Getting Steamed: Pros and Cons of a Clothes Steamer

This is the Salav model I have

One of the things I most appreciated about having a mom who was a professional seamstress was having access to her tools. My sad little Brother sewing machine felt a lot like the Scooty-Puff Jr next to her Senior-level Juki (we won't talk about my skills in using those machines compared to hers). But my favourite item she had was a garment steamer. Why did I covet that steamer?

• Easier to use than a regular iron
• Faster than a regular iron
• Can get the wrinkles out of spots on clothing that are awkward to get at with a regular iron and board (fussy bodices, narrow areas like sleeves, gathers and pleats...)
• Can get wrinkles out of clothing that you can't really use a regular iron on (e.g., suit jackets)
• Can quickly and easily use on large items that don't fit well on a standard ironing board (tablecloths, sheets)
• Handy for non-ironing tasks, like getting wallpaper off a wall or sneakily steaming open letters

With all these benefits, I don't know why it took me so long to get my own steamer. I guess, as useful as it is, it's not quite as much fun as buying obscene amounts of books and craft supplies. Still, even I can be practical sometimes and I finally went for it, getting the Salav model in the picture above.

So, what's the verdict? On the plus side: it heats up fast, it's easy to use, and a little water in the reservoir goes a long way. Not so great: It was a pain to put together/set up (why does *everything* require assembly these days?). I also wish I'd noticed it had a non-slip base instead of wheels. I'm sure a stationary steamer has many advantages (not that I can think of any right now) but it's heavy and awkward to move. I've had to set it up permanently next to the ironing board because putting it away and taking it out every time I need it would definitely result in it never getting used. But aside from the issue of no wheels, I'm happy with the new addition to my own sewing room. Anyone have any wallpaper that needs to come down?

2024 Update 

A few months after I wrote the original post, my steamer stopped working. The problem was mineral buildup from using tap water in the reservoir. In my defence, my mom used tap water in her steamer and it never had any problems (not to mention that it's decades old at this point and still works. My sister will probably end up passing it on to her kids). Also, I thought mineral buildup could be cleaned out. But no. Once we realized the problem, we tried cleaning the steamer (and switching to distilled water), but nothing helped. So without any warning signs, it broke and can't be fixed. This steamer was too expensive to be so flimsy.

Final Verdict: I do not recommend Salav garment steamers. 

[Edited to expand title and add an update. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]