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Note: This iron was tested chez moi with an ironing board which has a completely mesh top for maximum steam penetration. I recommend that when you purchase this type of iron you also reconsider the type of ironing board. It makes a hell of a lot of difference. Oh and before we go any further, I just wanted to say that this is the first ever time I’ve used this type of iron. So I’m unable to say whether it’s better than any other of its generation.
Do NOT be fooled – this is no ordinary iron
This is not just any iron. This is the smartest iron I’ve ever owned. This one comes with a steam generator and huffs out steam with a powerful snort, like that of an angry bull. Whisper “Fooh-Ahhhh” with me and you have the sound my darling Philips PerfectCare Aqua GC8635 makes when the steam kicks in. You can see the video further below to see why I love this iron more than cake.
I don’t wear wrinkled clothes outside the house
If you’ve been following my stories for longer than the typical ironing session, you’ll understand that Australia would most likely put a woman on the moon before I can be spotted anywhere fancy in a piece of clothing that ‘looks like it came from a dog’s mouth’ (my Nan’s words, not mine). All my clothes must be ironed if I’m walking through the front door. Even when I’m just going to mow the front lawn. Curly’s clothes also must be ironed, because his mother says so! As for the Scientist, he doesn’t dare be seen as a mess next to me. So we iron.
From now on, though, we iron with the Philips PerfectCare Aqua iron, which is a steam generator with an iron sitting on top of its very own large water reservoir. Yup, and let me tell you more about it.
The water reservoir
I always iron in my laundry, so that’s where I store this iron. I leave it on the washing machine because its 2.2L tank is a little bulky and my laundry has no cabinet. If it’s too big for your ironing board, there’s no harm in placing it on the floor, cabinet, chair or stool. I don’t mind the bulkiness because it serves a very important purpose: with this baby, you don’t have to fill the iron up after every few pieces of clothing. I’ve only filled it once since we received it and we’ve ironed about three baskets of clothes (over an hour’s worth of ironing).
Now because the water isn’t stored inside the iron, there’s no worrying about water dripping onto the clothes. What a drip-free experience!
Also, the opening of the reservoir is wide, eliminating the trickiness of filling an iron and spilling water all over while re-filling.
Once you’ve filled the reservoir to the mark and have pressed the ‘On’ button, it takes about two minutes for the iron to be ready (I’ve timed my conventional steam iron and they both take approximately the same amount of time). A blue light flashes on top of the iron to indicate that all’s good to go. You can use the steam trigger to boost the steam with a simple long squeeze of the trigger or you can choose the constant steam by quickly double-squeezing. The water travels fast from reservoir to the iron via a tube and enables fast heating and ironing. There’s absolutely no need to adjust the amount of water coming from the reservoir other than to trigger the extra boost when you need to.
TIP // If controlling the steam with a single long squeeze on the trigger, squeeze and hold then glide forward. Let go of the trigger before you start to glide back to over that wet spot. The iron should be dry when gliding backward.
Docking station
This is what the docking station looks like. It’s on top of the reservoir and has elevated silicone bumps similar to the silicone iron rest pad on my ironing board. The silicone on the docking station doesn’t burn or melt and is non-slip and heat-resistant. So your iron is quite safe on there. Once you dock the iron onto the station, there’s the lock that seals it in place when not in use, something which will make it portable if you need to stick the lot into storage.
Scratch resistant SteamGlide soleplate providing constant temperature
With this iron there are no temperature settings as there’s no need to fiddle with the temperature between fabrics. It has the perfect and safe temperature for all ironable items (Philips calls this the OptimalTemp technology). Even the delicate ones we’ve been afraid to iron were tested. The SteamGlide soleplate which is easy to clean and scratch resistant. The smoothness of the soleplate makes it easy and quick to iron both slippery fabric like silk and rough fabric like denim and Corduroy.
It irons different types of material available in my house, including my rain jackets and wrapping paper. I’m talking even nylon and lycra without leaving those usual shiny marks, without sticking to the material or burning holes through them. Seriously the best iron I’ve had. The soleplate of the iron is smooth and never gets hot enough to burn your ironing board or the item you’re ironing.
Now, a little bit of warning. It will take a little while for you to get used to the idea that you don’t need to leave your iron standing up like with your previous iron. You have to get used to placing it flat on the board as you change, flip or turn your items.
I have a few garments with decorative beads, embroidery, lace and ribbons on them and they’ve been a bit difficult to iron with my ‘normal’ steam iron. With the Philips PerfectCare Aqua I can now use the steam to freshen the look of those bits without popping a bead, burning or tearing through the embroidery, lace or ribbon. In other words, now I can finally iron my sexy lace and charmeuse lingerie and nighties, without the hassle of protecting them with a layer of safe fabric.
