Selecting A Steam Generator Iron – Key Points To Look Out For
Hamish Hayward | July 4, 2010Ironing is, quite frankly, a thankless and seemingly never ending task. You can lessen the boredom somewhat by watching TV or listening to music while you do it – but it’s still a tedious chore which very few people enjoy. Anything which could reduce the amount of time required for ironing would be very welcome in most households.
You could always send your clothes to the dry cleaners of course – or consider employing a maid. There are even companies which offer a service whereby they pick up your washed clothes and return them pressed and ironed. However, these are somewhat pricey options.
Mercifully, modern technology offers a solution to the problem of spending long hours ironing – in the shape of a different style of iron. Steam generator irons may, at first glance, look pretty similar to standard steam irons – but they have a totally different construction – which offers several important benefits.
In contrast to a standard steam iron, steam generator irons have no water in the actual iron itself. They use a larger base unit which fulfils the dual function of water tank and boiler. They produce considerably more steam – which is at a higher pressure – than a conventional iron.
The steam is fed to the iron using a hollow connecting hose and, because it is at high pressure, it penetrates deep into the fabric of the garment being pressed. This makes it easier – and faster – to iron. The fact that there is no water in the iron also means that it is lighter and easier to use. The net result is an improvement in the quality of the finished garment and a reduction in the amount of time spent ironing. Most users report a reduction in ironing time of around about 50%.
Be sure to pick an iron with a high steam pressure – a value between 4.5 and 5.0 bar is best. You may also see irons whose capacity is stated in grams of steam per minute (gpm) – in which case you will probably want to pick one with an output of somewhere between 70 and 120 gpm.
The water tank size is another important consideration. You don’t want to have to keep stopping to refill the reservoir with water. Some irons feature a removable water reservoir to ease filling – others have the facility to top up even when the iron is in use, and this avoids any waiting for the iron to heat up again.
You may also want to consider a number of other factors such as the inclusion of an anti-scale system (especially important if you live in a hard water area), the length of the hose between the base unit and the iron (especially if you have a small ironing board and want to position the base on the floor), the material of the soleplate and the overall usability of the iron.
Although steam generator irons do tend to cost a little more than standard irons, they really are great value for money. Apart from the fact that they give you better finished garments, they will save you a lot of time by cutting your ironing time in half. Even if you only value your time at minimum wage, that’s still a very worthwhile investment.
Ironing is a thankless task at best. Cut it down to size with a Tefal steam generator iron – you’ll be delighted at just how much time you can save.
