The Bella is a rip off. Just get a cheap one. The expensive ones are not any better. GE or Black and Decker under $40. The ones a mentioned above were all over $100. I do like this new spray they sell at quilt shops. It works...body in fabric, wrinkles gone, no flaking and no build up on iron. Pricy but worth it. They come scented and unscented. I use the unscented. I think it is called Mary Ellen's favorite.
Connie

I have a love/hate relationship with my Rowenta! I got one of those with the big steam capacity and long cord. It works great and I love it -- however, it takes it a long time to heat up and when you quit using it, it goes back to "sleep" (not off) and then it takes a long time to heat up, well -- you get the picture.

I have a $14 Proctor Silex, non-stick soleplate, adjustable steam/spray, extra long cord iron that does not have an auto shut-off and I love it. My only complaint is that it does not weigh enough. Two years ago it replaced a GE iron that I'd had since 1970. Can't tell you how long this one will last, but it's mostly plastic so probably not as long as the GE.

The iron I'm using right now is a Maytag cordless. It does have the auto shut-off, but I still like it pretty well. It seems to heat up quickly between uses. I just tweak the temp setting and it gets hot right away. I'm willing to trade the slight inconvenience of the shut-off for not having to hassle with a cord. It's nice and heavy and really gets the wrinkles out and presses my blocks nicely. I did have a fairly lightweight iron that I did not like at all. I tried Patrice's suggestion about putting a little vinegar in my iron water. Seems to work nicely on pressing.

Just like Nor'easter I too have a Proctor Silex, (K-mart on sale $9). Mine isn't heavy which is good because I have trouble with my wrists. It irons well, doesn't stick to anything, but I do have to watch the autoshutoff light. I wanted to trade up but they were all so heavy DH cautioned me not to.

i like a heavy iron. i suspect it's all in my head, but i just don't feel like i have an iron in my hands unless i know it will crush a toe if i drop it. :lol:

i bought a Black & Decker classic because somebody here recommended it when the subject came up sometime last year. i do wish the cord was longer, but i love everything else about it.

i looked at John's iron. a great idea ... for someday ... but for now .... YeeeeeOUCH!!!!! that's a price and a half! :shock: :lol:

nice link john something for me to consider

I have eight antique cast iron flat irons scattered around the house as bookends. If I really have to have a heavy iron, I can heat up one of those! :lol:

I must be the exception, because I just love my Rowenta Pro. The cheap irons always start spitting boiling water at me after 6 months. I also like the burst of steam when I need to convince something it WANTS to be squared.

well, i have a question. yall know that stuff u iron on fabric and it sticks. well, i had the sticky side up once by accident so u can imagine what a mess the bottom of my iron is in. i just need to know how to clean it off. thanx for any help.

I got it off the bottom of mine with ceramic/glasstop cookstove cleaner.

I'm about to promote a cheap iron and I don't care. I have 2 Walmart 5.00 irons. I take it back...one was 5 and one was 6. The cotton setting is good and hot. Yes, I believe it does have an auto shut off, but I just flip it down onto my ironing surface for about 1 second, set it back up and it's hot and ready to go.

Iron cleaner works very well for it. I have a green one that I use for my silks and really nice business/dress clothes to take wrinkles out of. My blue one, the $6.00 one, is a tad heavier and just seems to be a better iron. I starch a lot and use a 1:1 starch:water ratio. When I make a sampler, mystery or anything that may have triangles, I starch the bejonkers out of it.

I'm extremely happy with both irons and they were the cheapest I could find. I needed an iron and it HAD to be cheap. I had cashed in my change to get those two irons. I thought I could always upgrade later. I've had them almost 7 years and love them to pieces. I have to replace the green one at some point, cause I dropped it and some of the plastic pieces and light indicator broke off...but it still works the same.

I recently bought a Black & Decker "Classic". It's black, heavy, and no teflon soleplate. It cost about $25.00. I LOVE IT!!! It gets wrinkles out the first time and keeps them out, sometimes with a little spray of water. It steams amazingly, doesn't shut off every 10 minutes so it stays hot, and when you turn it off a red light flashes to let you know it is still plugged in. A green light stays on when it's on. I always heard about the more expensive brands but couldn't bring myself to spend the money.

John I love that iron! I used one for 25 years when I worked at the cleaners. It's nice and heavy, about 5 lbs.

I have a proctor silex that is two light weight and works when it wants to.

I also have a T-fal which I love, but it just died. I keep forgetting to get to Sears for another one. The T-fal has lasted a year. Every other iron I have tried dies after 3 or 4 months on me. :(

i don't shop by brand. i shop by cheap. if it has an auto shut-off, steam/dry and long cord, it doesn't matter how much it weighs, whether the bottom is teflon or what it's made of. i''m gonna bounce it on the floor no matter what. my ironing board is in my laundry room and that gets to be a busy place. i find that even when the plastic on the outside cracks the iron itself still works. i always have a 'spare'. meaning a $7 special that i found somewhere, just in case it really dies. my current cheapie, a ge, is about 7 yrs old, has split plastic and can't stand up without an iron stand anymore. since i don't wear it or feed it and it still works, it's fine with me. i get mine at places like big lots and cosco and bj's and consider them throw-aways..

No one has mentioned the iron I have, its a Sunbeam from Costco for about $21 and I have had it for 3 years and it works great.

I'm also the exception to the rule---I have a Rowenta Power Duo that I got at Joanne's with a coupon which made it around $39.00. Nice long cord and no shut off switch. Before that one I ate up all the other brands in a few months at a time. Good luck finding the one you like.

