So my iron finally finished dying yesterday (in the middle of a last-minute back-to-school project of course), and won’t heat at all. I don’t think I’ve ever regularly used an iron that wasn’t older than I am, so I have no idea what brands or glamorous features exist, and which ones are good vs annoying. My uses are mostly sewing/clothing related (pressing cotton prints, iron-on girl scout patches & interfacing, etc)
Who has experience with newer irons? Do you have Opinions on brands or features? (I’m happy to hear about what drives you bananas as well as what you love.)
1700 watts, no less. I have no frikken luck with irons though, they all seem so garbagy. I don’t find the bells & whistles useful, what I want is a heavy thing that gets consistently hot & only steams when told to, no spitting. It’s impossible!
I choose my irons carefully:
Go to the thrift store
Find an iron that’s not too gross
Test it
Buy it
Hardly ever use it, and just for weird stuff like fusing a sheet of filament scraps
Donate it to thrift store when I move.
But if I were shopping for a new one, I’d start with how I want to use it. Clothes only? Crafts? Daily use?
I would want it to heat quickly, turn itself off if I forget, and have both steam and water spray options.
So I’d search Amazon for irons, read reviews, maybe Google for reviews of irons.
I’d decide on a model and shop it out at my favorite online retailers. (Amazon has the best review system, but not always the best price).
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AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
4
I love my Shark. It is simple, reliable, and perfect for sewing and quilting. It turns off automatically and has adjustable steam.
I can second Shark as a recommmendation. I had one for about 15 years before it died and it did all the things AIMR mentioned, plus - and this is the thing I miss most - it had a realllly long cord! I was never in danger of being too far from the socket. You see, it also would steam in upright position so you could do things like steam drapes while hung and that kind of thing.
My current one is a Rowenta and I like it quite a lot. It heats up QUICKLY and adjusts temp quickly (like cooling from cotton to poly settings). It’s easy to fill and gives quite a bit of steam when you press the button as well as having adjustable steam. I use it for sewing projects, our household pressing, and iron-on craft projects including vinyl. I do really miss that long cord, though, and this reminds me that I need to work on getting a power strip mounted on the underside of my ironing board so I can get another 3’ or so of reach!
I think I looked at Wire Cutter for reviews, probably some other “unbiased” sources, too.
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AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
6
lol Yes, it does have a long cord! Good thing, too, because I have to run it under my sewing space to the socket and it still leaves me with enough cord to maneuver around the ironing board. My main thing is auto turn off…if I have to leave the iron for a bit, it turns off but is still plugged in…and to “activate” it, I just have to start pressing…I used to worry about it with some old irons and swore I would never buy an iron that did not have auto turn off!
I think that it’s hard to find one w/o auto turn off these days - fire safety and all that. And I love how the newer, better irons allow you to get it back up to temp quickly without a bunch of rigmarole.
Thanks for the thoughts, all! I am definitely amused by Shark as a brand of irons! (and long cord does sound good.) Tho replacing an iron from the 1970s with something with a 15 year expected lifespan seems sad.
@AIMR the one you linked to has the temperature dial under the handle-- I borrowed a cheap Sunshine from a neighbor to finish what I was working on yesterday which also has this, and I found it rather a pain to spin the dial which is quite flat to the body of the iron. Is this something you’ve noticed, or did they design your Sharks better?
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AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
9
Mine is not so flat and has ridges…I guess I am so used to it and set it before I start…I usually set mine to the highest level anyway…but now that you mention it…I remember having an iron with the temperature dial on top…it was smaller…hmmm…I wonder what brand it was…I might still have the paperwork on it (I keep everything and forget to purge when I no longer have the item…ahem… )
omg…they still make it! I LOVED this iron…I might need to buy this now…(edited: Bought! )
Heck ya, that’s the exact thing I’m talking about! Would you please review it for us once you get it?
2 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
11
The Shark is a lighter iron and good for everyday stuff that I do, but I have always loved the heavier feel of the older irons when I need to do some serious pressing…I am hoping it will be like my old iron…I know it is weird, but I loved that old thing…it was a powerhouse! This one has been updated to shut off…as @TheMistressT said, I think they all are now for safety sake! YAY!
I love the Rowenta brand, I use mine for sewing and laundry. I lucked out about a month ago and found the latest model at the thrift store new in the box for 15.00. It is about a 150.00 dollars retail. I already had a Rowenta but you can’t beat that price so I snatched it up.
I’ve been eying those too; do you have a gauge on how long they last? Given my levels of iron use, I’m cool with spending that much on a really good iron I could potentially pass on to a grandchild, but not so much for something I’ll have to replace in a decade or two.
)
