Atomist Vapour Iron Feedback Thread. NON TESTERS please share your best tips on speedy ironing for a chance to win a £100 John Lewis voucher! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 15 MNers who tested the Atomist Vapour Iron, but also NON TESTERS sharing their top tips on ironing.

Here’s what Morphy Richards says about the Atomist Vapour Iron: “For consumers who live in hard water areas, they can find that limescale continually affects and damages their products, and this is a concern that Morphy Richards heavily focused on when developing the Atomist Vapour Iron. As the iron doesn’t produce limescale, it directly eliminates the prospect of unsightly white marks appearing on clothes while ironing, meaning that clothes never have to be re-washed because of limescale marks. The iron is also ideal for those who are looking to use products that aren’t harmful to the environment, as the Redefine Atomist Iron uses less water and energy than a standard steam iron.”

Testers, please tell us what you thought about the iron. Here are some questions to get you started, but please feel free to add your own comments too. Please also add any photos you’ve taken to the feedback thread.

• How did the Atomist Vapour Iron compare to your usual iron?
• What did you think were the benefits of the Atomist Vapour Iron?
• Did it make ironing usual items of clothing easier? If yes, why? If no, why not?
• What did you think the benefits were of vapour over steam?
• Why did you want to take part in this test and what iron did you previously have?

Please now write a review about the Atomist Vapour Iron in the Mumsnet household appliances review section here here

Please also write a review in the Morphy Richards review section here

Testers who have given their feedback and written a review will be able to keep their irons as a thank you.

For NON TESTERS, please share your top tips on ironing for a chance to win a £100 John Lewis voucher.

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks!
MNHQ

Non Tester:

Tell your other half that there is a sale on at White Company and you have a 20% off voucher they can have if they do the ironing. Ironing miraculously done in speedy style.

Shake clothes out between washer and drier and use the less ironing setting if possible.
Don't dry cotton shirts in machine but on hangers.
When ironing, keep a light coloured cloth handy to test that it doesn't spit out brown water or calcium lumps.
If you have a calc-clean setting, check your manual & use it!
Use 5l car battery water in your iron rather than 1l perfumed stuff. Much cheaper.

Sorry, non-tester

Non tester - slightly damp is easiest and a good ironing board makes a difference, mine currently has wonky legs and it makes it much harder.

Also practice makes perfect

NON TESTER

My tip is to iron things when they're still slightly damp. I find it's quicker than ironing dry clothes with steam.

Non tester - still gutted not to have been picked!

My ironing tips are - don't have a crap iron like mine. Get one that consistently produced steam and doesn't dribble water all the time.

Also, get someone else to do,the ironing (rarely works).

If that doesn't work do it in front of the telly on while listening to music. Smooth thighs are you fold to avoid undoing your good work.

Non Tester
i sort ironing into piles of shirts etc as i have four sets of uniforms to do . i then put on good music and set about the task. dont really like ironing but find it quite relaxing with music on in the background and i power through it in no time!

I put clothes in the dryer first and then run the steam iron over them it only takes a minute.

Non tester.

I put music on and dance away while I iron (attempting to iron in time to the music!) - dance music works best for a speedy iron.

Non tester

Set up your pre schooler with pretend ironing board and iron alongside and give them real clothes to iron! They'll leave you alone long enough to get the job done!

Non-tester

Put on either Bronski Beat or The Communards!

Fast music equals fast ironing

I was really excited to test this as I hate ironing, and suffer badly with tendinitis which makes it painful as well.
Unfortunately it just doesn't deliver on its promise- it is very light and comfortable to hold, but unless I got areas really covered in spray it just didn't get creases out, and then on something doubled like a duvet cover it didn't get dry either.
On a shirt, dh commented that he was getting previously ironed bits damp again so when he put it on it wasn't dry.
If I'd paid for this, I'm afraid I would have taken it back as its not as efficient as my old cheap iron.

It did feel safer for ds to use, and he loved the clear sole plate.

Non-tester. I do the ironing whilst watching TV, helps with the boredom but does not help with the attention to detail with the ironing!

