

NOW CLOSED: Philips PerfectCare Xpress Iron Feedback review thread PLUS your chance to win your own one (RRP £120)

(140 Posts)
AnnMumsnet (MNHQ) Thu 29-Nov-12 16:02:54

This is the feedback thread for the 20 MNers recruited to take part in the product test for the new Philips PerfectCare Xpress - Philips say this is "the World's first pressurised steam iron, with "revolutionary OptimalTEMP technology and compact steam generator, it's built for powerful crease removal and is faster than any other steam iron, as tested by independent institute, DWI, June 2011".

"PerfectCare Xpress has no settings, just one perfect temperature that's safe on all ironable fabrics, even delicates. Iron from jeans to silk, to linen, to cotton, to any order, without having to adjust the temperature, it's 100% scorch proof! Plus with an automatic motion steam sensor inside ironing has never been easier. Compact and convenient for storage it's perfect for ironing small loads, every day"

Seeing as this was a very popular product test and so many of you applied - as well as it being nearly Christmas, we twisted the arm of the Philips team and are pleased to say we have another one up for grabs! if you're not a tester, all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning one is - on this thread - pass on your best ever ironing tip or share your worst ironing disaster. Everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a PerfectCare Xpress iron of their own (RRP £120). grin

If you are a tester, please answer the following questions and share with the MN community your thoughts on the iron.
Please also add a review here.

~ Firstly - what is your general opinion of ironing?
~ First impressions - what did you think? How easy to follow were the instructions?
~ First use - what did you try it on? A mountain or did you ease it in slowly? How did it handle the first few items?
~ Did you have to adjust how you iron at all? How did you find not changing the settings?
~ Any comments on ease of use? Including size, weight, storage etc?
~ Any one else in the family used it? What did they think?
~ Is this an iron you think you'd recommend to other people (should the conversation arise)?
~ How would you rate the value for money?
~ Any other comments on the product?


AnnMumsnet (MNHQ) Wed 12-Dec-12 14:16:15

Thanks for all the amazing tips - BetsyBlingtastic has been selected as the winner of the PerfectCare Xpress Iron. Well done!

mummyofcutetwo Wed 12-Dec-12 08:03:24

Best ironing tip: don't put off doing the ironing - a growing mountain of clothes just isn't motivating!

Worst ironing disaster: When I was a student I used to make a lot of my own clothes. One day I managed to weld some fabric and wonderweb to the bottom of my mum's new iron. My mum's great - so laid back and forgiving (as she knew it was a genuine accident). I must have spent a small fortune on "solutions" to the problem, none of which were entirely successful. It probably would have been cheaper to just buy a new iron...

WannaSplitAPineapple Wed 12-Dec-12 02:34:29

Worst ironing disaster - when I was young my mum repeatedly told me off for putting a towel on the floor and ironing on that as apposed to getting the ironing board out. As a teenager I completely ignored her. Then one day whilst ironing on the floor I knocked the iron over and burnt a hole in her brand new carpet! I now use the ironing board.

ComradeJing Wed 12-Dec-12 00:32:23

I already own one of these and I love it (though would happily win another for my lovely mum.)

Best ironing tip is to only iron collars and cuffs if you're wearing a jumper over the top of a shirt. <lazy>

Isaidhangonamin Tue 11-Dec-12 21:59:52

Best ironing tip: delicate or awkward to iron clothes can be steamed on the hanger. Make sure you are not holding the hanger (I hang mine on the door frame) and that you steam with An upwards motion rather than down wards.

Worst disaster? Melting my fave jumpsuit when I was about 14 angry

justaweeone Tue 11-Dec-12 18:18:51

Best one-get your husband to iron his own shirts
Worst one- use an ironing board not the carpet!

Best ironing tip - use a good iron, have some trash tv recorded, set up the ironing board and do it while watching the tv. You won't notice how awful it is and the time will pass quicker! I always try and do just a little bit every day - if it mounts up I dread doing it. I also set a time limit - so I iron for an hour and then have a break and make sure I go and have a coffee, then do another hour.

Worst ironing tip - do not buy a nice new iron then decide to try it out on everything you have. If you put it on an expensive new fluffy dressing gown on a hot setting it will make a nice scratchy patch and ruin it!

