Do clothes steamers really work?

[Shetlands]

I loathe ironing and have barely ironed anything this century but I've been buying more pure cotton/linen clothing and I'm looking for an easy way to decrease them after washing and then drying outside.

Does anyone use a steamer that actually works on cotton and linen?

Yes I have two: a large hanging one like clothes stores use and a smaller handheld one from Steamery which is brilliant.

I bought the steamers one for travel but I actually use it over the larger one.

I have tendonitis and Arthur in my hands and wrists.i bought a small hand held steamer..I put the clothes on hangers,hang on an airer and steam away, leave them to dry complete before putting away.. don't buy the Lennor anticrease spray.i got some on a laminate floor,I had placed a towel under the airer....it was like a skating rink!

Arthritis,no idea who Arthur is!

I have one as I sell clothes online. The domestic ones I have tried have all been pretty useless holding a thimble of water and lasting less than half an hour. I now have a 4 litre one which goes all day. It very much depends how much ironing you do, but it is excellent. I have a hanger situation set up in the conservatory with hangers for different length garments and it makes it so quick. I never ironed for personal things at it is such a faff, but I do now and it's a breeze.

Yes! I love mine
This is the one I use

shop.swan-brand.co.uk/products/swan-garment-steamer-handheld?variant=34805788377239&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21120056060&gbraid=0AAAAAC5kXpTvekk2tqpURtjoe5foMY5OP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoZbBBhDCARIsAOqMEZVSbNHmpgDFCv8D39GPO08q7-hHEu8Nvfa-iN1b7dDHbWOfCun7hwIaAhsjEALw_wcB

I love them!
I've also got a brilliant hanging steamer pad that goes over the back of a door, so that I can steam things like shirts against it

I use my small handheld one if I just have one item to do quickly, but they do use a lot of water, or at least mine seems to fill the room with steam if I do a few items. And, it's a bit noisy clicking and hissing (again could just be mine!).

Do not buy this one, it’s rubbish
https://amzn.eu/d/gXeHg7X
It holds hardly any water, the reservoir pops off if you hold it too tight and it’s bloody heavy!

Do you hang the garment up on a rail or something and just run the steamer over it?
many times it just the once?
does the garment get damp?

does the garment immediately go smooth or does it smoothen as it dries!

Thanks for the replies so far!

Watching with interest as debating getting one for holiday in a couple of weeks… I hate non ironed clothes and DH has bought himself some expensive shirts that will look awful after being in the case for a day!

@blubbyblub I prefer to steam against something, so I’ve got an over door steaming pad to press against for shirts.
and I’ve also got the cutest little ironing board in the world from Ikea that I can then do hankies and small items on

my DD has one and swears by it - doesn't use an iron at all. She has to look smart for client facing meetings and when i've seen her in "work" gear she always looks immaculate (gets that from her Father, I'm a jeans and T shirt slob!)

@DancingNotDrowning which handheld one from the steamery do you have? Very tempted and if you have the older model and rate it it’s a fair bit less.

Ooh can you link to this please? Sounds ideal!

I’m wardrobe mistress at my local theatre and I love using the steamer there as it saves me so much time ironing. It’s just a handheld one at the moment so it’s not the biggest but I’m hoping to upgrade to a more industrial style one soon to make it even easier for myself. Our last show I spent approximately 15 hours over 3 days with steaming and ironing and I hate to think how much longer it would have all taken if I’d only had the iron as I had literally hundreds of items to do.

Some fabrics do tend to need an iron as well though, flat 100% cotton and linen I find still need an iron but if I take the steamer over things first it’s a lot faster as the majority of the creases go with the steamer. I’m just really picky about how the costumes will look on stage so may be ok for normal wear.

At home I have to admit I’m a sucker for crease release spray instead since I steam/iron enough at the theatre but as a PP said, do NOT use it near hard floors. It’s worse than trying to walk across ice in non-grippy shoes. 🤣

I bought a handheld one for DDs silk prom dress as it was creased when arrived. Yes, it gets rid of creases immediately and there isn't any drying time generally as I just steam but you may get small patches of damp if it leaks a little like an iron would. I steam wherever I am, I did her dress on my bed and its completely crease free despite the complicated design and pleated bits

I find it more faff than ironing tbh. It’s handy for if one or two items need doing or DD has a few dresses that are non iron but still crease.

@CrazyYucca another one wanting a link, please!

@Shetlands thanks for asking this question. I was going to ask this question because I've got some lovely linen tops that I barely wore last year. I got rid of my ironing board when I moved. I think the iron may still be around somewhere, but I don't know, it might be in with a bunch of stuff at my mum's.

Anyway, given that I live in a tiny space now, I thought a steamer was probably better.

@EmeraldRoulette @Mmmkaay

this is one I’ve got, in the silver colour. I’ve got the combo with the sort of stick thing but they’ve only got that on rose gold at the moment.

there are a few fancier and cheaper ones than this out there, but I didn’t want to spend too much in case it was rubbish!

Hanging steamer pad

@WhiskyandWater I’ve just checked and actually I didn’t buy the steamery one (I would have sworn it was as I did tonnes of research!)

anyway the good news is I actually bought one by homeasy on Amazon and it was 28 quid!

it’s portable as the handle is detachable and it has a sort of iron function as it has a mesh cover that allows you to steam in creases if needed.

my only reservation is as per pp, it’s really for doing one or two things at a time because the reservoir is small and the water runs out quickly.

it handles denim and heavy linen easily, no spitting or leaking like my 300 quid “professional” one.

I use it for when I want to de-crease something I am about to wear. It is also useful for re-freshing and eliminating odours on silk items so they don't have to be washed so often. My DS at uni has one and gives the armpits of his tops a blast to extend the time between washing (!).

Thank you!

I never had any luck with shirts, but my ex wore wool suits and it was brilliant for that - I had one of the store-sized ones with a big tank and a hanger thing

I have weirdly discovered a love for ironing since getting a steam generator iron too - no fiddling with the right temperature, no heavy iron, I just whizz it over almost anything (tea-towels and pillow cases stack so much easier when they're flat)

I’ve never thought of using a hand held steamer but am very interested. I rarely iron nowadays and only have a small, folding ironing board but sometimes there are items that would look better after a quick iron. I’m put off from ironing though as I have mobility problems so need to sit down to use one and my arthritis is very painful when I try to use a heavy iron.

Do you think a hand held steamer would be useful for me? Will it remove creases from most types of fabric ie cotton tops, T-shirts? Roughly how long does to take to get the creases out? Would I need to buy a hanging steamer pad as well? I’m thinking I could use it on my small table top ironing board or hang tops up over my kitchen door.

I love new gadgets but am trying to only buy things that actually help me, like the mini electric tin opener I’ve just started using and changing the laces in trainers to elastic, no fasten ones.

Any advice much appreciated. I like the look of the Swan one linked above.