You might have seen my review of the Oliso iron in previous posts and I DID love it, but I’ve now changed to a Rowenta iron and I’ll tell you why.
Maybe it was 3 years ago (May of 2019) I became an affiliate of Oliso thru share-a-sale and I emailed them and asked if they wanted to send me an iron to test and write a review about etc. and they gladly did! (plus I got the mini iron as well)
I really LOVED the hydraulic lift in it! But after about a year I think, it started spitting and dripping and leaving stains on my ironing board and fabric, I emailed them and asked why and they said to NOT use distilled water but to use tap water or cheap spring water, I explained that my tap water has iron in it, so I don’t want to use that. After going back and forth I was able to get a new one from them and sent the old one back to them as well.
Now it hasn’t even been a year, and I’ve ONLY used spring water in it, it started spitting and spilling again and sometimes it would sit on the ironing board with a tank of water, then it would steam by itself (which has happened before) but it would then empty itself all over the ironing board! At first I thought it was a fluke, but it has happened several times, so I emailed them AGAIN as I really thought I got a faulty iron this time, they asked me lots of questions and we went back and forth and I really didn’t get an answer about getting a new iron (and they dropped me from their affiliate program- BUT I will say I think the first time I had emailed them after the first iron broke, they did say they didn’t use share-a-sale anymore, so maybe that’s why I got dropped)
Here’s my ironing board with HUGE stains on it from the Oliso iron peeing on it!
So I googled what the best quilting irons are for 2022 and the top 2 were Oliso and Rowenta! I figured I’d try Rowenta now and ordered a Rowenta DW6080 On Amazon. (and it’s $100 vs $190!-though I didn’t pay for my Oliso)
And with a new iron, I had to recover my ironing board with new fabric, so it has the NEW feeling!
My ironing board is not a regular ironing board, first it’s half the height of these metal shelves you get at the hardware store and I have two shelves on it and then the top to support the “board”. the board is just a piece of plywood, it’s wider than the shelf and about 22″ deep and 60″ wide, which is GREAT for FQs!! or half yard cuts, it fits perfectly on there. The board is then covered in batting and then fabric which I stapled onto the back of it, now this fabric is layer #4 which is actually fine, then the steam can absorb into it and it’s a little cushioned. I don’t have an iron stand, I just leave it on the side of the board but the board is wide enough to fit both a WOF and the iron!
Underneath I have plastic bins for my UFOs and also orphan blocks or leftover/ extra cuts from QUBE sets or other dies and I have a bin for selvedge edges too! Pretty much the top shelf is for UFOs and the bottom is for leftovers 🙂
I’m very impressed with the iron, it gets NICE and HOT! with the steam on newly washed fabrics, it’s great at getting the wrinkles out, which the Oliso wasn’t quite hot enough for, I don’t know, maybe it’s me, but I feel like this iron gets hotter!
I do miss the hydraulics but this Rowenta iron has a nice nose tip and it’s great for pressing my seams OPEN!
So far I’m a happy camper! Ask me in a year 😉
-Maybe irons just don’t last that long, maybe I use mine too much? An iron should really be able to last more than a year, but then again I probably have it on 3-4hrs a day at least 5 days a week!
What iron do you have?? Do you like yours?
I have had a Rowenta for the last several years. I like it a lot and have not had leaking issues.
The other thing to be aware of with irons is you need to empty them after use.
great! we’ll see about this one, I think all irons are bound to fail and with me it’s about a year.
Ha! yeah that’s NOT going to happen, I fill the tank so often and actually use steam for my blocks too, but I’m careful not to stretch the fabrics!
I am too frugal to spend $100 or more on my iron. I have a clearance model Eureka from Joann and felt the $30 was a hit much; however I love it. I don’t use the steam reservoir as I’ve read that’s often where issues start. I just keep a spray bottle with homemade Best Press. A friend at retreat had a Panasonic she got at a real steal that I really like, but hopefully mine lasts a long time yet.
I have a Rowenta that I purchased new, but my husband took apart and cleaned for me. He loves rehabbing items. It was leaking and spitting and I’d quit using it. I now use your method of a dry iron and a spray bottle and this works well for me. It’s been 2 years since husband ‘fixed’ my Rowenta and no issues. I may never use the steam mechanism on my iron again.
PS – I’ve also read that if you don’t let your iron heat completely, that can cause leaking. I used to mix my water 1/2 distilled and 1/2 tap water as we have very hard water.
I’ve concluded that irons just don’t last! They SHOULD be able to provide steam and hold the water in the tank, but I guess I just use them too much and over time they leak.
I have both an Oliso and a Rowenta and so far, I like both of them. My Oliso is working great and I’ve had it for three years. I’ve had my Rowenta about four years and it is a great iron. I do think the Rowenta gets a bit hotter than the Oliso when ironing dry. With steam, they seem to be about the same. I love the lift on the Oliso but if/when it breaks down, I will probably not replace it because of the cost.
