Philips Man Iron Product Test feedback thread - FINALQUESTIONS ADDED

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the MNers who were selected to try out Philips new Man Iron with their DH/DP or DS.

We have two waves of feedback questions - below are the initial first impressions ones and we'll add some more at a later date once you've had the iron for a few weeks to see how you are getting on then (we'll email you a link).

a) Receiving the Man Iron - first impressions - what did you think when you received the product? What did you think of the appearance of the Man Iron? What did DH, DP or DS say? How long did it take DH, DP or DS to use it?

b) Once the Man Iron has been used for the first time - was it easy to use? What did you think of the results? Did your DH/DP/DS use it - did they manage to get the ironing done?! Did the tutorial video help? What did DH, DP or DS think??

Remember - everyone who takes part and who adds their feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky winner will get £100

Thanks, MNHQ

Dp is using the iron on a regular basis, although not as much as I would like!
He tends to stick to the easy things ie his tops, but not shirts, (too fiddly for him) He will at a push iron the kids tshirts but avoids anything with pleats eg Dds school skirts.
I Like the iron and use it all of the time now, for a while i stopped using it and went back to my trusty old iron as i found unless you had the settings quite low it would 'drag' the tshirt whilst being ironed.
Ds 11 has used it a few times, he is always eager to help with 'good chores' (as he calls them) He said 'wow this is awesome'!

My Mum has had a go whilst here and said it was 'good for a blokes iron' and 'Does Dp ever use it'! :o

I iron fairly quickly and haven't found it any quicker than my old one so no more time freed up by having this one.

It still makes the funny gurgle noise when you lift it up on its standy bottom, but I can live with that. I would recommend it to others and already have.

Thank you Philips and Mumsnet for letting me try this product.

ds used the iron, found it very easy to use.
Its looks appealing to the male variety, and would make one more inclined to iron. Our last one was pink so was obviously aimed towards females. Funny enough, the last one was a (cheap end) Philips too, and this one is far, far user friendly (male OR female)
I must say ds not inclined to iron without prompting, but that is no reflection on the iron itself - he can't be bothered..like a lot of things he does not, but should do!

As for me, I adore this iron!! Must admit, I try and redube ironing (no tumble drier, use non-iron shirts etc, take stuff out of washer as soon as wash finished, hang stuff up on line if weather nice, rack if raining,or hangers as soon as out of washer, all means only need to iron stuff that creases like linen trousers, shirts etc) BUT, this iron means I don't groan any more at the thought of doing these items and it is a pleasure to use the Man Iron.
I especially love the case and the fact that the iron can go away in it as soon as it is unplugged which means that you don't put it on your windowsill and get scorch marks on your curtains

I would not hesitate to recommend the Man Iron

Coffin, your manners are better than mine
I would also like to thank Mumsnet and Philips for the opportunity to test the Man Iron.

Thanks again to Phillips and Mumsnet for our iron :)

Since having the iron I've noticed a marked improvement on how regularly either of us iron. It's much less hassle and a lot easier and quicker to use than our steam press so gets used more regulary. As the ironing has been done nearly every day the basket hasn't been as daunting and dp is now happy to take his turn as he much prefers this iron to the flat press.

Dp has done much more ironing, he finds it easy to use, it isn't a faff trying to find somewhere to find it and his willingness to iron is the envy of most of my friends (we live in a rural area with traditional male/female roles) we have been taking it in turns to either iron that days laundry or put the dc's to bed and do story time, so it's not spare time as such but some nice quality time with our dd's which is most welcome :)

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? Any reasons for use/ non use? Do you wish you'd had one years ago? What does your DH, DP or DS think? Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? the iron is being used weekly - by DH! Which is a miracle in itself. He has taken on the regular Sunday ironing and I will be eternally grateful. He likes the heaviness and the amount of steam it produces. We would recommend this iron, but think the £60 price tag is too steep for what it is - save money by getting rid of the box.

