Garment Steamer Review

Sizing up garment steamers

Garment steamers are touted as a substitute for ironing and a way to freshen clothes between trips to the dry cleaner. They come in two styles: upright floor models and handheld models. Both have refillable water tanks. Floor models have a separate tank that is connected to a steam nozzle with a hose, while handheld steamers look similar to a pitcher, with a nozzle in place of the pour spout. Garment steamers are useful for removing wrinkles from difficult-to-iron items, such as drapes and bedskirts, and they can be used on delicate fabrics like velvet and silk. Upright floor models take up more space, but they have larger water tanks, so they can produce steam for longer periods without refilling. Handheld steamers are useful for travel, but may require several refills for larger steaming jobs.

We found four reviews that compare several models of garment steamers head to head, with the best found at Slate.com, where Laura Moser tests six travel-size steamers on a variety of fabrics. Good Housekeeping tests seven garment steamers and provides descriptions of each in a slide show, beginning with their favorite.  The Wall Street Journal's Lauren Lipton tests five full-size models. Another review in The Wall Street Journal, conducted in 2009, focuses specifically on travel irons and handheld steamers. While we wish the other reviews had been updated, all cover current models and are still useful.

Garment steamers are frequently part of a stylist's gear, and several fashion bloggers mention favorite models. There are also some write-ups and single-product reviews on AssociatedContent.com, which publishes longer than usual user reviews. Bestcovery.com features a roundup of the best full-size garment steamers and the best travel steamers, although it doesn't appear that head-to-head testing has been conducted in either review. Garment steamers are reviewed by owners on Amazon.com, where some models receive more than 100 comments; additional user reviews can be found on Walmart.com, Macys.com and Viewpoints.com. ConsumerReports.org has tested steam irons and steam generators, but no garment steamers are included in their coverage.

Most experts agree that a garment steamer cannot replace an iron, but that they are useful. The Good Housekeeping review notes that while garment steamers can be an alternative for a traditional steam iron, garment steamers struggle with "sharp creases and stiff fabrics, like dress shirts." An advantage to garment steamers, as noted on MarthaStewart.com, is that they "can refresh garments between dry cleanings, perk up creased coats taken out of storage and smooth wrinkles from a rarely worn cocktail dress."  

But not all garment steamers are created equal. The HoMedics Perfect Steam Commercial Garment Steamer PS-200 (*Est. $45), for example, earns mediocre reviews at Macys.com, where nearly 100 owners contribute to an average rating of 3.1 stars out of 5; more than one-third of reviewers rate this steamer with 2 stars or less. Owners say the HoMedics steamer stops working altogether after less than a dozen uses or it simply doesn't remove wrinkles well. Nearly 100 owners on Amazon.com generally concur with these remarks, contributing to an average rating of 3 stars out of 5. That said, there are a considerable number of owners who are satisfied with the value they've received for this bargain-priced steamer. We found better reviews overall, however, for the Steamfast SF-407 (*Est. $55).