Do you own a portable hand held garment steamer? I was looking online today and found a few I think I may like but with so many mixed reveiws, ti's really hard to tell which one to get.
So, if you have one and like, love, or hate it, could you please share your experience? I would like to have a hand held garment steamer for those times when I want to quickly steam out wrinkles for travel AND at home.. I'm not looking for this to replace ironing completely...just for those times when it would be easier to steam the garment rather than pull out the ironing board and iron.
Thank you.
I have a Jiffy Steamer, handheld, around $60 on Amazon, I love it! You just unscrew the top, pour the water in, screw the top back on and plug it in. It gets VERY hot, and works really well. It's the size of an iron so it travels easily.
I got a shark, all excited, it came, bless you Amazon....
So many pieces!! I have never actually put it together and used it and I have had it for two years...too effing confusing
:(
I suppose another reason I haven't been motivated to use it for clothes is I have a steam dryer. Toss in anything, 15 minutes later not a wrinkle to be found. Plus if you toss in a dryer sheet all nice and fresh too.
We had a hand held steamer which I loved. It was a Rowenta. It was kinda large and bulky but it worked like a dream. Unfortunately the dog ate parts of it and since my DH wanted an iron. I never replaced it and got a traditional iron instead.
I'm gonna get another steamer this weekend and not let my wonderful children have access to it then the dog won't get it again. LOL. Thanks for the reminder.
I own two and was not impressed by either one. One is a Rowenta small handheld and the other is essentially this one http://www.amazon.com/Conair-GS4R-Compact-Fabric-Steamer/...
I recently saw one for sale at a local consignment shop and thought hmm.. maybe I should unload mine. Maybe look for one second hand so your buyers remorse isn't too great.
Pretty sure I had a small Conair portable one for about $30 (this was years ago, but I think they still have them). It was just a handheld wand type - very basic.
I didn't find it took the wrinkles out - it didn't seem to get hot enough and I'd have to try to pull the fabric trying not to burn myself in the process. It never got near as good a finish as ironing did so I ditched it.
I do know some people swear by them but I think they are the bigger more powerful models. I just needed it for a few things and so didn't want to spend the money, but you get what you pay for. So if you're going to invest in one, I'd check reviews and pay a bit more to get a bit more power and steam.
Good luck :)
You have to understand, anything that is able to wrinkle a lot is not going to be smooth like it was ironed. The wrinkles will be more relaxed by they won't be gone.
Our girls formals we sell in our store often have to be steamed for hours to get even the biggest wrinkles out. Depending on the fabric you could literally be steaming a garment for hours to get it wearable.
Please consider buying slinky knit coordinates that have pants, skirts, jackets, a couple of styles of tops, a dress, that all go together to make a bunch of outfits. This fabric doesn't wrinkle and they always look good. When I travel these are the sorts of items I pack and take. They can hang in the bathroom while I shower and be completely perfect when I get ready to be dressed.
Garments that have any cotton in them at all will not look pressed or even wrinkle free. They'll look limp and have a lot of texture that is relaxed wrinkles. Garments that have cotton and Lycra/Spandex don't do very well with steamers either. The steam stretches out in the shape of the steam column and the cotton doesn't so it makes ripples.
If you don't have a steamer and you haven't used one on a regular basis this might be something you want to borrow and try.
One of my friends puts a huge piece of cardboard inside the garment she's steaming, it's a tee shirt form from Hobby Lobby that's used to keep a tee shirt stretched out while being painted or bling glued on it. She uses the steamer much like an iron where she's moving it back and forth over the top of the fabric and aiming the steam directly onto the fibers.
I prefer to put the steam nozzle below the fabric and allow the steam to move through the fibers from the underneath side up. I don't like the steam bouncing back on my hands in any way.
But again, we're steaming things like leos, shorts, costumes, tutus, formal gowns, Posh Tots Pettidresses with multiple layers of chiffon skirts with trim. They come out fluffier and prettier by far with the steam.
