When I was in high school I had a friend that either loved to iron or hated wrinkles. I’m not sure which it was, maybe a little of both? She even ironed her sheets! I loved traveling with her because I would pretend that I was going to put something on wrinkly out of my bag and she would have a fit and iron it for me. Honestly, I probably would have really wore the wrinkled clothing half the time if she did not demand I let her iron it first. As an adult I would consider myself much more sophisticated, rarely wearing anything wrinkled. I have even gotten to the point that I am bothered to wear clothes that have fold line creases in them, like when you pull clothes out of a suitcase.
I am not a fan of ironing. It takes too long and I usually end up adding creases in my effort to de-wrinkle my garment. Years ago my mom bought me an iron that included a steam function. She is a quilter and an iron snob, which benefited me greatly because the iron’s steam function became my best friend! After many years of use the steam function started to have issues; for a while it would spit water intermittently instead of steam and then it just quit working altogether. It was heavy to hold up in the air while steaming garments, but it was still better than having to iron them.
In the past six months, as my steam function of my iron has gotten worse and worse, I have acquired three different clothes steamers – the Shark GS500, the PurSteam travel steamer and the X-Steam Pro travel steamer. The Shark was a Christmas present as a clothes steamer was on my wish list for Dale and the kids. Next I bought the PurSteam travel steamer for just that – travel, and lastly we purchased the X-Steam Pro travel steamer when we were in Las Vegas a couple weekends ago. Today I am going to give you my thoughts on all three, just in case you’ve been thinking you are in need of a garment steamer.
The Shark GS500 Garment Steamer
The Shark GS500 steamer is supposed to be multi-functional, having the steam function, a ‘press plate’ for some vertical ironing and upholstery cleaning/care. From the surface this may make this steamer seem like the way to go and for some it very well may. The unit is filled through a flip open cap in the top. It has to be held at an angle while being filled or the water will come back out the hole before it is full, one issue I have with the unit. It has an on/off switch and there is about a 60 second wait for the unit it warm up before you can depress the trigger to start steaming your garment. Once the trigger is depressed there is a bit of a lag before steam starts flowing. One other thing that I don’t like about this unit is the indoor/outdoor carpet-like material that is on the bottom side of the steamer head that seems to grab many of the fabrics and kind of ‘stick’ to them, making it hard to glide the unit over the garment. Holding the unit in a way that this is not as much of an issue takes some getting used to, but once you have the hang of it steaming items does go fairly smoothly.
The PurSteam Travel Steamer
I purchased the PurSteam Travel Steamer to be able to take along on trips. Like I said previously, crease marks are even starting to bother me so traveling with a steamer is a good option for me. This steamer’s head detaches from the body to fill the water reservoir. Once filled and turned on it takes 90 seconds to heat up. There is not a button to depress to make the steam come out, it just starts flowing through the nozzle once it is warmed up. The handle is comfortable to hold, it is lighter weight than the Shark and quicker to warm up and be ready for use. This has become my steamer of choice, even when at home. It does require refilling more frequently than the Shark, but it is an easy process and still saves time in total. I also found this Joy Mangano travel steamer for a similar price with a retractable cord, which would be nice for traveling. I am not sure if it works as well though. I am pretty happy with the PurSteam unit. One thing to remember with this until is to keep it upright. It states that very clearly in the instructions, but I did forget once and tried to tip it down to hit a garment that was laying flat on a surface and it spewed HOT water all over the garment. I was lucky to not have gotten burned.
The X-Steam Pro Steamer
Have you seen this little bitty X-Steam Pro steamer? I have seen it in kiosks in malls/casino shops for several years. They always make a good show of how quick and easy they are to use and what a good jog they do. We purchased one a few weekends ago when we were in Vegas. The look sleek and kind of fancy, but really there is very little to them. They are made of a lightweight plastic that may or may not last the test of time?? After purchasing it I was excited to give it a try when we returned to our room to changed for the evening. I filled it with water and plugged that baby in and waited…. and nothing happened. Okay, what was I doing wrong? After going back through the directions I read that you have to add a small amount of salt to the unit, or it doesn’t work – at all! None of the people that I had seen demo them over the years ever mentioned having to add salt. I was a little frustrated, but set it aside and went back to my trusty PurSteam steamer to get the job done for the night.
Once returning home I did add salt and give it a try again. I have to say, it is pretty impressive. It puts out a LOT of steam, is super light weight and heats up quickly (probably in that 60-90 second range). So the question is, will I remember to pack salt when I pack the steamer in my travel bag? At first I was concerned about the salt discoloring or leaving a residue on the clothing, but steam is pure, so all impurities (including the salt) are left behind. I’m not sold that this steamer is going to hold up long enough to warrant it’s more expensive price tag, but if it does last it will be worth it. It is quite a bit less expensive through Amazon than what it is being sold for at the mall kiosks.
Do you use a garment steamer or an iron? Do you have a garment steamer that you love? I would love to know which one it is!
My last product review was of this Becca Illuminating Primer that is so good! You can read about it HERE.
