I had a Shark and a Rowenta and hated both of them.
They both had problems with leaking and the Shark just up and quit and both were new. :thumbdown:

I have an old Sunbeam, two Rowentas and two Black & Deckers and they all work fine. The Sunbeam really gets hot hot hot; I have to be extra careful. Also, just this past year I picked up a small vintage iron (in that Harvest Gold (yellow))color that does nothing put heat up; no steam no shut off but just a small vintage travel iron that stays in my quilting tool bag and it works great! Got it at an estate sale. I got the two Rowentas at thrift stores and same for the Sunbeam for $5. The big Rowenta which I am using now was barely used and paid about $20 for it. I love it.

Wish this post was posted before I purchased my new iron. (Going on 6 months). I bought a shark and so far, so good. I really like it. I do have to shake it from sleeping mode and wait again to warm up. That's the only down feature. It does not leak, thank goodness.
I will keep you posted, but for now, I am liking my shark

I have a Rowenta Iron I found out that if I only fill it half way it will not leak. I really love it!! Still I have checked out out their site found out they offer repairs on em. they have several repair sites through out the USA (and abroad) I would suggest we all get to gether and complain to em about the leaky iron problem!! maybe they would issue a recall on em (like they do with cars) then they will repair/replace em??

I have a Sunbeam that I bought either at Target or WalMart. I only use an iron for crafts/quilting. It shuts off after so many minutes, does not leak and I know I didn't spend a lot for it since I don't use it much. It works great when needed.

I agree, Shark products are really over rated, won't buy that brand name any more.

I have a Shark Euro-pro that I LOVE because it gets HOT! It has 1700W. Most irons only have 1100-1200W. (How hot it gets.) Yes, mine leaks water, too.
But I've just learned to set it on a wash-cloth when I'm not using it to absorb the water. I have to refill it everytime I go to use it, but since it gets so hot, I feel it is a small price to pay.

I got mine at Goodwill for about $2.

I have a Rowenta (have had it for several years). It will leak water when I have to add "cool" water to the hot iron. Very aggravating, I must say. Also, had a problem with it leaking brown water onto my project. Took me forever to get it cleaned out. Today I ordered a Singer Classic Press. Will let you know how it is after I use it for a while.

For me, it's the best iron I've had...it doesn't spit, sputter or leak...what a concept! It heats up fast and I love that I can bypass the auto shutoff feature! That was one of the most frustrating things, everytime I wanted to use my old iron I had to let it heat up again. The only downfall is that Reliable irons are pricey...why can't they make a decent iron at a decent price?!

Hey Bridget, Changing the subject; I once lived in Seguin; started first grade there in 1953 but parents then moved to Austin. I have a big German lastname that is a common name there.
Vernell in Austin

okay, here goes this is what I know about iron. All iron that you add water to will at some point leak... I use a 1950's travel iron that I get on eBay for around any where from 15.00 to 20.00. They get very hot! I mean you can make a grilled cheese with one....the only con is that they do not shut off which is what I want when I am work. I hate when I am ready to iron my quilt and the iron has to heat up again...if you want steam you should use a water bottle like our grandma's did...hope this helps if you all want a picture of the iron let me know.

I bought a "Signature Digital with automatic shut-off from Walgreen's a couple of years ago and I have had no issues with it. The shut-off time is probably around 10 minutes, but I usually coordinate my pressing and then turn it off trying to save electric cost when I can.

I also have the GE from 60's love it, gave $5 for it 10 years ago would not trade it for anything. I also bought another a few years ago paid $8 for it saving for later when needed. They get really hot and have a small spray bottle that screws on if you want steam.

I have a Sunbeam that leaks really bad.

It's funny that I see this post. I was going to come on here today and post asking for iron recommendations. My old iron (old Sunbeam from the 70's) didn't seem to be getting hot enough anymore, so I threw it in the garbage and went out and bought a new GE iron. That one didn't seem to heat up hardly at all so I put it in the closet and went out and bought a newer Sunbeam iron. Well, that one worked for less than 2 months so that went in the garbage (can't find receipt to return it) and now am using the GE and it doesn't ever get hot enough to actually iron any wrinkles out of the fabric. Reading these posts with high interest!!

Me too. Very inexpensive Panasonic from Wal-Mart and I love it. My SIL has 2 different Rowenta irons and likes my Panasonic better that her two expensive irons.

I thought that I was the only one that doesn't like the automatic shut off feature on the shark iron. Every time that I iron and put it down to move the item that I'm ironing it turns it self off,have to shake it turn the dial on and off to get it to work. I guess that I will try a cheapie iron and see how that goes. PS I really hate to iron.

Amen,,,,I love my Rowenta!!

I posted this on another iron question.

I STILL use my GE that I got as an engagement present almost 40 years ago. Still perfect, still steams like crazy. They don't make 'em like they used to.

