Rowenta Ultra Professional

D

DancesWithKnives

Joined
Apr 21, 2001
Messages
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After ten years of casual bliss as an independent contractor, I got a J-O-B and had to buy some expensive cotton shirts for the office. I didn't want the laundries tearing them up, so I figured I'd have to iron them myself. I called my most domestically inclined ex-girlfriend and asked for a recommendation on a steam iron. She knows I'm a gadget aficianado and would rather have a few top-quality items than a lot of common stuff.

If you're into gear and you have to do some ironing, you need a Rowenta Ultra Professional. This thing could steam a salmon. Even without pressing the steam button, it was fogging up my glasses. No drips at all. Automatic shutoff for absent-minded bachelors.

They retail for about $130 locally but can be had for around $100 on sale. There are models regularly priced as low as $60.
 
She totally swears by it. She actually enjoys ironing with it, although she doesn't have to do it that often anymore. I figured out years ago that the time spent ironing is less time for her to relax. If she gets to relax a bit more on the weekend (she works full time too) then she's more pleasant to be around. I also figured out that if I sent my dress shirts and pants (work clothes for me) out to the cleaner, I can bitch if I don't like the way they're done, and it doesn't cost me marital joys. I also found that there's no spray starch we've found that gives the same effect as a good medium starch from the cleaners. The spray starches seem to cause a sort of snowflake thing to happen on the clothes when you apply enough to get a good crease.

If money got real tight again, I'd give up sending the work clothes out, but for now I prefer to do that.

AS for the Rowenta, they do seem to be a superior tool. I travel a bit for business and therefore have to touch up some clothes occasionally with the hotel iron and board. On the few occasions I've had to use our setup at home, the improvement is immediately obvious. If you can't afford or don't want to send your clothes out, at least treat yourself to a decent ironing board as it greatly helps the Rowenta to work better. The basic $29.00 boards suck. We got a nice one for about $60.00 that seems way more rigid and doesn't come to a point like most do (it's like a truncated point), the broader front seems to make it easier to do dress shirts.

If you're looking for a deal, I just saw that Tuesday Morning had a killer deal on a Rowenta for $39.95 this week. They're a killer liquidator of higher end household furnishings so their inventory tends to change. See if there's a location near you at www.tuesdaymorning.com . It's not the $135.00 model you got but it's an $80.00 - $90.00 model and a hell of a deal at $39.00.

They also currently hav ea deal on Sabatier Grand Chef's kitchen knives (right there with Henckels and Whustoff's best stuff) at about 65% off.

jmx
 
Thanks a lot for the tip! One of my friends was recently divorced and would like to have an iron available for touch ups, but doesn't want to drop $100 on the Ultra Pro. [He's the kind of guy who has only one fixed blade knife (that I got for him 15 years ago) and no folders. Obviously not a Gearhead!]
 
Does the Ultra Pro have a coated or bare stainless steel plate? My wife and I use a Rowenta Powerglide 2. Awesome iron albeit a pain to maintain because the plate is bare stainless steel. We have to use the cleaning kit on it every so often.
 
The Ultra Pro has a stainless plate. I haven't used it enough to know what the cleaning requirements will be. However, one tip in the manual is to spray any starch you are using on the opposite side of the fabric. I guess it's easier to clean the ironing board cover than the iron.
 
Not that I make a habit of inspecting irons, but I travel enough that I see different ones in hotel rooms. There's no Rowentas there, but I've seen a few of tehm at different stores and the stainless surface is supposed to be a feature because it doesn't deteriorate like a non-stick surface which will degrade over time from the same cleaning that you have to do, just like a your Rowenta.

jmx
 
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