Irons advice

Take your DH's advice...go buy a new one. Next time dont scour your iron with abrasives, try Goo-Gone. it worked on mine when i melted polyester on it.

Look around for a brand and size you like that you can afford. Even some of the Black and Deckers' are nice. i have a Rowenta also. i love it.

amy in CNY

As much as I wish I could spend a couple hundred on an iron I just can't seem to justify it.

I have a sunbeam, it cost me about $40 (canadian) it has auto shut off, 15 mins when upright and 15 seconds when ironing, good even heat, and good steam even though I don't use it much. All you have to do is tip the iron down then up to turn it back on again and it heats up quickly. Has a teflon plate too. It is the best iron I have had so far and I have had it for a couple of yrs now at least.

Whatever you decide, don't toss the Rowenta. A few years back, I had one that went goofy. I boxed it up (time consuming but not impossible) and shipped it to their own repair place. They either fixed it or sent me a new one. Couldn't tell which. If you don't know where to ship it, I'll go unearth the Rowenta booklet and find it for you. Another nice place is the Gingher folks. You can send them Gingher scissors and they do some real magic. Seems like it costs something like $7 to have your Ginghers wonderful as new. I will share as soon as I find a place to ship husbands, neighbors and 2 year-olds. Polly

Polly's idea is a good one -- I sent my Rowenta back to them, and it was out of warranty by a short time, on top of that I had lost my receipt. They sent me a brand new iron. YMMV, but I bought one of the "classic" Black and Decker irons as a back-up, and I ended up returning it. I just didn't like it. It did not seem to get hot enough, and the soleplate was that brushed aluminum. It definitely had a "drag" to it. If you don't like steam, you may like the no-steam iron that's available from Vermont Country Catalogue. Someone here, I believe it was John, gave it a very good review.

Sherry

I just bought a new iron that I like a lot. It is a Shark 1700 watt professional Iron by Euro-pro. It has the auto shut off, but it is easily overridden by touching a button and it starts back up and is up to temp in no time. It is the hottest iron I have tested. It has a polished stainless steel sole plate with an extended steam burst capability, and spritzer. I bought it based on my experience with Euro-pro's Steam Generator Iron. That is a great steam generator iron and has proved long lived, with may hours of faultless use. I paid about $40 for it at Amazon and would highly recommend it for those who have need of a steam iron and want one that gets hot and works and doesn't spit like Rowenta's.

John

Get a heavy iron.

I had an "aha" moment recently, when I realized that not everyone knew that the weight of an iron does half the work. A group of friends were over at my house, working on a group quilt for charity, and one commented that my iron was the heaviest she had ever used and another commented that it was also the best she'd used for pressing. It wasn't until after they'd left that it dawned on me that neither of them knew that the two were related.

Irons work through heat and weight. If an iron was heavy enough, you wouldn't even need the heat, but an iron can't get hot enough to press without burning unless there is some weight, too.

I hear the cries already of "but I'll get tired if I use a heavy iron!" That's why the iron also needs to be comfortable to hold and well balanced. Besides, when the iron is on the fabric, you aren't holding it up -- you're letting the weight do the work. I actually get *less* tired with a heavy iron, because I don't have to press down with the iron.

Okay, I'm off my soap box now. :)

And I just gave away my Shark (animal shelter thrift shop) cuz I hated it- didn't get hot enough and couldn't turn it off without unplugging it. Diff'rent strokes and all that..... VBG

Leslie & The Furbabies > >

So Kathy, tell us what brand of iron you have that is heavy. I too agree that a heavy iron is best. I have a Rowenta Professional something or other. It's okay - I bought it after I vowed I would never buy another Rowenta. This one is better than my last 3, but it's still not great. I bought some cotton toweling for making up tea towels a few weeks ago - I prewashed it & cannot get the wrinkles out of it. I bought it with the thought in mind of making up a few tea towels for hostess gifts, with some appliqué on one end. but if I can't get those wrinkles out, they'll have to reside in my kitchen.

Our DH's must come from the same "out of touch as to prices" generation!

I don't think Rowenta irons are at all superior. In fact, the two I had conked out within a year or so.

I got a basic Black and Decker with a teflon sole plate. I love it. It has lasted for years now. It has an automatic shutoff and steams like crazy (OK, I use loads of steam--I can often "cure" wonky blocks with steam.) Nothing sticks to the bottom and it works great! All for under $30.

Happy ironing,

Lenore

I hate to tell you, but it's one of the flavors of Rowenta. :) I don't remember the model (I'm at work right now), but it's a 1440 watt iron.