My Rowenta irons have always leaked about after a year or so. Now I am using a CHI iron. I love it, very hot, but also heavy. I’ll let you know in a year.
I had a Black and Decker for over 30 years that was great. The only issue was an automatic turn off that turned off before I was finished a set of blocks. After a couple falls it finally gave up. Bought a new Black and Decker and they don’t make them like they used to.
yeah, once there’s more bells and whistles on things, it’s just more things to break.
I went through 3 irons in Amerika Samoa….but I have an olso pro and I do like it but after reading your post I have noticed that the iron will shoot steam out and before you know it I am out of water. I didn’t realize you don’t use distilled water, I thought I had to. I like it but I like a hotter iron. Will have to look into this. Love your shelves, looks to neat and organized.
I love to iron…since childhood. I’m 62. I have had just about every brand of iron made. My favorites have been Black and Decker and Rowenta. I really miss the Rowenta for quilting. It stopped heating to high setting after about 5 years. Using a backup now…a Maytag with an auto shutoff which is really annoying. I’ve thought about getting an Oliso…I’d probably keep trying to stand it up and break it! I sew everyday, 5-9 hrs. Bottom line…if you don’t like your Rowenta, I’d be more than happy to take it off your hands. LOL. I do hope it works well for you though.
We’ll see how this one works out, no iron lasts forever, so….
My irons are used, over-used maybe, and I figure I go through one every 3 years or so, give or take. I’m using a Shark right now and love it, but I’ve loved every one of the irons I’ve purchased, at least the first year or 2, even the Rowenta didn’t last longer. I’ve bought T-fal, Sunbeam, store brand, etc., and I now refused to spend over $50 for any iron. I haven’t tried the Olio so I appreciate your candid review, Bea. Good luck with Rowenta, and hope it holds up well for you. BTW, I do use my iron for 4-6 hr. a day on average. Not for clothes pressing, heaven forbid!!! LOL
Oh irons are meant for clothing? really??? LOL
I have tried several irons. I have an Oliso-not really impressed, a Chi, lots of steam but runs through too much water for me and a Panasonic 360- like it but it turns off to quickly. I finally just bit the bullet and bought a Rowenta steam station sand I love it! No steam unless you ask for it, the water stays in the home unit, not in the iron so I don’t worry about having to empty it, it gets super hot AND it doesn’t shut itself off! I have had it about a year so far so we’ll see how long it lasts but so far so good. It IS a bit pricey, 249.00 but less than the 600.00 for the Reliable steam station and it doesn’t require the extra cleaning that one does. You do also have to have some room somewhere for the unit to sit, it has a larger presence than just a simple iron but I feel it is well worth the space it takes up.
I was looking at the steam station and might try that some time, just not yet.
I had that same Rowenta iron and loved It ! However, it fell onto my laminate floor and only worked occasionally after that. I had an Oliso iron also, and loved it . It lasted almost 3 years of constant sewing use with occasional spitting , but did not survive a fall onto the same floor. It is the lift system that broke, and the iron was not usable after due to the lift system breaking with half the legs in and half out! I am now using Black and Decker due to the replacement costs of the above irons. I would urge anyone to put a mat near their ironing boards to cushion any potential falls of their irons. My sewing room is now carpet. I always used distilled water in those irons , then I went to a 50/50 mix of tap water and distilled. Despite instructions, the more tap water, the more spit ups !
Oh no that’s terrible! I always used distilled water until this Oliso, and then I thought that spring water is fine, so I’ll continue that, might add tap if I run out of spring water, we’ll see.
I have tried several Rowentas with several different price points over the years. ALL of them leaked & I even emptied the water after ironing. So frustrating!!!. So no more for me. I do have the Oliso Mini since it came out. It’s one of the hottest new generation small irons I have used & I LOVE it.
I like. Heavy, Hot iron with no auto turnoff. I found it in the Realiable Iron. No Leaking!! Pricier but meets all my requirements.
The best irons are the old ones from the 1950s or so.
I have tried several Rowentas with several different price points over the years. ALL of them leaked & I even emptied the water after ironing. So frustrating!!!. So no more for me. I do have the Oliso Mini since it came out. It’s one of the hottest new generation small irons I have used & I LOVE it.
I like. Heavy, Hot iron with no auto turnoff. I found it in the Realiable Iron. No Leaking!! Pricier but meets all my requirements.
The best irons are the old ones from the 1950s or so.
I have both, a rowenta and oliso. I loved the oliso at first, when I used it with water, but it says not to store it or let the water sit for a long time and I stopped using it. This rowenta is about 10 years old, so I feel lucky that it is lasting. I do use water in this one. I had stopped for awhile, but I really like steam, not spraying the fabric…another step. We’ll see what I replace with the next time.