Handheld steamer advantages and disadvantages

All those who have come across elegant outfits made of thin, delicate fabrics know that such a thing cannot be ironed with a regular iron. If this is an evening dress with rich rhinestones or beads, you should definitely use a steamer. A lightweight and convenient hand-held device is suitable for occasional use. It will help you iron a stage costume, a dance dress, or an exclusive evening dress.

What is a steamer

The manual model allows you to iron an item hanging on a hanger. At the same time, this type of care is gentle for elegant materials, lace, and transparent fabrics, for which the use of a conventional iron is impossible. A handheld steamer has its pros and cons.

The device does not come into contact with the heated surface of the fabric, but acts on it using steam, the temperature of which is only 100 degrees. Thus, as a result of its use, burning of the item, melting of areas with fittings, fasteners, decorative beads and rhinestones is excluded.

REFERENCE! The device is indispensable when caring for things with a lot of frills and ruffles. Therefore, you don’t even need to think about whether it’s worth buying it for your home.

The steamer also perfectly irons outerwear that has a synthetic lining, because it cannot be ironed with a regular iron.

Many housewives know that washing curtains is not difficult, but ironing the curtain fabric so that it does not deteriorate or lose its shape is problematic. Therefore, in this case you cannot do without a steamer.

What are the differences from an iron?

The iron irons the material using a hot surface. Sliding over the fabric, it leaves marks on it; mechanically, the material wears out much faster with frequent ironing. The steamer acts fragmentarily on a specific area of ​​the fabric using steam supplied under pressure.

But there are situations when ironing an item is simply necessary, and a steamer is indispensable, these are:

• ironing trousers with creases;
• disinfection of clothing, for example for newborns.

The steamer is not able to disinfect the surface of the fabric, while the iron gets so hot that it kills germs on clothes, bed linen, and towels.

IMPORTANT! The iron does not handle heavy fabrics very well. Therefore, it is still better to steam bedspreads, tapestry, rugs, thick denim and wool.

Advantages

1. The steamer easily copes with materials that have appliqué or an abundance of decorative details. This device is more maneuverable, and it is not necessary to place the product on a horizontal surface.
2. A hand-held device can be quite powerful, because it does not have a hose, like the floor-standing version, which means that the steam is hot and the jet itself is stronger.
3. It is ideal for quick steaming, compact in size, does not weigh much and is easy to store.
4. Manual models have a large number of attachments that allow you to work with different types of fabrics. This device is also convenient to use, since it steams the surface of things easily and quickly. You just need to carefully monitor the presence of water in the tank and avoid collisions between two different temperatures in it, since due to temperature changes, the body of the device may crack. Therefore, before pouring water into the tank, you need to wait until it cools down.
5. For some, this may not seem very convenient, but a small container heats up faster and works more efficiently with a small volume of things.
6. Another advantage is the absence of the risk of burning the fabric. Things turn out as if they were ironed, only without shiny stripes and creases.
7. The price of the manual model is significantly lower than other versions of this device.
8. No ironing board required for use. This device is indispensable when traveling when you need to refresh a lot of concert clothes.

Flaws

1. Will not replace an iron if you need to iron in a horizontal position.
2. Less convenient for long-term use, since the water capacity of manual models is small.
3. It works intermittently when the tank cools down, and then water is added again. Therefore, it is not enough to iron in the same time as with an iron.
4. Non-professional models have low power, so you need to wait a little while steaming until the steam flow hits the fabric.