Caerlaverock Tue 11-Dec-12 17:19:49

How can an iron cost so much? I don't iron anyway, polyester is my friend [spontaneously combusts]

ISawSantaKissingThePortlyPinUp Tue 11-Dec-12 16:42:33

My best ironing tip is to leave a huge pile out whenever you ironing obsessive grandmother comes to visit, it'll be done within minutes, knickers and bras too hmm

Worst ironing tip, wear clothes when ironing, I've burnt myself in tender areas several times when rushing to iron something to wear immediately.
I just let dp iron now.

PinkPepper Tue 11-Dec-12 14:25:28

~ Firstly - what is your general opinion of ironing?

I like having ironed clothes - but not so much the ironing smile
In theory it's great, stick tv on, you can do it any pace, but I never get around to making the time, then stare at piles of clothes / ironing board in the way of everything and it starts to get on my nerves.


Looked good, nice and sreamlined but then I guess most irons are! We had a previous steam phillips one and it looked and felt quite similar.


We always have a ready waiting mountain at the moment so got started on that - did a t-shirt and then some trousers, they really didn't get 'shiny' at all which I was impressed about


Didn't really have to adjust how I ironed, it gets through the water quick so maybe had to fill it couple more times, I was quicker to iron things I may not have before - lighter fabrics and trousers mainly as I wasn't worried about damaging them.

I didn't really change settings that much on my old iron so can't say I noticed a big difference there.

It's quite heavy - this is good in that it's easier to put enough pressure on the clothes, but it might be a bit much for anyone with weaker hands. I liked the lights and that there wasn't much to it - just plug in and go.
It is quite big but our old iron was the same size so storage isn't any harder - I think it'd be hard to get a good iron any smaller. I find it makes a lot of steam and I had to be a bit more careful placing my clothes so I wouldn't burn my fingers - but this is a positive really as shows the

My partner has mostly used it, he's impressed. He chose the original phillips that we had and he likes the auto shut off features and the continuous steam.

Yes - I have discussed it with a couple of people, but they are cautious to spend so much on an iron.

~ How would you rate the value for money?
Quite good - I think a basic iron is fine, and gets the job done. As we already had a good iron (I think it was about £80 new) I think we were accustomed already to the benefits of continuous steam and high power. I think it probably is value for money over time as our old iron has lasted great. But it's a big initial outlay when you can get irons for less than £10

~ Any other comments on the product?
I'm pleased with it - I like just plugging it in, waiting for light to stay on - and getting to the ironing, without checking settings or worrying about sorting my ironing pile. It's made me much more likely to iron the odd item - whereas before I wouldn't turn the iron on unless I had a few things or needed something specific. I even ironed some of the babies things to soften them up!

Littlechangeforthis Tue 11-Dec-12 11:58:59

I have been testing the iron now for the past month.

It isn't Particulary bigger or bulkier than my existing iron, although I wish with the advances in technology someone would design a method for keeping the flex tidy rather than Havibg to wrap it around the iron.

I love the fact that there are no buttons to mess about with, enabling me to iron delicate tops and jeans without having to wait for iron to heat up/cool down

It seems to be taking slightly longer to iron shirts, not sure whether this is due to temperature restriction.

Overall I like it, easy to use, comfortable and nothing burnt so far!

Thanks Phillips and MN

BlastOff Tue 11-Dec-12 00:07:17

Best ironing tip - get someone else to do it.

Worst ironing disaster - wasn't me, but someone I was at Uni with ironed her trousers in a hurry because she was late for an exam... Whilst she was still wearing them...

Worst ironing disaster I recently couldn't be bothered to get the ironing board out blush & ironed something on the bedroom carpet. But it's a cheap acrylic carpet & the iron was too hot so now the whole carpet needs replacing as I've scorched an iron mark into it. My OH was not happy!

Kittycatcat Mon 10-Dec-12 20:32:19

Firstly - what is your general opinion of ironing?
HATE HATE HATE IT. I usually leave it as long as possible and then of course it takes even longer.

I was expecting it to be small but its bigger than my iron because it's a steam generator. My iron is just your basic rubbish as i now know! I like the look of it. It feels unexpectadly heavy. VERY easy to use. Plug it in. Wait for blue light to stop flashing. GO.

I was brave. I went for it. Didnt even sort my ironing first. Hubby's polo shirts have never ironed so well. They looked great. I went from polo shirts to shirts to my more sensitive clothes and it ironed all of them well. I did still feel i wanted to spray the shirts wet again first, but i dont have a tuble drier so my clothes crease alot.

I used to sort my clothes so the 'hot' setting was at the bottom of the pile and the 'cool' setting at the top, no need! Loved not having to faff about. This definately saves time.

