Buying Advice

Irons have come a long way since the days when you put them in the oven to heat them up, and knowing what features to look for when buying one can seem daunting. The following points should help to explain what features are available, and help you choose which will suit your needs best. It’s best to consider who will be using the iron and what for before purchasing, for example if you have children you might want to buy an iron with cord storage or a safety cut out feature.

Style of iron

Most irons now have a steam facility, which will help to get creases out of clothes, but there are also additional steam features available on some irons:

Spray – this allows you to spray water onto clothing before ironing over it

Shot – an extra powerful jet of steam to help get rid of stubborn creases

Vertical – this means the iron can release steam when upright, so you could iron curtains etc with it when they are in place

Generally the steam power on an iron is around 20-25g (and it may be variable up to this), but it can be as high as 60g or more (when an iron says it has ‘triple steam facility’). The water for the steam is held in a (usually coloured) tank on the iron, and it’s worth looking at the capacity as it tends to vary a lot.

There are cordless and corded irons available, but generally cordless are significantly more expensive, and extra long cord on corded irons are available, as is cord storage on some. If you’re planning on travelling, there are also travel irons available.

Temperature and sole plate

The speed with which the iron heats up and the temperature it maintains depend on the wattage of the iron – the higher the wattage, the higher the temperature (and therefore steam will be produced more easily). Conduction of the heat will depend on the sole plate. As well as the material the sole plate is made from, some also have special diffusion plates. Most irons have an aluminium or stainless steel plate, but you can also get scratch resistant, easy glide and non-stick ones.

Cleaning features

Many steam irons have a self clean feature, but there are additional features worth looking out for, such as anti-scale cassettes, which will prevent the iron from getting dirty.

Additional features

Some of the extras that you may find useful on an iron are:

Anti-drip valve – stops the iron from dripping as only steam can be released. This helps prevent staining of clothes

Button rim – a rim around the iron means you can iron around buttons easily

Auto cut out – a safety feature whereby if the iron gets too hot or is left, it will cut out

If you can look at the iron, it’s also worth noting how many temperature settings it has for different types of material.