John, you posted a link to an iron on sale!! How can a person resist such a good deal.......hold me back. It looks like a fabulous iron.

Right now, I'm enjoying my Rowenta. It's just over a year old, so still ranks in the "new" category and I love the pointy end for getting into corners. I don't like the temperature control behind the handle. I also have an Oliso, which has little legs that come out and lift the iron when you take your hand off of it. It does a great job of getting rid of the wrinkles. The legs are nice, because you don't have to tilt the iron up and down, just keep it in the down position. It's very stable with when on its stilts. Check it out, the website is www.oliso.com.

I have a Rowenta Professional and I LOVE it....best Iron I've ever had....gat at Odd Lots or Big Lots for 39.99 on sale was 89.99

I've had my iron for 5 to 6 years no troubles yet....guess I got a good one....

I bought my current iron for two dollars at a thrift store. It is a GE and has all kinds of bells and whistles. It must have been expensive when new. It is medium weight, and when I forget it and its going to nap, it goes ding...ding. So far I really like this iron, I have had it a little over a year :D

djo36: I used vinegar to clean the bottom of my iron. Just soak the bottom plate of your iron in a shallow pan with vinegar in it for about 30 minutes. Just enough vinegar to cover the bottom. Or just soak a rag in vinegar and and lay your iron on it. I do this in the sink. Do this with a cold iron. Scrub with a nylon scrubbie. I do not have teflon on my iron. This may or may not work on teflon. Use white vinegar.

take a( used ) dryer sheet and iron it till your iron comes clean. You may need to use more than one if it is really dirty. This cleans off residue from iron on adhesives also .

I have a Rowenta. Was a wedding gift about 6 years ago. I really don't like it. The steam has stopped working 2 times now. DH manages to get it working again, but it is totally frustrating when it stops. It just started leaking and spitting the other day when I was ironing an outfit for work. Left an odd stain on the fabric.

Was looking into the Oliso iron that Fons and Porter use. I've read good reviews and bad reviews.

Thanks, John for the links. Will have to look into them further.

I have the best iron....don't need to worry about it burping out dirty water or going to sleep on you...don't need electricity or batteries but it is rechargeable....a real work horse built to last forever.
The downfall is you gotta keep the fire stoked to keep it hot.
Now why are we complaining about our irons....remember these????

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

John: Thanks for the link. I am going to purchase the one you have. It is on sale and free shipping! I haved owned 5 rowenta's; you would think I would learn. Every one of them spit and sputter within 6 months and full blown leaking shortly after. Oh by the way my daughter's husband is from the town you live in! He has lots of family there. He is in the Air Force stationed in NE at this time.
Connie

I get the 10.00 cheapy Proctor Silex at Walmart. It's light, works great and I don't cry when it goes bye bye. This last one lasted 6 years.

I recently purchased the new Oliso iron. I love it, it stays vertical so I don't knock it off, its easy to put water in, and it gets plenty hot for me. I love the fact that it automatically lifts itself off the fabric if you take your hand off the handle. I really really like it. You can get it in teflon or stainless steel sole. I have the stainless steel.

I had a Maytag cordless iron that I paid $139 for when it first came out. The titanium nonstick soleplate was guaranteed to have nothing stick to it, which was true, but after three years of heavy usage, the nonstick finish started to peel around the edges of the iron. The auto turnoff was irritating but it heated up quickly, though not often hot enough. I found it to be overpriced and underperforming. Because of the setup of my quilt room, a cordless iron works best. I now have a Panasonic cordless nonstick iron and love it. It costed $60 online and works three times better than the Maytag.

Well, I bought the Rowenta Pro, used it for about 45 mins. and I dislike it! Returning it today! It's a little heavier than my Black and Decker and it doesn't steam as much as I thought it would and it didn't get the wrinkles out. Oh well, onto another product to test.

I finally bought another T-fal today.

i like heavy irons with NO auto-shutoff. The one I currently have is medium weight and have the most annoying auto shutoff. after 4 seconds horizontal with no movement, it shuts off. I can't keep the iron on my applique pieces long enough to fuse them before the durn thing shuts off. After 8 seconds sitting still on the board, it shuts off, which means that I can't really move to go get my next piece of fabric and back again to iron it without it shutting off.

so, I would advise you get one that does NOT shut off on you!

there are lots out there that take longer than that to shut off. mine takes 5 minutes and heats up again very fast. i don't do applique but it would be perfect. check the info on the box.

hi crafty try looking at your local goodwill,s you can some times find old fashion heavy irons also try putting foil down under you ironing cover ,i read some where if you do this it will help you get more heat back to top of surface that way you get more heat back for easyer even heat for taking out those hard wrinkles i use the extra heavy foil under my ironnig board hope this helps you and others with same trouble

I tried 2 different rowentas the only irons I ever had to throw in the garbage they were awful leaked and stained clothes I now use a T-Fal and love it great steam and works good got it at Target

I just pitched my Rowenta because it was leaking water out the bottom. The iron was about a year old, give or take a month or two. I ran down to Kmart and bought myself another black and decker. I love my old B&D and the new one shoots a good shot of steam. I'm not sure I like the digital setting, the dial didn't need to be reset! There's always something, isn't there?

YIKES! My Maytag cordless was a retirement gift from my team at school. Guess they were willing to pay the price so I'd go???

I just bought the Consew from Allbrands. If you use the coupon code jan5 you will get an extra $5.00 off, the final price is $94.00.