I get the best (and old style) irons at Goodwill, SA, or tag sales. None of this shutting off stuff. When I am doing a quilt top, I sew then press, then sew, etc. And my treasure is a plain - no steam holes - iron that I can use with a pressing cloth and not have bumps -- when I press embriodery or velvets. It must be a real antique by now.

May I continuer your rant? We also have too many choices to make with any product. Look at the cereal aisle, or soaps, etc. I would prefer a few good ones to choose from and stop all this nonsense of inferior things. OK my rant is over too.

I have had 2 Black and Decker irons for 15 years and both died. I went looking, after reading all the comments on the board about irons, and after examining them all, I bought another Black and Decker at Kmart for a very reasonable price. It works really well. Good luck.

My shark iron did that also. bad product.

I had no idea-just thought it would be purer than tap water-I used it all the time in Vanuatu (It rained all the time there and we had the WORLDS HARDEST water) and never had a problem-I run it thru a coffee filter first-I'll continue to read everyone else's posts to see if others have used it. Thanks-I'll look into that and not use it if it can cause staining or damage to the iron

I have a Black & Decker First Impressions. Don't remember where I bought it, but it was probably Wal-Mart. I love it. The auto shut-off takes a long time to shut off and when it comes back on, it gets HOT very quickly. I also have the Rowenta "small" travel iron, but I have not used it yet.

I too am having iron trouble :cry: I bought a Shark iron at KMart it leaked.... a lot...and turned off while I was using it..grrrr. I returned that one. Have tried 3 other types of irons and returned them. I really am not usually hard to please but I am having trouble finding one I like. The one I liked was a Rowenta (sp) It lasted a year and I loved it until it quit heating. I called a service number for it and the woman told me they can't repair them. So because of that I didn't buy another one, imagine paying so much and they can't be repaired. I will continue with my search for a good iron at a reasonable price.

I was reading my operation manual on my Rowenta and it says that the iron is made to use tap water, not to use 100% distilled water, altho depending on hardness of water, you could add 50% distilled water. The iron will leak and dribble if tap water isn't used.

After reading some of the posts about leaking, I couldn't help but wonder if we've not reading our manual and adding the wrong water to our irons.

just wondering

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

I have a Shark that I love to use on clothing. I don't use it for quilting/sewing, it just isn't suited for it. I use a cheapie from WM for such!

We read all the reviews on irons from Consumer Guide, and settled on The Black & Decker 26. I love it, at less than 1/3 of the price of a rowenta it does everything just as well. I had a Rowenta and it leaked all the time from the steam plate, but this one does not, and it stays on longer on the autyo shut off. Really felt like a good deal

I have a rowenta that I bought several years ago at a yard sale for $3.00. I dropped it and the back plastic broke off and it melted my carpet that stuck to the sole plate. I cleaned it, stuck the plastic piece on and it is still going strong.

I went thru 3 Rowenta irons and all 3 leaked never will buy another one. Bought a cheapie works great.

I did the exact same thing "retired2pa" and I love my $7 unit never shuts off and DOES NOT LEAK WATER!!

maybe that's why I've never had a prob with my irons.I don't put water in them.I either use spray starch & spray bottle of water.I also love the older GEs.

I've had a Rowenta iron for years and have only used tap water in it. It doesn't leak and I've never had a problem with it. I recently bought a Sunbeam (lighter weight) iron and it leaks really bad.

a lot of the quilters in my area love the Rowenta, so I tried it and took it back---it leaked, it was way too heavy. I had always used a GE since I was a young girl---well finding them was getting harder, so I bought a black and decker at WalMart and absolutely loved it. Easy to use, lightweight and it steams like no buddies business. Never has leaked and I have 2 now--one in the sewing room, the other upstairs to iron clothes with.

I always used tap water and they still leaked.

I don't know if it was just bad luck,but I bought a europro shark sewing machine,a shark vaccum, and a shark iron and they were all nothing but trouble. The vaccum and the iron were bought locally so I took them back,but I bought the sewing machine online and have for some reason cannot get a straight answer from the company.For the last 4 months it has been nothing but a big paper weight. I wouldn't take anything in the EuroPro brand if it was free after these 3 lemons.

Well....you've sure had bad luck with that brand.I don't know how that works, some ppl love a certain brand & others have nothing but trouble, but imagine it's true of most all appliances...from irons to washer/dryers. Too bad about your sewing machine.Hope you can find help.Can a local repairman fix it?

The closest sewing repair shop is in Bristol, Tennesse. I took it there and just for the guy to look at it and give me his opinion was $150.00. Then he said that the motor had locked up and I would need a new one.I was looking at a $300.00 repair bill and in his opinion not worth it. I still had to pay for his opinion and brought my paper weight home.

That's a shame.You're prob better off to find a used machine in your area. Do you have a Craig's List? A lot of ppl like Brother machines.It's more a case of finding a seller you trust.I'd want to try it out before buying,