The last 2 Rowenta's I had were crap too! I bought a black and decker on clearance at Target that has held up better than either Rowenta.
Susan in Bama

My only Rowenta was a huge disappointment. I paid about $100 for it. For $150, I got a gravity feed iron. I love it.

I am a lurker, but I have to say that I have had two Rowentas that didn't last more than a year each. My last one was the Rowenta Perfect - cost about $140. I was so irked that I have promised myself that I will not buy that brand again. I too am in search of a great steam iron. I have heard that Berninas are good, but have no idea where one could buy one.

Wow i'm surprised by this post.I have the Rowenta proffessional as does my sister.Neither of us have had any problems.We've both had them over 3 years.Did we just get lucky????
Kathi

Nope! I've had my Rowenta for about 5 years now. I love it. I got really lucky and got mine when Target decided to close them out. I paid $19 for mine. :-)

I haven't had the pleasure of owning a Rowenta yet. I did get a great deal on a Euro-pro 1500 watt however from QVC. It has an extra large sole plate (detachable) with it as well and so far it holds up remarkably with great steam action. There is a built in filter that allows it to use regular tapwater, which I like.

I am searching for a decent iron too, especially one that doesn't have the dreaded "auto-off" feature, which they all seem to have these days. Does anyone know of a brand that doesn't turn itself off? It would be helpful if it isn't really expensive, as DH is on a budget kick.

Please think twice about not getting an iron with the on-off switch. If my iron had not had it I very well could have burned down my home. I was called to the phone, in my haste I left it down with intentions of getting the cordless and coming right back to it. Well, best laid plans almost cost me my home and all my worldly possessions. Just food for thought. I to have a Rowenta and have had for about 10 years. It has been a great iron however just recently the protective plastic around the cord where it goes into the iron,whew-that was a mouthful, has started getting so hot if you barely touchit with your hand, arm it will burn you. Will have to replace it I guess. I paid about 150 for this that long ago and it is still a good iron. My best friend and my daughter both have new Rowenta and dislike them. No reason I can remember.

I also am looking for a good, reasonably priced iron. Be careful depending on the auto-off feature! I had an older Black and Decker that worked well. I got a new Black and Decker "Professional" (they wish!) in April. In June I realized the Auto-off was not working after I had left the iron plugged in for a weekend away and it was still hot when I got home. Now, I never walk away from the iron without unplugging it. Also, this iron spits and sputters terribly even though I have it set in the steam temperature zone, so I now use it dry and spray my clothes--what a pain.

My Rowenta Professional Press does not have the auto-off feature (which I hate--it's so annoying to have an iron shut off while I'm sewing, and it was for that precise reason that I bought it). I like the iron BUT lately the temperature dial has begun to stick. I called Rowenta, and they said it needs to be sent in to their authorized repair place in Timbuktoo (I don't remember the real location, but it was far, far from home). Seems it should be a fairly simple repair one can do oneself, but NOOOOO. Since I don't want to send it off for heaven knows how long, I'm just enduring with it. Anyone else have this problem with the Rowenta? I'd love to have a steam generator instead.

I had a Rowenta, paid $120 for it. It lasted less than a year. Hated it!
Loved my moms old GE steam iron. It got so hot! Irons these days just don't seem to get that hot.
I used my moms for years till it finally gave up. It was an old model from the 50's....black cloth cord.
Was in a thrift store one day and found a brand new one, still in the original box for $5.00.
Best thing I ever bought!! This iron gets HOT!

Just want to mention my great disappointment with a Rowenta, after I had wanted one for years. I used it just over a year (it was under warranty for a year) and it died. It never did heat up enough to do a good job. I have a cheap Proctor-Silex that my husband picked up on sale at Wal-Mart and it has lasted for 4 years and "out works" the Rowenta by far.
Shaymay

Hmm, I was somewhat surprised at the problems everyone has had with the RowentaÂI got mine about five or six years ago at Target and haven't had any problems (I'd have to run upstairs to see which modelÂjust recall it cost an arm and a leg and was the top-end one that Target carried). I agree that a lot of the newer irons don't get hot enough which was why I thought perhaps the Rowenta was the way to go. So far, knock on wood, it works.

