Garment Steamers

[A.Goldberg]

Anyone have any experience or advice on buying a garment/fabric steamer? I understand these won't replace the function of an iron, but I'm looking to save some time ironing and time/money at the dry cleaners. I absolutely hate ironing, and my neuroticism makes me anal about any little imperfection in the ironing process.

I've been told going to dry cleaners wears out clothes faster, I don't know if that's true. Does steaming wear out clothes any faster than ironing?

It appears you can spend anywhere from $40 to $350+ on these, but most are $100 or less. I'd prefer to spend enough to buy a decent quality one. Any suggestions?

 

[Roric]

I have used http://www.amazon.com/Conair-GS33R-Compact-Fabric-Steamer/dp/B002WQ6WX4 and something similar to http://www.allbrands.com/categories/374/2468-jiffy-0601-black-esteam-handheld-garment-drapery-u.
The larger one is good for doing a lot of items in a row. The smaller one is good for travel or a quick item or two. Either way, I always use distilled water instead of tap water to reduce buildup on the heaters.

 

[Mousse]

I find steamers works great on delicate fabric (silk, satin). I can remove wrinkles in 1/3 the time of ironing AND I don't have to worry about burning the fabric. But not so great on heavy fabric (cotton, linen). It takes twice as long on average, but the fabric isn't as stiff.

 

[heehee]

If you are talking about dress shirts, dry cleaners don't dry clean shirts, they use a laundry machine. I used to iron my own shirts, but I don't do a good job and it takes over an hour to iron my week's shirts. It costs $1.75/shirt around here.

I used a steamer once, it didn't work so well and it's not stiff like ironing.

 

[shinji]

I have a handheld Rowenta steamer that works pretty well. You need to make sure to pull the garment, as if to flatten, when steaming it. What I do is hang the clothing over my door with a hanger, and then pull the bottom of it as I'm steaming. If you just hang it up and start spraying steam, it won't do a whole lot.

 

[A.Goldberg]

I bought a Rowenta full size steamer today. Seems to work pretty well. It doesn't provide the same effects as an iron, but it works pretty good for most things. I even steamed a pair of underwear just because I could.

 

[Roller]

I bought a Rowenta full size steamer today. Seems to work pretty well. It doesn't provide the same effects as an iron, but it works pretty good for most things. I even steamed a pair of underwear just because I could.

As long as you weren't wearing said underwear when you steamed them, you'll be fine.

But seriously, I've been considering purchasing a pants presser for some time (the kind that holds the pants vertically). We spend a lot dry cleaning pants that could be washed and pressed, but neither I nor my wife manage to do a good job with an iron. Anyone have experience with these?

 

[2298754]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hamilto...lack/3254328.p?id=1218391042865&skuId=3254328

I had something like this, but it broke when I was moving. Worked well.

Get a washcloth and soak it in water. Squeeze excess water out. Toss both that and shirt/pant into dryer on timed dry. 5-10 minutes and the wrinkles should be gone