Product Review: Tefal Steam Generator Iron

Guess who did a little dance when she was offered to review the new Tefal Steam Generator Iron? As a crafter and sewer, an iron is my most important piece of kit after my sewing machine, so I couldn’t turn down the  chance to give these fancy steam generators a try. In the interest of full disclosure, I was not paid for this review but did get to keep the product. All opinions are my own.

Product: Tefal Steam Generator Pro Express
Even though I do (occasionally) iron clothes, I’ve reviewed the iron from a crafter’s perspective.
How does the Steam Generator differ from a normal iron? I’m glad you asked!
It has a base station that holds a reservoir of 1.8L of water which pumps high pressure steam through a cable to the iron. I’ve always just had a conventional iron so was really dying to give this a try.

My first impression was at how big the whole unit was. It’s BIG. I needed to tidy my sewing space and rearrange to find a spot for it.

The unit was too big to sit on my rickety ironing board (which I picked up off the side of the road and have set up permanently), so I have set it up on the bench behind the ironing board. When I’m working I have the iron sitting on the board, and then return it to the base unit when the sewing session is over. The steam cable is really long so one could easily have the base unit set up in a cupboard or a table.

The No.1 feature that I look for in an iron is AUTO Shut off. I’m notorious for forgetting to tum my iron off, and was really pleased that the unit turns itself off when its been unused for a while and when the water runs out. It also has an ECO setting which is a power conservation mode.

When I’m sewing I leave my iron on the whole time, as I press seams as I go. Usually I find it so frustrating constantly refilling the water tank, but the Tefal has a 1.8L tank which lasts for ages with plenty of steam. The tank is removable and can be refilled when the iron is on, so no waiting for things to cool down.

And wow, talk about powerful steam pressure! One button gives you a big burst (as pictured in this animation), another, a more gentle constant release more suited to pressing seams and such.

But how does it iron you ask? It’s brilliant. Seriously. I mean for the price you would almost expect it to do the ironing for you. But really the steam makes such a difference, you only need to go over things once and you are done.
My Mother-in-law was visiting and she wanted to have a try. She was especially impressed how light the hand unit was (because the water is held elsewhere I suppose) and how just one stroke of the iron did the job. So it’s Mother-in-Law Approved!

Pros:
-No need to constantly refill the water tank.
-Auto Shut off
-Iron locks into base when not in use.
-Retractable cord (like a vacuum cleaner) means no messy cables.
-Light hand unit that can be kept on ironing board.
-Powerful steam which does a brilliant job.
-Anti scale system which hopefully means no brown spitting on final pressing of a special made to order garment (don’t you hate that!!)
-Temp adjustable for delicate fabrics

Cons:
-Large size of unit. Would ideally need to be set up semi permanently, or at least in an accessible cupboard. Stable surface required.
-Steam is mega hot and powerful, so steam burns are a real possibility. Fabric is still very hot to touch just after ironing. This may be a problem with small fiddly projects.
-Price. At around $300-500 this is a real investment piece of craft equipment which is not affordable for everyone.

So in summary, I’m really pleased with the Tefal Steam Generator and won’t be going back to my old iron. I think its a great product that will be a real asset to my sewing. I’m not sure if I could personally justify paying several hundreds of dollars for an iron just for ironing clothes (although it would make that job SO much quicker and easier), but if you look at it as an investment (like a good sewing machine), I think the price is justifiable.

Thank you to Tefal for the opportunity to review this product. This was an unpaid review – I did get to keep the product.

Tags

7 Comments

  • CheezyK says:

    Sounds awesome! The size though is just too much of a turn off for me … I do not have that sort of spare space.

  • Posie Patchwork says:

    I have this ad on my blog & i would love a new fancy iron. I recently killed our wedding iron, after 15 years, bought myself a cheap one for crafting but really need a lovely steamy one for proper clothes pressing, it's awfully tempting.
    Darling Cinti, i received your parcel today, i love it, thank you so much, speedy service as always, the children's eyes were popping out with all the cute products, colours & fun pom poms, yay, loved it all, thank you again, love Posie

  • Daisieelizabeth says:

    What is the brand of your sewing machine?
    I have a White machine 1400. Its real old but has been faithful when I really need to roll out the serious projects. However, I definitely need a sturdier machine. What are the best places to look?
    What is the best brand to buy?
    I’m looking to do normal crafting/sewing projects but also would like to put the machine into use with denim and delicate fabrics, like for wedding, bridesmaids gowns.
    Suggestions would be wonderful =)

    • Miss Cinti @ My Poppet says:

      I use an elna, one of their more expensive models, nice and heavy, doesn’t vibrate at all. You may want to have a chat to your local machine retailer to see what’s on offer that fits withing your budget.

  • Tracy taylor says:

    Hi and thanks for the review. I’m on the verge of upgrading to the pricey steam station/generators but I’ve read lots of reviews that they conk out after about a year? Apparently they continue to work well as a normal iron but lose the ability of the powerful steam.

    So my question is… Has this product stood the test of time? I’d really love to hear your response.

    Thank you in advance ,
    Tracy

    • Hi Tracy, mine is still going strong and working well. I use it for my regular ironing about once a week and my sewing ironing. Steam is still strong. We have very soft water in our area so that makes irons last longer. If you live in a hard water area the scale can really clog things.

      My base plate is a bit gunked up from accidental ironing of synthetics – I should work out how to clean that.
      Hope that helps.

  • Kristin Wannemaker says:

    I actually completely agree with you! My old iron found its’ end and as we had a great sale for the same Tefal steam generator, I decided to purchase it (by the way, cost only around $150 that time which is not much at all). I was a bit hesitant as it was my first steam generator one but as I did some research and knew what to go for thanks to some user reviews from PinkyCloud (they have Tefal also in reviews: https://pinkycloud.com/choosing-the-steam-generator-types-models-and-options-owners-reviews), I thought why not to give it a try. I don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier! It cannot be compared to any other one as I actually find it to be rather compact. Yes, it’s a little bigger than some other models but for me that’s not an issue …. Although, I agree it leaves the fabric a little too hot which can possibly cause some troubles.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.