You may not even be aware of the fact that steam generator irons are different to regular steam irons. So how do they differ exactly, and why are steam generator irons considered so superior? Let me explain…

Steam generator irons differ from steam irons for one fundamental reason, they have a separate unit which generates the steam outside of the handheld part of the iron. The unit or tank would usually sit on the ironing board while you held the handheld part of the iron in your hand. The reason for the separate tank is because the separate unit can generate more steam than a conventional iron, making ironing quicker and more efficient.

The above information alone may be pretty useless to you without looking at the pros and cons in a bit further detail. Let’s take a look at the reasons you might want to buy a steam generator iron instead of a regular steam iron.

The power produced by steam generators can make life easier for you in a number of ways. Firstly it makes the actual process of ironing a lot easier. Have you ever had the experience where you feel like you’re spending an age on one tee shirt or pair of trousers that are creased beyond recognition and no matter what you do you cannot seem to get the creases out? Well, the process of ironing these garments can be tiresome in the amount of effort you have to exert for the clothes to be ironed to perfection, but it can also be damaging to your clothes if you expose them to excessive heat consistently. A steam generator iron produces much more steam which softens the fibers of the fabric much more effortlessly, so you don’t have to put so much elbow grease into your ironing.

There is also a lot of time to be saved with steam generator irons. When you think about the extra time you would spend going over a highly creased piece of clothing a third, fourth or fifth time, it may only amount to a minute or two’s difference with a more powerful steam generator iron, but think about how much time you would save over the long term. There could be hours and hours of your life which you could stand to reclaim to spend more cherished time with your kids (or perhaps just catching up on Corrie!).

The main reason I’d say that people avoid steam generator irons is their cost. While I understand why some people may not want to spend up to £300 on an iron, there are plenty of options out there for anyone, no matter what your budget is. This may not have necessarily been the case a few years back when steam generator irons were fairly new products, but you can now get steam generator irons as cheap as £35, well worth that money in my opinion. You’re bound to save at least a couple of hours in ironing time over the lifespan of your iron, if you’re so worried about the cost I’d suggest spending those few hours saved doing a bit of overtime at work may be a little less laborious.

Another negative point on the steam generator irons is they take longer to heat up than regular steam irons. Usually, you have to fill up the steam generator unit and leave it for a couple of minutes to heat up whereas steam irons are pretty much instantaneous. This is negated by the fact that if you’ve got a large load of laundry to do, you might end up spending more time running to and from the kitchen with a regular steam iron filling it up with more water.