Which steamers

For big jobs, the handheld Sunbeam steamer will build up your biceps but test your patience; the Reliable Vivio, on the other hand, has a lightweight hose like all floor-standing steamers that was more flexible than others we tried and easier to glide across fabrics. All floor-standing steamers have an attached pole to hold the steamer head and a garment. The Reliable Vivio comes with its own hanger, which keeps your clothes steadier while you steam than models like the Pure Steam and the Jiffy , neither of which included one.

It held more water a gallon than any other steamer we tested, but it still heated up in about two minutes. If the base tips backward, some water will dribble out of the tank.

It comes with a three-year limited warranty. In testing, the Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam Garment Steamer performed just as well as the Sunbeam, and it was comfortable to use, but it costs a few dollars more, and the water tank is smaller, by 3 ounces.

If the Sunbeam is sold out or unavailable, the Turbo ExtremeSteam was the next-best handheld I tried. Other small details, like a tricky-to-use on-off button, prompted us to move it lower on our list. They both smoothed wrinkles on thin silk but struggled with thicker cotton, and they spit some water onto fabrics.

I had to push the power button several times to get it to work, and it was the slowest steamer to heat up in our testing. We pulled our former top pick, the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer, after reports of a lawsuit related to claims of severe steam burns. In fact, with both we found that the slightest bump sloshed water onto our fabric.

This makes horizontal steaming impossible and vertical steaming unpleasant, and it felt like a safety hazard. The Deneve Portable Garment Steamer, our former also-great pick, was discontinued and became unavailable while we were retesting it in It was still an outstanding performer, if you happen to find one. Although it has some nice details, overall you get what you pay for. It also had the smallest water tank of the bunch.

Our former floor-standing pick, the J Jiffy Garment Steamer , has a simple design, and it emitted strong steam, but it was the worst offender in our testing when it came to water leaks from the tank. I had to halt testing this steamer until it was dry enough to plug in, and it leaked again when I moved it after testing.

This is a nice feature, but the steamer leaked on all of the test fabrics. The hose was also stiff to use, until the steam loosened it up after several minutes. Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. Our pick. Sunbeam Power Steam Fabric Steamer A powerful steamer with clever details This steamer melted wrinkles without spitting water on our fabrics—rare among the models we tested.

You can understand more and change your cookies preferences here. In this article. If you want to cut down on ironing time, using a garment or clothes steamer sounds like a tempting option. Garment or clothes steamers are vertical steamers designed for quickly neatening clothes on the hanger, without the need to set up an ironing board.

In this expert guide, we look at what garment steamers do and how much you can expect to spend. Head straight to clothes steamers compared to get our verdict and see our video of the best and worst models in action.

Garment steamers — sometimes called travel or clothes steamers — are designed for last-minute touch-ups. If you need to do some emergency de-creasing before heading out, you should be able to grab your garment steamer and whizz it over your clothes. You might be considering a garment steamer if:. Philips, Rowenta and Tefal are the main brands selling garment steamers at the moment. Knowing cooking times by weight and time, fresh or frozen, makes so much easier and less wasteful than trial and error.

Efficiency: A steamer should cook food quickly and evenly. We looked for machines that produced steam fast for tender fish and bright, al dente veg.

Size: Steamers can be space-consuming, so we considered both height and footprint. We favoured steamers with baskets that stacked inside one another for ease of storage.

Versatility: We looked for the inclusion of baskets for rice, grooves to hold eggs for steaming, and the ease of cooking a whole meal in the steamer at once. Best food processors Best blenders Best toasters Best kettles Best health gadgets. This review was last updated in September If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite immediate.

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Get Offer. When set to high, the Sunbeam was the only handheld steamer that significantly smoothed my wrinkled linen curtains — the "final boss" in my series of tests — although it was eventually outperformed in this regard by my professional-grade pick below. Still, I was impressed by the way it handled a fabric that typically only responds to ironing. Aside from its customizable steam flow, the Sunbeam has a slew of thoughtful features that genuinely improved my handheld steaming experience.

Its nozzle is equipped with a metal "wrinkle remover bar," which acts as a mini-iron and provides an extra layer of polish. This proved to be a valuable addition when I was steaming the collars and cuffs of my button-down shirts. However, while the bar does its job on vertically-hung garments, it loses its effectiveness when applied to an ironing board.

Other parts of the nozzle protrude slightly farther than the wrinkle remover bar, meaning it won't seamlessly glide over flat, horizontal surfaces. The Sunbeam comes with three nozzle attachments: a lint brush, a short-bristle brush, and a steam handle. The lint brush is designed to remove lint, dust, and pet hair, while the short-bristle brush loosens the fibers of heavy fabrics to allow for better steam penetration, according to the company.

