Irons

Personally, I like the polished metal soleplate on my Euro-Pro better than the nonstick ones I have had, because I can clean it if it gets sticky and don't have to worry about the nonstick stuff coming off. But I don't know if that soleplate is different than other irons or not. It seems to be different than the metal soleplates on the cheaper irons I have had.

I have had both stainless soleplates and the non-stick variety and I much prefer the stainless. Although I tried to avoid pressing over pins, I did sometimes miss one (or two, or three...) and the non-stick scratched up very quickly. At present, I have a T-Fal Ultra Glide Plus (no affiliation yadayadayada) which is neither stainless or non-stick and I have not had any problems with it. It is just about one year old and it gets daily use and dirt or residue just slides off.

Linda

Do you do much fusing? If so, you may want to stay away from the non-stick soleplates, as they tend to lower the temperature of the iron quite a bit. Fusing is not nearly as easy to do with a Teflon soleplate as it is with the stainless ones.

Having said this, I will point out that I DO fuse a lot, and still have a Teflon soleplate on my favorite iron. It just takes a little longer, that's all.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

My Mom bought a Rowenta with the stainless soleplate - it leaves a shine and stuff sticks to the stainless soleplate. You can buy a teflon shoe to put on the soleplate; things don't stick and it's harder to ge a shine.

Welcome to the group Brenda!

I am in the stainless steel group. :) I've had a couple irons that had the teflon coating. I was under impressed. I like a HOT iron. And the teflon ones seem to be cooler than the stainless. Also, I use spray starch quite a bit. That will build up on the sole plate no matter what kind of iron you use. With the stainless plate, I can take a scrubby sponge (the green kind) and whoop the starch right off of there. With a teflon sole plate, I would scratch it.

Now, the thing to remember with the stainless sole plate is it will be hotter. You will find that you need to use a pressing cloth (a good sized piece of muslin works great for this, so do old handkerchiefs) for some fabrics. Polyesters especially. This isn't a bad thing at all. I love getting a good sharp crease in things like wool slacks. To do that, I set the iron hotter than the wool setting, and use a press cloth. Works great. And with a press cloth, you don't get shine on poly fabrics. (or scorch marks, etc.) It's all in what you teach yourself to do. :)

I am on my third Black & Decker iron. NAYY. I do **a lot** of sewing both for my family and self, as well as clients. Mostly, I've found the B&D irons last about 2-3 years. (unless someone who shall remain nameless

*ahem* and thereby not be beaten by his wife drops the iron repeatedly on the concrete basement floor.) I've been very pleased with them. The two most recent ones I've bought have an alarm on them. The alarm will beep when the iron is finished heating to the temp you've set it for, and will beep again when the auto-off timer is going to turn off the iron. That's nice. If I know I will need it again in a minute, I can go jiggle it when the alarm beeps. They do heat very quickly though, so it's not a problem waiting for it to warm back up. I've not had any problems with the water tank leaking (big water tank on my newest one too!) Nor have I had problems with it "spitting." (Both of those are problems I've heard other people mention with Rowentas.) I have the "Digital Advantage D2000" model. Best of all, it was about $40 at Wal-Mart. :) Again, NAYY. But I have been very happy with this iron.

HTH

Sharon --

I use a Tefal Ultraglide cord/cordless. Looking at the soleplate, I think it's ceramic. Anyway, it gets more than hot enough for my needs and if anything sticks to it, I just clean it with Dab-it-off. It's never given me a lick of trouble in over 15 years (I think) and although I use it mainly with the cord attached, the cordless feature is very handy to get into fiddly areas. I fill it with proper 'ironing water' which you can get easily here in France in loads of different perfumes.

This isn't a high-end iron by today's standards, but I find it a useful work horse. However, I decided to upgrade a few years ago and bought another Tefal Ultraglide, this time without the cordless feature. Sadly, I can't get on with it at all, for all its fancier features, and it's to do with the length of the soleplate. The older iron is kind of short and fat, but the newer model is longer and thinner. It feels unbalanced in the hand. The buttons aren't in the right place.

So I would say, have a play with an iron - don't just look at the features. Get the shop to fill it with water, if it has a reservoir. It's like buying a fountain pen or a kitchen knife, you want it to feel balanced and the correct weight when you use it.

:) Trish

Any opinions on cordless irons? Has anyone had a chance to try the new one by Maytag? I'm thinking about hinting to Santa. :>) TIA SHARON

Re: Irons (X=A0FINS=A0UP) I use a Tefal Ultraglide cord/cordless. Any opinions on cordless irons? =A0 Has anyone had a chance to try the new one by Maytag? =A0 I'm thinking about hinting to Santa. :>) TIA SHARON

I have heard in a number of places that it is not well built, that it was capitalizing on the European models (Miele?) that are so popular.

Epinions.com is a good place to start.

ePinion.com. Please post. I too have a Neptune washer, which got moldy, and Maytag sent a repairman with (he said) over $500 in replacement parts and essentially rebuilt it. So far, so good. Crossed fingers and toes.

I have had no trouble with my Neptune washer. Runs like a dream. HOWEVER.. my Neptune dryer is less than 2 years old and has had the entire circuitry board replaced twice. We opted to pay for an extended warranty because it looks as tho we will need. I guess like Maytag repairmen aren't so lonely these days. :>( SHARON

I have the whirlpool front loading washing machine that is supposedly almost as efficient as the Maytag Neptune and slightly less expensive, and so far I've had it for 5 years(?) or so with no problems. I need to replace my dryer, guess I won't be considering the Maytag.

The only thing I don't like about the front loaders is you can not let it fill and then add the garments or fabric, but that was obvious before I bought it. It does use less detergent, rinses better, and you can put larger single items such as a quilt - or one long piece of yardage to prewash.

Joy S-E

I have the Frigidaire model, as well, and love it. It wasn't nearly as pricey as the Neptune models, and it isn't as funky looking, but it does the job, and well.

Someone mentioned that their Neptune got moldy. I was told to be careful of cleaning around the gasket in the door to keep this from happening in the Frigidaire, but for the last year or so I haven't. No mold yet.

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Does the Maytag iron run on butane, or work on the flat-iron principle?

Joy Beeson

Contact Consumer protection, or a similar agency, in your State and give them the story. Companies tend to do something when you push the State about a lemon.

Re: Irons

(X FINS UP) I use a Tefal Ultraglide cord/cordless. Any opinions on cordless irons? Has anyone had a chance to try the new one by Maytag? I'm thinking about hinting to Santa. :>) TIA SHARON

Oh Cea!!! It's a testament to your self control. Mine would have been pushed beyond it all by now. I'm terribly afraid that I would have found someone to whose person a serious amount of bodily harm would be done.

Have you thought about emailing one of the local TV stations? The local stations here do consumer stuff all the time. They will do stories on defective products and services. Often they get some sort of satisfaction and/or compensation for the consumer in the piece. Might be worth a shot.

Sharon

The only thing I don't like about the front loaders is you can not let it

Do Americans generally use top-loaders, then?

Top-loaders aren't used much in England as most people have small kitchens, and so use front-loaders that fit under a work surface, but I notice that here in France, where there isn't such pressure on space, nearly everyone has a utility room and a top-loading washing machine. Many people here say they have greater capacity, and are safer with children in the house.

I like my front-loader, but when I want to wash something big like our super-kingsize duvet, I either have to go to a laundrette, or use my friend's washing machine.

:) Trish