It could just be a wonderful coincidence, but I am delighted that DH is doing the ironing. He is doing a better job with this iron than the one we had before. I used to get frustrated (very) when he would proclaim "I've done the ironing for you" when I knew I would have to redo most of my stuff - he still won't do 'frills and shit' but everything else is much better.

It's a very efficient iron, he does more ironing in less time which makes us both happy! Saving time saves electricity, and saves money. What's not to like

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? Any reasons for use/ non use? Do you wish you'd had one years ago? What does your DH, DP or DS think? Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family?

Ds (both of them) use the iron regularly which is something new here probably because it works really well and makes ironing less of a chore. Dh continues to resist but he produces significantly less ironing than the ds's so my workload has been cut considerably.Ds's think it's great even jeans are no effort.I have recommended it to everyone I know tbh.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? I have had more time to myself so have done more reading and more MN.

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Have you used it? Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result?

Yes the ironing pile has been reduced significantly, the ds's are doing their own mostly and they are making a decent job of it too. I wouldn't say they have took ownership of the iron but they have took responsibility for their own ironing which is a great help and ds even ironed me some jeans and a top the other day I use it routinely because it's significantly better than my iron. We have never really argued about chores but I am less exasperated now when ds puts on the fourth set of clothes in one day because I know I won't be ironing them.

Thank you Phillips and Mumsnet for letting me and my boys test the Man Iron.

Rome was not built in a day!

My sons have all used the iron - one of them said it was good because it was slidey, another would prefer not to use it but as his favourite t-shirt was not ironed by failing mother (put in for washing that morning and not ready for when he came of school) he had to force himself.
The third son tried ironing as it looks so easy and decided that the creased look actually suited him.
I've two irons in the cupboard and they always use this one.
Personally I love it - love the gurgly sound and the hiss of steam. I was using a similar Phillips iron already but can see the difference.
Would recommend it to anyone.

So now they've used the iron I just need for them to put the iron and ironing board away

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? Any reasons for use/ non use? Do you wish you'd had one years ago? What does your DH, DP or DS think? Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family?

DH uses the iron most days to iron his shirts. He likes the iron and does not complain about using it like he did with our older one. DH says that it feels a lot heavier and is wider than our old one and therfore he can iron his shirt quicker. I have used the iron myself and would agree on these points and would recommend the iron. Superficially, I think the clolour of the iron helps to defeminise ironing as our old iron was in a pastel blue.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time?

My DH has always ironed his own shirts and I would not say that I have had anymore time than I normally would from my DH doing more but I have fond that it takes less time to do a pile of ironing because the iron seems more efficient with each stroke. I have spent this extra time catching up on paperwork!

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Have you used it? Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result?

The ironing pile in our house seems never ending but the iron does certainly reduce the amount of time it takes to iron a single garment. DH and myself are also finding that things come out with much fewer creases with this iron. DH owns ironing his own shirts but sees most other ironing as a waste of time and this has not changed! We never argue over chores so this also remains unchanged.

Thanks MN and Philips, I will continue to enjoy my new iron!

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? Any reasons for use/ non use? Do you wish you'd had one years ago? What does your DH, DP or DS think? Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family?

Ds has not been bothered to use the iron since the first time and I put this down to several reasons...a) he's lazy. b) he's 13 and lazy.
I do wish I'd had one years ago and I would certainly recommend this iron to anyone! as I think it's lovely, with just the dial reading difficulties and the refilling with water often as the only trivial problems.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time?

Ha! no, no quicker and no more spare time as a consequence of using the Man Iron unfortunately.

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Have you used it? Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result?

No, the ironing mountain is still mountainous, though if Ds decides to try his arm at tackling it in the near future, this may change! He certainly doesn't own the ironing...it's still mine.

Solo.