While the lint brush did an excellent job refreshing the green velvet couch that my kitten has claimed as his nap spot, I can't confidently recommend using it on clothing, especially items made from delicate materials. The experts I spoke to said to always hold your steamer several inches away from — never directly on — your garments.

Similarly, I'd proceed with caution before running the brush over, say, a wool coat, although thicker upholstery and short-pile rugs should be able to handle it. The steam handle is a snap-on plastic shield designed to protect your hands from the heat.

It's a thoughtful feature that I wish was more common, and certainly a more elegant solution to safety concerns than including a literal oven mitt with your steamer you can read more on the other steamers I tested here. Pros: Powerful steam, durable, heats quickly, no water droplets, excellent on curtains, convenient hook for clothes hangers, smooth wheels. Cons: Water tank isn't securely locked to the base, no additional settings or features.

The Jiffy J-2 has long been considered the fashion industry standard, and with good reason: it heats up in about two minutes and emits a powerful, consistent flow of steam while remaining gentle enough to use on fragile vintage garments and intricately detailed runway looks alike. So it's no surprise that when I contacted the team at The Laundress , a nontoxic line of detergent and fabric care founded by two former Chanel and Ralph Lauren executives, the J-2 was their top recommendation.

The J-2 's tank holds a gallon of water, which translates to about two hours of steaming time — a max that I hit the day I decided to steam all of the winter clothes I had just taken out of storage. While I've used this exact model on and off for years in work settings — first at retail jobs, then as a fashion editor — this was my first time applying it to my own wardrobe, and I was impressed with how quickly and thoroughly it removed the deep folds from my sweaters and restored the shape of my coats.

Later I ran it over my linen curtains, which were left looking closer to freshly-ironed than I thought possible. I continue to use it regularly, and recently used it to take fold marks out of my stored-away spring clothing. Back to that water tank. The cylindrical shape and convenient handle make it easy to tote to and from the sink. But the fact that it rests mostly above the base of the steamer, coupled with its lack of a locking mechanism, means that it's extremely easy to knock over.

If you're a fashion assistant wheeling your J-2 around a set, this can be nerve wracking. If you're steaming your laundry in front of the TV on a Sunday afternoon, it's still slightly annoying. Tank aside, the J-2 is incredibly durable. Walk into any magazine's fashion closet or photo studio, and there's a good chance you'll spot a Jiffy that's been there for more than a decade. Most floor-standing steamers have two wheels, but Jiffy's has four, making it notably easier to move around.

The nozzle is metal, not plastic, and the smooth wooden handle is comfortable to grip and keeps your hands safely distanced from the heat. At around five feet tall, the J-2 can't quite hold a maxi dress off the ground, but its hanger loop is positioned to accommodate nearly everything else, from suit trousers to trench coats. Pros: Compact, easy to clean, useful attachments, collapsible pole means you can steam sitting down, 5-year warranty. Our former best overall clothes steamer , the PurSteam Professional Garment Steamer may not be as powerful as our current top pick, but it still has plenty to offer at less than a third of the price.

It heats up in about two minutes and its half-gallon tank produces a steady, sputter-free flow of steam, which, in my experience, lasts from 50 minutes to an hour. Unlike the other floor-standing models I tested, the PurSteam 's tank is made from clear plastic, so you'll know exactly when it's almost time for a refill. While it successfully smoothed silk blouses, wool-polyester pants, a tweed jacket, several synthetic-blend dresses including a tiered lace one I wore to a pre-pandemic wedding , and a variety of knits, it left thinner cotton and linen items slightly more rumpled than its admittedly pricier upright competitors.

That being said, it restored a midweight cotton twill jumpsuit to near-perfect condition. Overall, I'd say it performs as well as our top pick: it's significantly more effective than most handhelds with the addition of some floor-model perks , but doesn't quite deliver professional-level results.

About those perks. One of the PurSteam 's most notable features is its collapsible pole, which adjusts to four heights, ranging from two feet for storage to a fairly standard five feet when fully extended.

Adjusting the pole midway allows you to steam a hanging garment while seated, making marathon laundry sessions significantly more comfortable. It also comes with an adjustable hanger that expands from 15 to 19 inches and includes clips for holding smaller items like children's clothing or pillowcases. The PurSteam is equipped with a fabric brush attachment as well as a pants press attachment, which is a tight clamp that holds fabric against the nozzle.

As a reminder, the experts we spoke to recommend placing the nozzle of your steamer a few inches away from — not directly on — most clothing, so I'd proceed with caution before running thin material through the pants press or brushing anything other than sturdy upholstery. A far more useful feature is the folding rack, a bar you affix to the PurSteam's pole in order to hold items like folded trousers securely in place.