Bigger than my previous iron, but feels nicer, glides well. It's heavy. My arm actually ached after the second time i used it on a larger pile. Boy is it thirsty. It got through several 'cups' of water. The second time i used a measuring jug. Think i refilled it once. The second time i noticed water marks on the clothes i was ironing and it wasnt easy to iron them out. And the room got very warm. It steams so much my glasses steamed up. I didnt notice much difference when using the steam boost, opting to wet the clothes instead. It's also incredibly noisy. Hubby commented he couldn't hear the tele! Nor could i tbh. When the water runs low it clunks! A warning light or beep would be nicer.

Nobody else irons

I dont have much to compare it to. I think i would as it made my previous iron look pathetic, and it did what i asked. Sped up the process and made the job more enjoyable.

~ How would you rate the value for money?
Given my hatred for ironing i would never have spent this much. I'd say it's a good iron but maybe a tad overpriced due to the thirst and noise.

~ Any other comments on the product?
Thank you very much for letting me try it out. It's a vast improvement on my last one smile

MayaAngelCool Mon 10-Dec-12 20:22:53

Best ironing tip - M&S do a lovely orchid scented ironing water which leaves your clothes and room smelling so heavenly so that even avoidant ironers like myself are lured to the ironing table...

Worst disaster was an opera singer I heard of, a rather large and droopy-bodied lady who was ironing in the nude. She ended up singeing one of her hooters! Ow!

serendipity1980 Mon 10-Dec-12 19:57:39

I don't mind the actual ironing, I just don't like how much time it takes up. My best tip is to keep on top of the ironing pile, iron little and often as it makes it far less time consuming and challenging. I also love to listen to music while I iron, it gives me some 'me' time. For a 'not to do' try not to iron on carpet, however tempting it is to avoid getting the ironing board out. Our guest room carpet has little patches where I've fused together some of the carpet due to the heat from the iron and it catches on my tights sad

Happy ironing!

Tw1nkle Mon 10-Dec-12 19:07:03

Best ever ironing tip - Try and leave cottons slightly damp for ironing.

Worst ever ironing disaster - We have two! Mine is: feeling the iron with my hand to see if it had warmed up - ouch!!
And my husband - ironing on the floor (don't ask), and making an iron shaped burn mark on the carpet!

HannahLI Mon 10-Dec-12 15:13:05

Worst ironing disaster was husband had new top and I checked the logo and it was all material so i ironed it only to look down and discover that there was a white plastic line thinly across the material logo that had leatched white all over the top and my iron!

WildThongonthesparklytree Mon 10-Dec-12 13:33:56

Best ironing tip - a very light spray with water/starch mix - works for me as my iron doesn't steam very well

Worst ironing disaster - when I was a teenager I tried to get chewing gum off my trousers (some old wives tale of brown paper over the gum and press hard with an iron), I think it was supposed to peel off. Obviously that didn't happen and the brown paper and gum congealed into a permanent minty mess on the trousers - and the iron, in the steam holes and everything. My poor mum scraped at it for ages with a kirby grip but ended up having to buy a new one!

Elfontheshelfiswatchingyou Sun 09-Dec-12 21:46:10

Best ironing tip- pay someone else to do it.

Worst disaster- ironing my Barbie's cycling shorts when I was younger. They literally stuck to the iron. If you're reading this mum, it was me and I'm sorry.

Housemum Sun 09-Dec-12 21:32:14

Best ironing tip - be ready to iron clothes when they are only just dry from tumble dryer or outside, much easier when they are not like cardboard

Ironing disaster - being sad enough to iron socks only to find that the little pretty design bits (ducks on these ones) are more nylon-y and stick to the soleplate - grrr

Poppy0000 Sun 09-Dec-12 19:25:16

When I was young I thought it would be a OK to iron my shirt on the floor (I was too lazy to get the ironing board out). The recently laid bedroom carpet got melted and also got stuck to my shirt and the iron, and to top it all the fuses blew and I shorted all the wiring in the house!!

WitchCrafter Sun 09-Dec-12 00:38:24

best tip- fold bed linen neatly, place on full length of ironing board and iron clothes on top, heat will go through and save electric.

imdreamingofaskyebluechristmas Sun 09-Dec-12 00:29:37

Only iron chiffon under a tea towel or you will ruin your best top :-((

Roseformeplease Sat 08-Dec-12 21:39:11

Best ironing tip. Do it as little as possible and only iron when essential. Worst ironing disaster was not getting to be a tester as I really fancied this test.

Join the discussion

Join the discussion


Register now