Mostly iron one side of your items
I don’t know if this would work the same with other materials but when I’ve ironed with the long trigger steam and constant steam options, I’ve never had to iron the other side of thinner fabrics – such as when ironing a t-shirt or the sleeves of a business shirt. It seems the steam penetrates really well, well enough to smooth the other side. I love it as it cuts down the time needed to iron these items.
Vertical steaming
The Scientist and I have half a wardrobe full of heavy coats and jackets that require steaming. They are hard to steam or iron flat on the ironing board. Now with this baby we can hang the garments on hangers for steaming vertically, without mucking around. This is very useful for ironing the sleeves too, without leaving that old-fashioned army-style crease in the sleeves from should to cuff! Also, I don’t get the shines or burns in my jackets anymore.
Two t-shirts with photo and logo prints on them also came out looking great without damage to the prints. I ironed over the prints with the steam and didn’t need to turn the t-shirts inside out. Awesome, since nowadays almost every single t-shirt my little boy wears has prints on them. Prints of places he’s never been to or companies and sport teams he’s never heard of. What’s with that, by the way?
I’ve also managed to reshape one of Curly’s jumpers with vertical steaming by pulling on the material as I hovered the iron over it. Fixed! He also has a faux fur jumper that usually get a little stuck to the ‘normal’ iron and I’ve been able to steam it instead of gliding the iron over it.
Vertical steaming with a powerful steam iron like this is definitely useful for those with draperies. We have blinds, so I don’t need to steam curtains. It would definitely be useful for doona covers.
The handle and your grip
I love the shape of the handle. The grip is comfortable, non-slip and easy to glide the iron over the material or hover above or around it.
Precision tips are bloody important, too!
Being a working mom and also representative on a few professional committees, I have to wear two-piece suits or a smart blazer when I meet with other stakeholders/partners. To look crisp and freshly ironed, it’s important to have an iron with precision tip to get into the zipper area, the pockets and between the buttons.
Decalcifying
Having an iron that decalcifies itself is like having a team of busy, minuscule people with mops and buckets rushing inside your iron to give it a clean and therefore extending its life. Instructions are straight forward and all I need to do is wait for the once-in-a-blue-moon occasion that the DECALC light flashes, sit the water reservoir close to the edge for easy access to the Easy De-Calc outlet, press the DECALC button to activate the process, pull the plug from the power socket, grab a container and put under the outlet to catch the water that pours out when I pull out the plug. No stress.
Automatic shut off
Gone are the days when I would go off to work and be sitting on the train then suddenly go “Fark me, did I turn off the iron?” With the new iron, its automatic shut off is perfect for good for peace of mind!
ECO setting
There’s an ECO button on the back of the reservoir to set the PerfectCare Aqua Iron to an economy setting and save energy while you iron. When I tried it I didn’t really notice much difference, so I’m not sure if it’s really meant to reduce the the temperature or quality of the work you’re doing. It simply ironed my clothes the same way. *Shrug*
We’re done? Naaaaaaaw
To put the iron to bed, I wrap the provided strap around the cable and hose and I’m done! I leave it parked there, all the time. The laundry is where we do our ironing, so that’s easy. No sweat, no tear. The washing machine is steady and heavy and doesn’t shake much when on, so it doesn’t affect it the iron and the iron doesn’t affect it.
The only two things I was annoyed with
Thing One // Thank God I already had a water jug that came with my previous iron. The new Philips PerfectCare Aqua didn’t have a jug included in the box. None of the shops I’ve checked out online mention this.
Thing Two // The Min and Max marks on the reservoir are white, smallish and hard to see. Would be best if they were a different color. Maybe red as a sign of warning? It would also be good to have the markings repeated down the sides of the reservoir so that you can see them from where you’re standing when ironing. The markings are on the side opposite to where you’re facing, need x-ray vision to see it.
What would have been great
It would have been great if the PerfectCare Aqua beeped like my fridge does when left open for longer than usual. I’m glad the iron turns itself off but if it also reminded me to come back it would be much better. I completely forgotten my ironing once when I had to go stir the chicken stew that was bubbling on the stove. My son distracted me and I had to serve him some Snakes from the pantry and a glass of milk. Then my mobile phone beeped with a notification from a fellow blogger asking a question on Facebook. My ironing idea evaporated into thin air and I completely forgot until I went back to the laundry when the dryer beeped to indicate that its cycle was complete.
For more reviews by mums like me
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Where to get the Philips PerfectCare Aqua?
Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman, The Good Guys and Bing Lee. Please shop around, the prices are different with each outlet.