steam generator irons

[Kibby]

has anyone got one, are they worth the money and can you recommend one?

I had one from Lakeland Ltd. I think it stopped working properly after about a year and I sent it back. I had a refund as they weren't stocking them any longer. I then went back to my old steam iron. That stopped working the other day and was unable to be repaired so we've bought another steam iron. It is a Bosch TDA2440 white/green iron. Not a steam generator one. I wouldn't recommend one as I found it left the clothes too damp, though that could be because I wasn't using it correctly, perhaps. Hth.

I bought the Tefal one. Wouldn't say it was the most amazing thing (I didn't get a professional finish) or anything, but it was slightly better than a decent steam iron.

Anyway, it stopped working after about 3 months, so sent it for repair. Came back working, but soon became very unreliable and have given up using it.

So, definitely not worth the money in my experience.

I lurrrrve my Bosch steam generator iron! I got it in John Lewis. I had Tiptop's problem of it leaving the clothes damp but it was a matter of technique and I'm lighter on the steam button now. It at least halves the time taken to iron everything and is much less effort too. Thumbs up from me.

See - if only I'd had suedonim to show me how to use it properly, I'd have been okay!

It was a bit like a sauna when I first started using it - the windows even steamed up, lol!!

I was in a big living room, else I'd have done the same, I'm sure! I think the blurb said something about 1 1/2 hours continuous ironing. The tank didn't that amount of time when I was ironing!

I had a top of the range Tefal for one day - took it back and got my 180 quid back pronto! not what I was expecting I'm afraid - my usual iron did a better job and the tank emptied quickly

I don't think Suedonim has to deal with the very hard water that we get in the southern half of England, which I think was the root cause of the problems I had with the Tefal.

I've got a Polti Vaperetto Forever (my second Polti, think they are great). This one you don't need to wait for the pressure to go down before you can open it up to refill it, it has a separate water chamber that can be opened at any time to top up the water so you can truely iron continuously, even the initial heat up time is only 3 minutes whereas my last Polti took about 10 mins.

One thing you do need to bear in mind is that you may need to upgrade your ironing board, it needs to be the metal mesh type otherwise the steam doesn't pass through the clothes and would leave the clothes wet (not sure if this was the problem you had Tiptop?) and eventually damage your ironing board.

I have one and, although in a hard water area, I've not had any problems with it. That may be because I have a descaler on my water pipe and use filtered water in the kitchen (out of the tap, but have undersink filter). It does steam up the kitchen (and my glasses which can make things tricky!), but it certainly gets me through my mountains of ironing a lot quicker than my conventional steam iron.

I have now got a press (NOT steam) and it's halved my ironing time - and I can "Squash the Wash" whilst sat at a proper table, ironing piled up all around so don't have to move.

I had one, and i am taking it back, the insulating cover on the wire comes off and i burn my wrist, it makes you sweat and if you're like me, your glasses steam up and it soaks through the ironing board and soaks the floor, not a good idea when its laminate, got a bog standard iron from Asda and think it does a far far better job.

I had one, and i am taking it back, the insulating cover on the wire comes off and i burn my wrist, it makes you sweat and if you're like me, your glasses steam up and it soaks through the ironing board and soaks the floor, not a good idea when its laminate, got a bog standard iron from Asda and think it does a far far better job.

This is the ironing board I have:-

Leifheit Ergonomic Ironing Board
We know anything that helps to make ironing less of a chore is going to be welcome. The broad end of this redesigned board is shaped for speedy shirt and blouse ironing and the extra large surface makes light work of biger items. The iron rest is repositionable and the curved legs allow you to iron in comfort.

It is a metal one but perhaps it's not designed for use with a steam generator type iron?
I think I'm in a medium or soft water area.
I've taken delivery of my new iron today, so I'm going to give that a whirl tonight. Exciting life I lead, eh!

tiptop, well, what did you think or your ironing board?

The ironing board is brilliant because it is big (and so can cope easily with sheets and things) and it has lots of height settings so I'm able to have it high enough for me to be comfortable when ironing. I'm not particularly tall (about 5 ft 7 1/2 in) but I think I like to have the ironing board set quite high. So.......9.5/10 for me. It loses half a point for not fitting in the same cupboard as the hoover as it's supposed to (though it's the poxy cupboard's fault.) I bought a new cover for it recently (the old one wore out after several years of heavy use) and it looks as good as new. And the feet are brill and I don't fall over them even when I've got one eye on the tv!

Where did you get it from?

I got one last year off Ebay for about £40, and it is great. The finish isn't 'professinal' - it irons about as well as a normal steam iron I'd say - but it is much quicker, as you only have to do eg one side of a shirt sleeve for the whole thing to be ironed, don't have to turn it over. It leaves the clothes a little bit damp but not massively, and I find they are dry enough to hang up in the wardrobe half an hour or so after I've finished. Its a bit of a pain for one item as you have to wait for the steam pressure to build up, so I tend to pile the ironing up for about three weeks anad then do an hours blitz on it.

It's from Lakeland Limited.

Laundry
Leifheit Ergonomic Ironing Board
We know anything that helps to make ironing less of a chore is going to be welcome. The broad end of this redesigned board is shaped for speedy shirt and blouse ironing and the extra large surface makes light work of biger items. The iron rest is repositionable and the curved legs allow you to iron in comfort.

Quantity 4743 Surface 55" x 15½"
(140 x 40cm). Adjustable up to 37" (94cm) H.
£ 63.95

www.lakelandlimited.com

If you decide to get one and you want help choosing your free gift - ask away!