Steam Generator Iron Buying Guide
Buying steam generator irons
Tesco stocks Philips, Tefal, Morphy Richards and Russell Hobbs steam generator irons. Before deciding which one is right for you, here's what to look for:
A lot of steam
Steam causes heat and moisture to penetrate deeply into fabric making it more flexible for easier wrinkle removal. The difference with a steam generator iron is that it uses pressurised steam from a separate boiler, which as soon as the system's switched on, forces pressurised steam through a hose into the iron at the touch of a button. The pressure is measured in bar - the higher the pressure, the deeper the steam penetrates into the fabric, leading to a better ironing result. The extra steam is enough to reduce ironing by half the time it takes with a conventional steam iron. The iron's steam output is indicated in grams per minute (g/min), different models can vary from 70 to 140g/min.
Steam generator systems have a generous water reservoir but if you do a lot of ironing, look for one with a larger capacity for continual ironing. Although they can be refilled, some models can take a lot longer to heat up than others, so look for one that takes just a few minutes for uninterrupted ironing.
As with all irons, the amount of holes and their position on the soleplate also makes a difference as to how and where the steam's emitted. The top end models have the most effective design.
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A good soleplate
The iron's soleplate should glide smoothly across many types of fabrics while still creating enough friction to straighten the fabric. Polished stainless steel is a typical good quality material as it's scratch resistant and durable. Some brands such as Philips have created a finished surface for their top of the range models for maximum performance. Their Careeza soleplate is made from ceramic material that's highly scratch resistant, easy to clean and very durable. It has a specially designed vent pattern with big holes for powerful steam and small holes for improved gliding.
Easy clean
Water contains lots of minerals including calcium and magnesium particles that deposit in the form of scale once the water is heated or evaporates. Scale reduces the iron's efficiency and its life so it's worth looking for an anti-scale system that uses water to loosen and flush the scale out. Some steam generators have a more sophisticated removable anti-scale cassette for easy cleaning. It contains tablets that dissolve slowly and continuously during the entire life of the iron and prevents the formation of hard scale deposit.