Haha sparkly :o
You said Thanks, doesn't make any difference whether you said it in first or second post. :)

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? about three times a week

Any reasons for use/ non use? strange question - reason for use is to iron stuff. No reasons for non use

Do you wish you'd had one years ago? yes

What does your DH, DP or DS think? DH loves it

Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? yes and have done so

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? not really given more spare time

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Yes

Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? not quite perfect !

Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? no

Have you used it? yes
Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? no, we still have plenty to argue about .

Thanks you once again for the iron. It is really good

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? Once or twice a week
Any reasons for use/ non use? It is better than our old iron so we have stopped using that.
Do you wish you'd had one years ago? DH says not that much, it is only an iron (not a mountain bike or windsurfer!).
What does your DH, DP or DS think? He says it is slightly better than our previous iron but he still can't get very excited about an iron.
Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? No as it is quite expensive (would if it was cheaper though).

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? No, as DH still only does his shirts which isn't much, and most of the ironing is my things which he still won't do.

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Not much, as most of it is my things and DH won't do them..
Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Only his ones... been trying to persuade him to do mine too but it hasn't worked so far!
Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Sadly not!
Have you used it? Yes I am now using it for all my ironing and I like it. Particularly like the nice long lead.

Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? Not really but we didn't really argue about ironing before.

Thanks for letting us try it, it has been interesting and I do like it even if it hasn't had miraculous effects on DH!

Dp did most of the ironing in the house anyway and he still does. He says it's a really good iron and he is enjoying the chore more.

DS was initially impressed and had a couple of cursory irons but has not carried on. I think that says more about the kid than the kit though.

I think it's a good iron - heavy, steamy, does a good job, but the dial is too difficult to read so I have sometimes had it on too high by mistake and then it sticks to cheapo school uniform and you get that sickly sweet burning smell.

We thank Philips and MN v much for the iron and especially for posing the question 'Do you wish you had one years ago?' Too funny.

How often is DH, DP or DS using it?DH Ds2 and ds3 have used the iron with varying frequency -dh finds it a very good iron with excellent pointy end and it whizzes through the ironing - unforunately for me he doesnt mean the mountain that we aquire weekly he means the 3 shirts he wants - still progress is progress and im happy - ds2 is v handy at whipping out the iron and ironing his t shirts (unfortunately his ironing ability only extends to t shirts)....ds3 is still itching to iron hama beads???

Any reasons for use/ non use?ds1 is still reluctant to learn or even use the iron he worries that he will damage some of his posh stuff and insists practical things are beyond him and he is more academic - he has however paid ds2 50p to iron his top .

Do you wish you'd had one years ago?I do wish id had this years ago it whips through my ironing mountain and is greatly admired by several of my friends (even my most creased up friends admire it)

What does your DH, DP or DS think? Dh likes it a lot (i did fib and say jeremy clarkson endorses it and he would become 'stig like' with ironing )

Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? already have I should be on commision.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? it sounds ridiculous but because its so easy to use I can iron a pile in 30 mins and so doing a bit each day really means its saved me a full 2 hour job lot......

If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? spare time??? well my best friend has just had a baby so thats where my spare minutes go ......

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? definitely if it broke id replace it with the same without a doubt

Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Dh is military so his ironing has always been immaculate this iron just makes it easier.

Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing?errrrrrr truthfully? No we none of us accept responsibility

Have you used it?lots and lots and lots and lots etc etc etc

Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? No maybe design a man hoover and a man washer and we may get closer .....

Thanks

No,thankyou really I heart my new iron

Having the iron has definitely changed things here! My ds, 15, now takes responsibility for his own ironing-think it makes him feel 'grown up'.After a few lessons, he now irons quite well and will tackle most of his things.I let him make the decision as to whether something could do with ironing after it comes out of the wash, and he does jeans and t shirts and occasionally sweatshirts.I t gives me more time to catch up on Downton and drink cups of tea, so thanks!

The iron has made no difference at all. DP still does not iron but only because I insist on doing it as I prefer to and think I'm better at it! Also he works and I don't.

I do love the iron but thnk the whole "man iron" thing is too gimmicky. If it worked in conjunction with an iPhone it would be a different matter!

