Steam Presses

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

my mum's thinking about getting one of these to do the ironing as its building up a lot & she cant stand up to do it for very long so im looking into getting her one of these to make her life a bit easier & was wondering if anyone has one & any advise on picking a decent one for her please?

 

[mediastar]

I don't know which one to get, but I have a Domena and two things, if you live in a hard water area, it may be better to get a fast press so you spray the clothes and/or the pad, as the scale does build up, no matter how hard you try to keep it clear, the other, it may be that I am clumsy (I am) I managed to burn myself several times, so I wear little cotton gloves to avoid the risk when I use my press. You may find one of these generator irons just as fast, I avoid ironing these days to be honest! I have a Dry Soon three tier heated airer tower from Lakeland, I fold clothes as soon as they are just damp, leave them on the bars to finish and they don't seem to need ironing afterwards, I would suggest that apart from linen and maybe bedding. get one of those, it's (a) cheaper to buy initially and (b) cheaper to run! If you have a Nectar card, you can buy it via ebay and get your points (I got mine when they were at 20% off, but didn't know lakeland had an ebay shop, so missed out on the points)

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

One thing to consider is where it will live when not in use. They take up a lot of room. I had one a few years ago and after cluttering up the dining room for ages, it eventually went to the tip - I couldn't even give it away!

 

[merryone]

One thing to consider is where it will live when not in use. They take up a lot of room. I had one a few years ago and after cluttering up the dining room for ages, it eventually went to the tip - I couldn't even give it away!

Same here, I kept mine underneath the dining table and if I was given a pound for every time I stubbed my toe on the bliddy thing! Not only was it heavy, I didn't find it that easy to use, the bit you'd just ironed seemed to get caught up round the back of it and getting re-creased, I burned myself more times than I care to mention. I think if your mum's having trouble standing perhaps you can help her out with the ironing lol! Or get her a good steam iron and an adjustable ironing stool she can use to sit at the ironing board. Believe me, an ironing board is a lot lighter than a steam press and wont give her a hernia. Good luck x

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

good advise so far so thanks for that but mum cant stand to do the ironing & i honestly dont trust myself with an iron so this is the only way to go but will pass all this over

 

[stratobuddy]

I have one but don't iron much these days, prefer easy care fabrics.

But it is VERY easy to burn yourself on the hot plate.

Mine stands on its end, and overall I would say it takes up less space than an iron plus ironing board.

Just a suggestion, as your mum is finding it difficult to stand to iron, why don't you do it for her?

EDIT - I've just seen your comment about you don't trust yourself with an iron, but it is easier than using a steam press, despite what selly-telly says.

 

[mediastar]

Maybe now is the time to learn how to iron, I am dyspraxic, which means clumsy and struggling in spatial awareness (believe me I certainly am!!!), but I can do it and to a very high standard, which is why I simply don't do it anymore unless it is absolutely necessary (ie for my linen shirts), it is much too time consuming, but practice is the key. The steam press doesn't save much time to be honest either, as positioning the fabric takes me ages and I found I had to stand to do it anyway.

If not, sit down with your mum, don't be too tactful and gently ask her what exactly does she need to iron and why she is so determined to spend hours stood over a pile of washing in a steamy fug!!!! I am so delighted to learn that other people burn themselves on the hotplate, not delighted that people have hurt themselves, I thought it was ME, cos when you watch the demos they sail through it.

I think an honest appraisal of what really needs to be ironed and streamlining the process by helping with folding clothes that really can live without being touched by an iron, rather than dumping them in a laundry basket waiting to be ironed.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I agree with mediastar! Mr Lily is Dyspraxic too, and he's the only one that irons in this house (but wouldn't use the steam press!).
I'm a big fan of the wash & hang/fold method myself, and find ironing is pretty much unnecessary for most items, especially if you either dry outdoors or take them out of the drier as son as its finished.
I'm sure lots of people will disagree and tell you that they iron everything but who would either know or care if you didn't?

 

[rosey]

I have a steam press and absolutely love it. I am on by 4th or 5th now over the last 25 years. I would never go back to an iron.

I bought my first one off QVC when they used to sell them as a tsv - so I could return it if I didn't get on with it. Now I just buy them off eBay when I need a replacement.

If you are buying one try to get one with as large a plate as possible so then it takes less time as you can press more at a time. I have rarely burned myself on mine so don't know why the others are saying they have an issue. It does take a little time to get used to pressing over ironing and at first will take just as long. Once you have the hang of it if you fold your washing as you take it off the line in the correct way it can go straight onto the press and pressed in one easy move. As for storage it just sits on a shelf in the utility and probably takes up less room than a standard iron and board.

It is not lots quicker but requires no effort and I can sit doing it whilst watching tv. In fact it probably takes me longer now as I iron absolutely everyone as the results are amazing. The bedding looks like it has been done professionally.

 

[mediastar]

Hi rosey, can I ask what make you have? As I said, mine is a Domena, and I've had it for years, but for the amount of ironing I now do, I may get a quality steam generator iron that allows me to iron "vertically" and give the steam press away, if you lived closer, scw, you would be welcome to it!

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

i was browsing the web earlier & found this one on IW

http://www.idealworld.tv/pp/fast-press-ironing-system-139410?p=1 £179.99 + £5.99 postage (cheap as its £259 on JL website http://www.johnlewis.com/fastpress-dry-press/p230747851) if same one

but i dont trust IW at all read too many horror stories about them

 

[kate0673]

Hi, I have arthritis in my knees and can no longer stand and iron. I looked at steam presses for ages but worried about spending all that money to find I didn't like it. I looked on Gumtree and picked up a second hand one for £30. I thought if I didn't like it at least it was cheap. I use it a couple of times a week and love it. Great for bedding as it is so fast. When this one dies I will not hesitate to buy a new one.Perhaps this is something you could look at ,that way you don't spend too much money until you know your Mum likes it and can use it comfortably.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

You iron your bedding??? :mysmilie_13:

 

[kate0673]

You iron your bedding??? :mysmilie_13:

Don't laugh, my Sister has been telling for years I am a saddo because I iron my underwear too! Don't know why, its not as if I like ironing.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

Good grief! Life's far too short for ironing! I do the absolute minimum. Hang stuff to dry, or shake and hang or fold immediately I remove them from the dryer, it's amazing how few things need to be ironed.
I'd never dream of ironing bedding or underwear, but I suppose it passes a bit of time if you've nothing else to do ...

 

[mediastar]

My mother's late sister used to iron everything, and I mean every item of clothing, bedding, towelling (be it body or dish) in the house, I swear if she could have ironed my cousin's tights she would have. Down to socks and jockstraps even, never seen anyone be that obsessive! AND she was still using a twin tub then hanging everything outside, probably four washloads each time. We never were quite that ironing mad in our house, but we had to roll Dad's bandages (he had varicose ulcers that needed dressings daily, no hydrocoloidal dressings back then!) and there were what seemed like hundreds of bandages to roll each washday.

 

[madmax]

I stopped ironing once my husband left me to go and live with is "lady friend" over 15 years ago now he was fanatical about how his shirts were ironed for work and it used to take me hours every week to do them.
I now use the ironing board to stand the dogs on when I clip them,and gave the iron to him when he collected all of his worldly goods.
I am now a great believer in the smooth and fold technique of sorting out the washing. I like to think that not only am I saving time but also doing my bit for the planet by not using any electricity to heat the iron.

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I gave the iron to him when he collected all of his worldly goods.
.

I like your style!