Rowenta - 1830005299 DG8520 Perfect Steam 1800-Watt Eco Energy Steam Iron Station Stainless Steel Soleplate, 400-Hole, Purple

(Please look down to skip to the actual review.)Recently, While in the UK staying with some friends I had the joy of using one of these types of irons, it was the T-Fal version. I was immediately impressed! I was able to iron all seven outfits I had shrink wrapped for the trip in a matter of a mere hour or so and not to mention it was a very crisp professional press. In my mind at that moment I knew I couldn’t go back to having a regular iron again.I offered to iron every ones clothes. It was actually fun and relaxing to hear the constant “haaaw” and “shish” of the iron and I press out even the most stubborn wrinkle with ease. The mistress of the house made smart remarks and tried to make it seem like I had a problem or something because I liked ironing so much. But my friend who also happened to be a gadget guy; like myself. He got it. He even gave me a run down of the iron and how he himself had tried one and fell in love with it and thus he also had to make the purchase. He paid around 300 pounds, which at the time had to be around 600 or so US dollars. It was around that moments my dream of having one evaporated like the steam, “hiiissssssss”.See I am not the wealthiest person alive, we saved up for the trip from the US to see my wife’s sister graduate in the UK for a about a year, so a 600 dollar or even a 500 dollar iron was completely out of the question. Did I mention I’m married with kids….yeah.. So, no money to spare.Anyway to the RowentaSo the day comes when I have to depart, I woke up early and used the iron one last time to iron everyone’s clothes, and underwear….and socks. I just didn’t want the experience to end knowing that I would probably never again feel that type of power in my hands. I remembered comparing it to the feeling one might get when switching to their first luxury car and realizing “ wow this truly is a whole new level of car, how can I ever go back to a regular car?”Returning to the states was depressing.I filled my regular iron up with water and was immediately disappointed.I had to hold the iron under the tap at “just the right angle” and if I tried to fill it up too fast then the darned bubble would form and knock the water away from the hole like it was protecting something.The iron hissed but it was so weak, like an old man trying to box and show he’s still got it.And of course I got that “oh you were too fast” water stain, when I put it on my clothes thinking it was ready.So I lived in this mediocrity for weeks dreading the task of ironing. Dreading the “morning hustle” or the weekend “get ready”. But my birthday was around the corner and my wife apparently has found the iron online for under 300 dollars so little did I know that my life was about to change.A bit before my Birthday I got a text from AMAZON stating that the Rowneta DG8520 had been delivered along with a picture of the iron. “NO…she..didn’t” I said in my head. I was elated! I was at work in my “shared space” cubicle and yelled out loud.But the iron was 4 days early and she would not let me have it, even though I knew about it. She said that Amazon had made I mistake to send me that text but that she would not let me use the iron until my Birthday.This was the most horrible punishment that one can do to a man. Make him wait whilst his salvation it but a room away in an Amazon box.For 4 days I continued to iron, the regular way.By the 4th day I couldn’t take it as I got up that morning I did not have the energy to carry on but I continued with the knowledge that soon; soon it would all be over.On my Birthday I was up at the crack of dawn with Amazon box in handI tore through the box with all the malice a man forced to wait for 4 days could must… finally the dream was realI couldn’t wait to try it out.It was better than expected.This iron actually beats the T-Fal model I was using in most all ways, expect one which I will explain latter.THE REVIEWThe Rowenta is a nice looking piece of equipment.The bulky yet sturdy base gives it the look of a true household appliance.All of the parts and pieces are high quality and well made.The water container is sturdy and smart ,clipping on and off with ease, yet staying put when transported.The mesh steam-cord is a nice touch and seems standard yet sturdy and definitely long enough for you to leave the unit in one place (say bathroom sink or on the washing machine) and have the ironing happening near by. You could also just put the unit on the ground under the iron and have plenty of cord to iron depending on your size of course. If having the base on the ironing board is more your style then this is easily accomplished as well.The one gripe I have is the power cord. It does not retract and just sticks out there with no real winding mechanism; maybe that is why it is not in the photo. That one picture which may appear to be the retractable cord is actually a scoop that’s used to clean hard water. The T-Fal had a little cubby at least to tuck away the cord. Oh well , maybe that’s where the other 200 dollar went. ;-)It works well though, even better than the T-Fal. This irons steam level is awesome and constant.Immediately I tested out several pairs of pants that I had not worn in quite some time due to the difficulty I had ironing them and the Rowenta ironed them like they were T-Shirts.You can even iron the very top of your pants with impressive ease, even the belt loops and zipper area are no match.I ironed a velvet smokers jacket while I was on the way out the house, while it was still on my body and it got every wrinkle out (of course I ironed mostly from the inside with the iron /steam pointed away from me even then the steam quickly fogged up my whole situation) there is a tremendous amount of steam they did good here.And while I would not recommend ironing clothes while they are on you I have ironed a couple of my wife’s shirt as she walked up to me while I was ironing by simply pointing the iron at her and pressing the steam button.This iron could iron your King-size bed in 2 minutes because it produces so much heat and steam. That’s how real this iron is , I did it.If you are one who appreciates the simple yet finer things in life and like to spend your time wisely I suggest you get one of these.