Non tester
Non crease setting on tumble drier!
I iron the bare minimum, that's as speedy as it gets.

Get some iorn water, useful for steam to quickly get creases out and smell lovely! Can be bought in supermarkets in the cleaning/fabric conditioner section. We love lychee scent 😍

Do as little as possible, tumble driers help!

Do as little as possible, tumble driers help!

Tester
• How did the Atomist Vapour Iron compare to your usual iron? It really isn't as good as my normal iron, which is a steam generating iron with a separate base. I turned them both on and ironed parts of the same duvet cover with each in turn, my iron got the creases out faster. The Atomist Vapour iron was much lighter which I suppose might help some people.

• What did you think were the benefits of the Atomist Vapour Iron? I liked the idea of being able to see through the sole plate but as I had to press harder than normal and it didn't iron as well I wasn't impressed. I thought the water reserve was easier to fill than that of my normal iron. I haven't used it enough to discover whether the sole plate is easier to clean, I reckon that takes a few months of use. As there are no steam outlets on the base there wouldn't be any risk of calcium deposits being squirted out with the steam.
• Did it make ironing usual items of clothing easier? If yes, why? If no, why not? No it didn't make it easier to iron things, it wasn't as fast to use and I had to go over things longer.
• What did you think the benefits were of vapour over steam? There didn't seem to be any benefits.
• Why did you want to take part in this test and what iron did you previously have?
I wanted to try the iron as we have a lot of ironing - family of 5 & I like ironed bedding as well as ironed clothes - when I switched to a steam generating iron I found it halved the time I spent ironing so I hoped this would speed up the process even further. I currently have a Philips Perfectcare Aqua which is a few years old but it works well.

Non tester

Get the husband to do it!

non-tester:

shake clothes before drying
keep on top of the pile: Mondays and Thursdays without fail
be brutal about what actually needs ironing versus what will look fine within 5 minutes of body heat (my tops)

Non-tester.

I have a JML Dri Buddi clothes drier. It's a bit of a faff having to put clothes on hangers to put in it, but it does mean shirts etc come out much easier to iron.

That aside, I recently bought a steam generator iron. I have always hated ironing, but can almost tolerate it now.

Non tester- use the water from the tumble dryers condensing unit. It's deionised and smells like clean washing...and it's free!

Non-Tester

For stubborn creases and tricky fabrics; spritz with a vinegar and water mixture before ironing

Tester

How did the Atomist Vapour Iron compare to your usual iron?

Very impressive design and packaging, clearly lots of time and money has gone into the design and overall image of the iron.

It is much lighter and has more high tech features, e.g. beeping when the iron is at the correct temperature.

I really liked the light and the glass plate which allowed me to see what I was doing, however this only really worked for me on lighter fabrics and not when I was ironing dark clothes.

The Atomist is much bigger than my usual iron which made it cumbersome to use and harder to store.

What did you think were the benefits of the Atomist Vapour Iron?

Lighter, no need to keep refilling the water tank and a precise temperature.

Did it make ironing usual items of clothing easier? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes and no.

Once I'd got the hang of how to use the iron it did allow me to iron more quickly on lighter fabrics. The iron struggled with thick, heavy fabrics and I ended up having to soak the clothes with vapour to get rid of the creases.

I did miss having a steam shot which I often use on clothes with pleating or ruched details which are tricky to iron. I also missed being able to freshen a blazer with a shot of steam.

What did you think the benefits were of vapour over steam

I think vapour is safer as no risk of burning and the kitchen didn't get as steamed up as it usually does during a mammoth ironing session.

Why did you want to take part in this test and what iron did you previously have

I don't enjoy ironing and I'm fairly terrible at it so I am always looking for ways to make it quicker and easier.

I previously had a Philips and a Braun.

Non -tester

Don't iron - that's my tip! Dd2 is now 9, but when she was 3 she asked if the ironing board was a surf board. She had never seen it being used.

I don't understand ironing sheets, tea towels - what is the point? In the winter when using the tumble dryer I just whip the stuff out as soon as it's finished and hang it up.