Ok, ds2 has answered for himself. I am answering on behalf of the others.

How often is DH, DP or DS using it?
DS2, around once a week, sometimes less but never really more than once a week.
Ds1 about the same
Dh probably no more than a couple of times

Any reasons for use/ non use?
DS2 no particular reasons not to use it, never use the old iron anymore because this one is better.
Ds1, used it when asked
Dh, took ages faffing around with the ironing board, taking it apart, fiddling with the covers, that he got very little ironing done. We are a large family and I iron daily and to be honest I got totally fed up with dh not having got the ironing done by 11pm for things like PE kit which had to be washed and ironed for reuse the next day.

Do you wish you'd had one years ago? ....
Well I do, as it is much better than the cheap iron I had been using. I had been put off buying expensive irons after I had a few useless yet expensive(double the price of the man iron) generator irons some years ago.

What does your DH, DP or DS think?
DS2 Still doesn't look forward to having to do the ironing, but is slightly more willing to.
Ds1 again will do it when asked.

Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? ....
As a reasonably priced quality iron i would, not so sure about the man iron aspect of it, although I do think it is a neat storage box for ds1 to take to uni!
The boys have told their friends/ girlfriends all about it.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself?....
Not really!

If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? ....
Not really had any

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house?
DS2,probably not, no.
I say it is faster to iron with than my other iron so has reduced the time spent on ironing.

Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS?
Ds2, some clothing is done better than others, but not all to perfection.
Ds1,got better with experience. First few shirts he ironed appeared more creased than when he started them.
Dh, If he only had to iron one shirt and had 24 hours to do it, maybe.

Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing?
Ds2, No not really
Ds1, as above
Dh no.

Have you used it? ....
Oh yes, I have used it all the time when I iron instead of my old iron

Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? ...

I do think ds1 and especially ds 2 have learned from having it, they are willing to do the iron when asked and make a pretty good job of it.
As for Dh, when he took the ironing board apart, took all the covers off etc, he was lucky not to be branded with the man iron!

Thanks very much for letting us test this.

Dh definately uses the new iron more and there is less fuss when he is ironing. Before he would be moaning about how rubbish the old iron was, did'nt remove creases, took to long.
Wished we would have had this ages ago, the karate uniform is a doddle to iron now! 20 mins compared to over an hour and does not need going over again and again.
I would'nt say the ironing pile reduced in size but there is not that feeling of dread when faced with a big pile. It is definately a time saver. I love it!
Dh irons more now which givees me extra time doing other stuff.
It is much easier ironing the childrens clothes because the narrow point of the iron really covers all areas.
I would definately recommend one, in fact my step mother saw a very similar design if not the same in Costco for £40 she got it and really likes it, but then she irons everthing!
Thank you for the iron and the lovely smellies, had some in my bath the other night and it was lovely :)

How often is DH, DP or DS using it?
After the initial enthusiasm had worn off not a lot but the ds? will use it to iron the odd item if they need it in a hurry
Any reasons for use/ non use?
To be honest I?m quite organised around the house and try to iron every day to avoid a Sunday Everest so more often than not the basket is empty by the time they get in from school!

Do you wish you'd had one years ago? I had had my old iron for more than 15 years and getting the opportunity to use a new one showed me how much better my finished ironing could look. The arrival of the iron coincided with me buying one of the more expensive washing powder brands as it was on offer and the combination of that and the iron has left some items that were close to being dumped looking like new again

What does your DH, DP or DS think? Ds? think it looks cool and like that it?s pretty noisy they found it easy to use and didn?t have to squint to read the dial like I did!

Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? Yes I already have though they were not convinced the colour would make men any more likely to do the ironing!

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? I certainly seem to be getting through the pile much quicker and do occasionally find I have time to do other things in not so much of a rush

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? As I said above I try to iron daily anyway though have to say for various reasons the pile was allowed to grow to a horrendous size this week and it didn?t take as long as it would have done with my old iron.

Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? They don?t ?own? the ironing but can do a very decent job when the need arises

Have you used it? Yes more than they have

Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? Not really as a lone parent we have always had a pretty good system going and the boys have always done their share so there have never really been any arguments regarding chores.

Thank you Phillips and Mumsnet for my lovely iron and the goodies that came with it.

How often is DH, DP or DS using it? More or less weekly
Any reasons for use/ non use? We like that it goes away neatly (no trailing wires etc). Also DP has always done most of the ironing while I feel guilty about not doing it but now it is "his" iron it's definitely his job so no guilt and no arguments!
Do you wish you'd had one years ago? We haven't argued about ironing since we had it so from that point of view definitely yes!
What does your DH, DP or DS think? He seems to like it, his shirts look better and it seems to take less time to do them, seems like less of a chore generally.
Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family? I would recommend it as a good iron with a handy box to friends and family but I still find the whole "Man Iron" concept deeply cringeworthy and don't think I would recommend it on those terms alone.

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? See above - fewer arguments!
If so, what have you been doing with your spare time? Any spare time gained has been reinvested in mumsnet.

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? No but that was never a problem really.
Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Much better than our old iron. He still has a blind spot about anything that sits on my side of the wardrobe but I don't think the iron has been invented that could conquer that.
Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Yes, definitely.
Have you used it? No [hgrin]
Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result? Yes.

Hope this helps and thanks again for sending it

Well, I'm still loving the iron, but it hasn't changed anything apart from being much easier and pleasant to use than my old one and producing better results. DH still irons his own work clothes on a Sunday evening, I do all the rest. No change there but that's fine. Ironing doesn't take up that much mental energy and I doubt that any product apart from one that resulted in no ironing being required at all could change things! The box it came in just sits at the side - keep thinking about taking it out to the garage. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of a new iron. I don't have a problem with catching the temperature dial with my finger like others do - but DH does and he mentioned this before I told him that others had said the same. All in all, I think it's a great product and I'm very happy with it - thank you for giving it to me!

My iron is still perfect! I actually don't mind doing the ironing now, and iron more clothes then before as the iron is so much better than my previous one! It heats up quicker, and only need to whiz over a shirt once and its done.
DP goes out of his way to iron his work shirts now so thats a bonus!
I love my iron

Thankyou for choosing me to test it!

How often is DH, DP or DS using it?

it is used daily.

Any reasons for use/ non use?

no

Do you wish you'd had one years ago?

we've needed a decent iron for ages so yes

What does your DH, DP or DS think? Would you recommend the Man Iron to your friends and family?

he was sceptical at first, but the old iron has been relegated to the cupboard so that says it all. i would recommend it

Any consequences of having the Man Iron - have you had more time to yourself? If so, what have you been doing with your spare time?

yes dp does more ironing

Has the Man Iron helped reduce the ironing pile in your house? Are shirts, trousers, t-shirts etc, now perfectly ironed by DH, DP or DS? Does DH, DP or DS now ?own? the ironing? Have you used it? Are you finding fewer arguments related to household chores as a result?

the ironing doesnt build up now, as we both dont mind doing it with this iron as it is done quickly.

DP still only ironing once a week- just when I want to relax so suppose it's a blessing as it's not noisy like the steam generator.

There are no arguments about ironing. I don't iron. End of. He once made a suggestion that as my son gets older I may have to start ironing- it's not been mentioned since! He did suggest I may like to go into labour this weekend as he has been stockpiling his work shirts for ironing in the hope if paternity leave and has almost run out!

oh i wish i could say that this iron has turned us all into ironing freaks.

but alas no, DH hasn't even used it once, and i've only used it a handful of times, so while it has made ironing much easier, and i cannot fault the iron on design and quality (it's a bloody marvellous iron without doubt), i am not ironing more. it's not had the desired effect on DH i'm afraid.

but i do love the iron.

thanks.