Which Iron should you buy? The Betta Buying Guide

Where would we be without irons?

Walking around in clothes that are wrinkled, creased, scrunched, crimped and puckered, that’s where.

Most people can relate to that feeling of ironing an item of clothing, holding it up in the air and staring in wonderment at the beautiful flat plane in front of you. 

So, when you look at it this way, suddenly the humble iron is not so humble anymore. And suddenly, how to pick the right iron is something worth knowing about.

Soleplates

The soleplate is the metal plate at the bottom of the iron that glides on fabric. Here’s what you need to know about different soleplates:

Aluminium: Most entry-level soleplates are aluminium as the material is a good conductors of heat. However, overtime, an aluminium soleplate becomes sticky and hard to clean.

Non-stick: Soleplates with a non-stick coating will treat your clothes really well. They’re also easy to clean and pretty scratch resistant.

Stainless steel: Stainless steel soleplates glide over fabrics oh-so-smoothly, and are good at distributing heat, but will scratch if constantly run over zippers and buttons.
Ceramic: Ceramic soleplates are the best quality. They’re durable, reliable and efficient.

Steam

Steam softens a fabric, so the iron can get to deep creases easily. There are different types of steam features for different items and wrinkle situations, so it’s good to know what goes with what so you can iron your laundry to perfection!

 

 

Vertical: Vertical steam is best for removing wrinkles from clothes when they are hanging up. This means it’s also good for ironing curtains without having to take them down. For the ultimate in vertical ironing, go for a garment steamer.

Steam burst: If you’ve got something with stubborn creases that just won’t come out, this where a steam burst feature will help you out. It gives a powerful burst of extra steam at the push of a button. (Look for about 100 grams per minute in a steam iron)

Variable: Variable steam is usually a dial that controls a different steam levels, allowing you to easily adjust the amount of steam from the iron as you move from one type of fabric to another.    

Continuous steam: Continuous steam requires a large supply of water so this feature is found in steam generators aka steam stations, which are larger models that are connected to a water tank.  The benefits of steam generators are that they are more powerful in eliminating wrinkles, and make ironing a lot faster.

 

Other features

Auto-off
Rogue irons that are switched on can be dangerous, particularly with small children about. Forgetting to turn the iron off is something that happens to all of us, so an auto-off function can be a lifesaver. This system automatically turn offs an iron if it has been left alone for a certain period of time. 

Cordless
A cordless iron will give you the flexibility to set up your ironing station anywhere you like!   

Click here to browse our range of irons