I've been dreaming about a handheld steamer for years, ever since my daughter was born. If you've got a little girl who loves wearing dresses, or you're always on the go, this thing is a must-have. I've been putting off buying one because I didn't want a full-on steam station, and I'd only heard bad things about handheld steamers. But now my daughter's 3.5 years old, and my husband surprised me with a Tefal handheld steamer for my birthday - I was shocked, since he'd been telling me not to get one, especially not a handheld one. So, here I am, using this 'unnecessary device'.
BoxThe exact price and where I bought it, I won't mention (it was a gift), but on Ozon it's 1990₽.
The package includes: a case, a steaming attachment, a garment brush, and a water cup, plus instructions.
Package contentsI've been really impressed with how portable it is, thanks to the case. It's also super compact, so I never leave home without it now. The steaming attachment does a great job of removing hair from clothes, and it also helps smooth out wrinkles when steaming. Without it, steaming would be a real challenge.
Steamer with attachmentBy the way, I decided to try out the garment brush for removing hair from clothes, and I was really surprised - it's amazing! It picks up loose hair and fur (my coat looks great now) really well, and it's similar to an IKEA lint roller, but you don't need to keep buying replacement sticky rollers. Since we don't have pets, I'm not sure how well it works on pet hair.
Now, let's talk about the steamer itself.
It's great that you can use it as both a steamer and an iron. I use it as an iron very rarely, but it does a great job of smoothing out wrinkles. It heats up quickly (unlike a regular iron) and the whole process takes just a few minutes. The quality is a solid 4 out of 5. I love that it comes with a special stand, so you don't have to figure out where to put it. If you attach the steaming attachment, it's a bit trickier to set up, but it still works great.
Steamer with attachment
SteamerI've been using this thing as a steamer nonstop, especially during the summer when my kids are getting ready and I'm still ironing their clothes. It's a lifesaver for kids' stuff, and it's great for ironing t-shirts with prints, dresses, and bright-colored clothes that are a pain to iron. I'd say it's only worth it for kids' stuff. Now, it takes just a minute to iron my daughter's dresses, and I only iron my son's clothes with a regular iron if they're not t-shirts with prints. It also does a great job on knitted clothes.
I took it to the beach with me and used it to steam all my clothes. It worked like a charm, and my clothes didn't look wrinkled at all (although, I did have a hard time steaming my husband's dress shirts). But, thanks to the salty water, it ended up with a lot of mineral deposits, which I had to clean out with vinegar when I got back home, just like the instructions said.
T-shirt 'before'
T-shirt 'after'
Sweater 'before'
Sweater 'after'
Light-colored sweater 'before'
Light-colored sweater 'after'The water reservoir lasts for about 3-4 kids' clothes or 2 adult clothes. The reservoir comes off by pressing a button. To avoid running to the sink before steaming, I fill a half-liter water bottle and top it off as needed, so the small reservoir doesn't bother me.
Water reservoirI took off a star because, yeah, it's great and all, but you do have to get used to it. To steam a piece of clothing, you have to press the button. There's no constant steam flow, so you have to press the button each time, and then wait a few seconds. It can get tiring when you have a lot of clothes to steam. The first time, I had a hard time figuring out how to use it to get the wrinkles out. But, another downside is that when the water runs out, it spits out water with steam, and then leaves water spots on your clothes, but they dry quickly. But, it does a great job of ironing out wrinkles, so I only took off one star.
I've gotta say, this thing is a game-changer. You can definitely get by without it, but with it, you're golden. It's perfect for kids' stuff and works great for adults too, especially if you're always on the go - I highly recommend it.
Thanks for tuning in, and I'll catch you all in the next one!
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