First, a disclosure of sorts. Unlike many people, ironing is not a chore for me, it is a recreational hobby, practically a passion. And I rarely write reviews for anything, but this appliance deserves 10 stars if I could give it. I've been ironing for myself and my family for about 40 years and I've worked with a lot of irons but this appliance is in a world of its own awesome power and effectiveness. I've been a loyal user of Rowenta products for years but recently I have been disappointed time and time again with the hand-held irons, even those from Rowenta, because they leak from the steam chamber no matter how carefully the iron is handled and moved about on the garment. I've returned at least two and my most recent one, which I also purchased from Amazon, leaks as well, but I had resigned myself to it. Not anymore! I set this new appliance a couple of ironing tasks to test it out. First, I pressed flannel and it came out perfectly. The steam is so powerful and plentiful (I ironed for a full hour with no refilling the chamber, which is amazing and saves loads of time and effort, and that wasn't even at full water capacity) that you don't have to press on fabrics that will show ironing marks, such as flannel will, to get an amazing set of creases and elimination of all wrinkles. Next I pressed a "no-iron" shirt. In my opinion, and yes, I am opinionated so no need to point it out, there is absolutely no such thing as a "no-iron" 100% cotton, or 50/50 cotton/poly (but who wears those anymore?) dress shirt. People claim you can take them out of the dryer, hang them, and they look ironed and I call BS on that. If nothing else the sleeves won't be creased properly. Anyway, this "no iron" shirt has ironing instructions, so if that isn't irony I don't know what is. The Steam Station handled this shirt with ease in record time. I moved on to a very light weight cotton shirt that tends to wad up on the tails when washed and it wrinkles if you look at it cross-eyed. This took a bit more effort, as I expected, but the power of the steam took care of even the most stubborn of the set in wrinkles in record time. I couldn't have been more pleased. Next I tackled a pair of canvas pants. Heavy duty canvas. I reversed the pants and started with the back pockets, which cannot be lifted and ironed separately, which is of course how it should be done if you are properly ironing, so I had to rely on the steam power alone to penetrate two layers of canvas. Flawless! Even the pocket flaps, which would amount to 4 layers of canvas, were wrinkle free without having to reverse the pant and iron on the front of the fabric. On the legs it was not necessary to iron both sides, even though I did just for fun, as the steam was more than powerful enough to press through both layers. Those canvas trousers have not looked this good since they were new. Finally, I reversed the pants right-side out to set the crease, and I could accomplish this without having to actually touch the fabric, using just steam alone, THROUGH ALL FOUR LAYERS of canvas. This is important because it means that on dark fabrics that would otherwise show iron marks, I can dispense with using an ironing cloth to protect the fabric because the plate doesn't actually have to touch to set the crease. I repeated the performance with a pair of navy blue knit trousers that would normally require an ironing cloth to set the seam, but one was not needed with the incredible amount of steam coming out of this thing at great pressure. I also tested removing small wrinkles that managed to find their way onto fabrics as they were moved about the ironing board by using the upright steam function while holding the garment firmly to stretch out the fabric hanging on a hanger. Excellent results. There is simply no way that a hand held steam iron could produce this volume and power of steam, and the basic physics of ironing require that cotton fibers be damp to be reset and release wrinkles, so the steam power is essential. This is why, long ago, we used Coke bottles with aluminium sprinkler caps on them to dampen cotton garments before ironing them. Does anyone else remember those? The hand unit is very light weight and easily to manipulate. In terms of size, sure, the unit is bigger than a hand held iron, but it fit perfectly on the right hand end of my standard ironing board, nothing fancy about it, and even size 32 length pant fit on the board with the unit in place with no crowding. And, both the power and steam cords are long enough that you could easily set the unit on a nearby table or counter if your ironing board was a bit small. Yes, this appliance is expensive, but I paid approximately $150 for my last hand held only to have leak problems, so it is worth it if you are serious about ironing. One caution, and it is only because the device works so well, is to be very mindful of where your hand is while holding garments in place before pressing that steam button because the steam is high volume and high pressure. You could get burned easily if not careful, but common sense should prevail here. Also, the steam delivery cord will heat up during use as it delivers steam, but it isn't hot enough to burn you; you will feel it when it touches you. I was having such a good time that I even ironed 3 t-shirts just for the fun of it. Honestly, I wish I had more clothes that needed ironing and the only reason I am not taking previously pressed items out of the closet to redo them is because I have guests coming over. For a person as picky about ironing results as I self-admittedly am, as in I don't take my shirts to the dry cleaners because they don't do an adequate job of pressing, this steam iron station is a dream come true. It performed flawlessly true to description and I couldn't be happier. If you do a lot of ironing, or even if you do a small amount but believe that something worth doing is worth doing correctly and well, then this is hands-down without question the best ironing solution for you.