Irons - Shopping Guide
July 19, 2007
Irons have long been a part of the civilised world, beating the wrinkles back
from turning our wardrobes into a creased cloth jungle. With technology advancing,
not only can we find more iron than we can handle using the internet, but we also
are faced with a wide variety of features we may not understand. First, you’ll
need to decide the type of iron that most suits you. Starting with the basics,
you can pick from dry, steam, or steam/spray. If you have special needs you can
also select a press or travel iron.
Dry
Dry irons are exactly that. They provide heat that can be used to smooth out wrinkles.
They are most useful on clothes wet from the washer, fabrics that require delicate
care or should not be steamed, and home craft projects in which moisture is not
desired.
Steam/Spray
Steam irons have a water reservoir. When they heat up they put off moisture which,
combined with heat, helps the fabric let go off wrinkles. Steam irons can come
with a spray feature which applies an extra large shot of steam to difficult creases.
• Water reservoir: This tank holds the water for the steam. They range in
size from a few hundred milli - litres to a litre and a half in size. The smaller
the tank, the more often you will need to refill it. The larger the tank, the
heavier the iron will be to lift and push. Water level indicators let you know
how much water is left.
• Anti-scale: Anti-scale features are designed to minimize the impact of
hard water, specifically calcium residues that cause scales on the iron. Irons
with anti scale features can require that only certain water, such as tap water
or purified water, be used. This requirement is individual to each iron.
• Anti-drip: Anti-drip features are to minimize or prevent water from dripping
onto garments from the iron surface. Properly controlling temperatures on irons
without anti-drip can also prevent water from dropping onto garments
• Spray: Steam/spray irons have a button, knob, or lever that allows you
to apply an extra burst of steam to a difficult wrinkle. Spray burst rates are
larger than the normal steam rate. Typical spray bursts will be between 50 g/min
and 100 g/min
• Steam Speeds: Steam speeds usually fall into these ranges:
o *Less than 20 g/min
o *20 - 30 g/min
o *30 - 50 g/min
o *More than 50 g/min
Variable speed adjustment allows you to control how much steam is applied to a
garment and is useful for adjusting between different fabrics. Some irons with
this feature can also serve as a dry iron.
Irons known as steam generators are meant to process large volumes of steam. They
will usually fall into the "more than 50 g/m category", having steam
speeds that range from 70 g/m-100 g/m. (Though speeds can go higher).
• Vertical Steam
Vertical steam is the option to steam garments hanging upright. Many handheld
irons come with a vertical option, or offer adaptors for that purpose
• Steam Generators
Steam generators are irons attached to a water tank via a cord that allows for
higher volumes of steam to be applied to garments. Be sure to consider the length
of the cord from the base to the iron to be sure to have the room you need.
Tank size, weight and steam speeds will all be bigger than standard steam iron
specifications. Steam generators also come in a format called an ironing station
which has an area to iron the garment in question incorporated into the design.
Some steam irons also have indicators or controls that allow you to control or
monitor the pressure.
Presses
Presses remove wrinkles by heating the garment between two heating plates. Different
brands will provide their heat through electric means or a pilot light. These
heat up elements which then heat the portions that iron the garment. The presses
will work in cycles, typically ranging from 25-45 minutes. Models will come as
two types: vertical presses called trouser presses or horizontal ones called steam
presses. Horizontal presses either have the clothes placed between press plates
or pressed through rollers. The wattage on the presses will be significantly higher
than on manual irons.
Extra features that are possible on presses are dishes for keys or other items
in the trousers, light indicators, reservoir capacity, and steam duration per
reservoir.
Travel Irons
Travel Irons are smaller - 1000 watts in power or less, typically 700-800 watts
and have less than 100 millilitre tank capacity. Most travel irons are corded,
but built to fold or pack easily.
Sole Material
There are several options for the metal of the sole of the iron: aluminium, careeza,
ceralon, ceramic, non stick, optinox, stainless steel and ultra glide. Careeza,
ceralon, ceramic, non stick, optinox, and ultra glide are composites, alloys or
materials that minimize the possibility of the iron surface sticking to the fabric.
They are generally easy to clean, smooth and found on steam irons including spray
and steam generators. Aluminium and steel can be found on all iron types.
Maximum Power
The maximum power output of irons tends to fall into these ranges:
• *Less than 1000 W
• *1000 W - 1500W
• *1500 W - 2000 W
• *2000 W - 2500 W
• *More than 2500 W
The smaller the iron the lower the power tends to be. Presses tend to be 2500
Watts or more. Travel irons tend to be 1000 Watts or less. Everyday irons are
usually 1200-2500 Watts.
Temperature
Most irons have variable temperature settings and are marked as low/medium/high,
a graded colour scale, or cool/warm/hot. This is often close to a range of 100-250
degrees Celsius. They should also have a light or some other display to let you
know the iron is on or hot.
Cordless/Corded/Rechargeable
Irons can come as a cordless rechargeable, or a corded/cordless rechargeable combo
in which the iron can be either. Cord length will vary, usually between 1 and
3 meters.
Other features available in irons are automatic turnoff to prevent fires if you
accidentally leave it on, and self cleaning to deal with hard water deposits.
