Has anyone who irons jacked it in for steaming

[ZolaBudd]

are steamers a viable alternative

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This thread is a little old now, so if you've landed here looking for iron and steamer recommendations, you might find our guides to the best steam irons, the best steam generator irons and the best clothes steamers useful.

We've also written a guide to clothes steamers vs irons to help you decide. We hope you find these useful.
MNHQ

Excellent question, OP. I would like to know the answer to this too!

Come in you lot

Steamers are no match for an iron, so no.

Yes, but I'm not elegant and groomed. Steaming isn't as effective as ironing. I find that it leaves clothes looking as though you'd ironed them earlier, but then worn them for 15 minutes. I still keep the ironing board and iron, partly for sewing projects, but also because I would still use and iron for very formal occasions.

Disappointing- I was also considering a steamer.

I was in a store about to buy a hand held steamer and the assistant basically told me they wont give the same finish as an iron. I think a lot of customers were returning them, I didn’t purchase in the end!

I love my steamer. It's quick and easy and no faff, and gives great results!

HOWEVER, it's a steamer not an iron. Creases fall out of dresses, jumpsuits and light trousers with ease but it absolutely does not crisply iron a shirt. To look well groomed with not a hint of a crumple use a steamer. To look crisp and ironed, use an iron.

Steamers are good for delicate items but you definitely still need an iron

Hmm. Are they good for gathered bits and small pleats eg at the back of blouses and sleeves and things?

I don’t mind ironing large areas of fabric but those kinds of fiddly bits annoy me.

A steamer works beautifully, better than an iron even, for about 20% of my clothes — basically anything sheer/floaty/delicate and knit jumpers. For most other things the steamer does a good enough job for my purposes but if you’re meticulous about ironing you won’t be satisfied with the results. If you normally iron jeans or you like really crisp and smooth button down shirts, you will need to iron.

Hi Mamette, I would say they are especially good for these fiddly bits. Even if you want (have) to iron the rest of the garment, steaming these little areas gets great results for little effort.

What does a steamer do that the steam function on a high power steam iron doesn’t do?

Went from an iron to a Fastpress for the majority of my ironing. Much quicker, less hard work.

I still iron work shirts, although upgraded to a steam generator iron.

Always thought steaming was for more light stuff and we haven't got a lot that needs that lighter touch.

Nope! I bought a decent one for my son for his shirts and it’s just useless compared to an iron unfortunately. I hoped I was on to something and would be living the no-iron dream but it was all a cruel lie!

Exactly this. Steamers are brilliant if you’re in a hurry or something is slightly creased, but they don’t replace an iron. I don’t think they’re quicker than an iron, if you have a whole pile of stuff, either.

i still find my steamer really useful though- use it several times a week.

I bought a steamer and I'm very disappointed with it. It's a faff, uses lots of water and invariably I end up with a steam burn on my fingers as I try to move the item of clothing so I can steam all of it.

I hate ironing but I wish I had invested in a really good iron instead.

I invested in one of those steam irons for about £200 but it kept spraying brown gunge all over my clothes. I just buy a £10 iron every couple of years now, much better.

Thank you @Theredfoxfliesatmidnight
I think I might invest in one!

I haven't tried a steamer, but I do have a steam generator iron. I live in a very hard water area, so have to be diligent about descaling and use 50/50 ionised water/tap water. It has transformed ironing into a chore that took hours into a relatively straightforward task. I don't buy clothes that need ironing, but I do iron cotton sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers, handkerchieves and a couple of linen tops. Ironing T shirts and tops takes seconds, so I do iron them, but I imagine they would be OK with a steamer. Avoiding ironing starts with shopping - don't buy cotton.

But I prefer natural fibres, so a lot of what I wash and wear all the time is cotton.

I recently went to a wedding abroad. The apartment we booked said it came with an iron which I couldn’t find anywhere. Eventually I found a steamer which worked really well for our wedding clothes, including my silk dress and my husband’s linen suit. I was so pleased with it that I am going to get one. However, I will hang on to my iron and ironing board. I hardly iron at all but about once a month I do like to get in out.

Did you try to descale your iron. That causes brown gunge to come out.

If anyone has a tumble dryer that collects water in a tank, you can use this water to fill your steam iron as there will be no limescale in it. I live in a hard water area and I have used the same iron ( not weekly 😀) for 15+ years.
You can also use water collected from a dehumidifier.

I use my steamer for work blouses, linen clothing, and clothes than have perhaps been sitting squashed in the wardrobe and could do with a loosening and freshening. Fortunately, this is 90% of my clothing. I’m not a crisp white blouse woman - I wish I was but I will guaranteed get bean juice on it in 10 minutes flat, even if I haven’t been anywhere near beans.