Since someone asked about vacuums, as far as vacuums go, I SWEAR by my Dyson. It was very expensive (I got mine online) and you really only need the base model (I got the Full Gear which came with all these extra attachmentsÂask me if I've used them, NOT!). I tell you, this was the BEST investment I've ever made. I had the Hoover WindTunnel (which they advertise as better than the Dyson, ha!) and that thing was okay but didn't suck up all the stuff that the Dyson does (thread, dog hair, dirt that's been ground into the carpetÂ). My mom was over one day when I was vacuuming, saw what the Dyson did, and promptly went out and got one. Let me tell you HER story.

Mom is a neatnik. Plain and simple. Even when she sews, she's a neatnik afterwards (drives me nutsÂI don't mind having thread all overÂmom will vacuum it up). Anyway, she got her Dyson three days after she'd already vacuumed and decided she'd try it out. Uh oh. Stepdad calls me to tell me mom is still vacuuming the SAME ROOM (has been vacuuming it for two days) because the Dyson is STILL picking up stuff out of the carpet! Mom was so appalledÂsaid, "I am a clean person! I just vacuumed! I can't believe this vacuum is still getting stuff out of the carpet!" :P The old vacuum went right into the dump (with lots of snarling, I'm sure). Now, everytime mom vacuums, she says she sees my faceÂ

Now, others may complain about the Dyson but I will still swear that it is the BEST! :) And, don't ask my momÂshe will talk your ear off about itÂ(I think it took her two weeks of vacuuming straight before she felt her house was 'clean.')

I have been sewing for money for twenty years. i think I went through four Rowentas each lasting no more than two years each, I gave up and bought a Pacific gravity feed. It is not something you can "put away" so it stays up all the time. I am happy with it's service.
Good luck with finding an iron.Aline

I have the Rowenta and like it except that when you leave it plugged it and then go to iron it leaks water, just burst the steam first. I am hoping that my DH will let me get the one that has the steam tank separate from the iron when this one wears out, I have had it for over three years.

Sweepers, a friend at church sold me a Hyla, it uses water as a bag. It does a good job, but I like the sound of the Dysan. The man have me a discount on the Hyla and it was still $600 and like the Rainbow before it, I hate sweeping the house and then having to empty it and clean it just to go and do it the next day. On the Dysan, is there alot of dust that blows around when you empty it? My DD has allergies and that is why I use the water sweepers. I did see one in the Penny's catalog for alot less than I paid for mine.

Oh, as for a sewing room and threads, I just use an old broom and sweep up the threads and then use the sweeper. I have changed the carpet in the sewing room before and found sewing needles in the carpet. Yuck!

Guess I have been just lucky too. I love my Rowenta...it is heavy but not too heavy...gets very hot....Love the burst of steam...it cleans itself and never gets clogged. I was wondering if I would be disappointed that it didn't have the teflon bottom, but in six years it has never been a problem and I iron a lot. Have some of you used distilled water by chance? You aren't supposed to. You must use regular tap water. Oh well...for once I got lucky.

Saw a Laura Star Iron system at the Home Improvement Show here in Atlanta. Would love to have one of those babies but at $800.00 I had to pass. Great demonstration tho. Maybe next year.

I tried black and decker and the sputtering scalded me, then I tried rowentas, which are wonderful but any steam iron is going to rust out eventually unless you empty it of water after each use... something I was not willing to do.

I didn't get the pleasure of ironing until I got the Rowenta steam generator- the water stays in the steam tank not the iron. Now THAT is a heavenly machine. light and powerful.

What I reallyy want next is a small table press for interfacings.

Has anyone had a Rowenta where the temperature dial sticks? That's what mine is doing, and it's really irritating. I called the company hoping for a do-it-yourself fix, but they said it had to be sent in for repair. I'm not sure it's worth sending it in, altho it's the Professional one that costs plenty! If anyone knows how to fix it, I'd really appreciate it.

I too have a professional Rowenta (about two years old) and I am having trouble with the burst of steam button. I guess I wore it out. I don't think it gets as hot as the old fashioned ones either. I used to hear the steam coming from it as I ironed but not any more. I was debating if it is worth having fixed. There is a store near us that fixes small appliances. When I got this thing, paid about $120 for it, I thought it would be my last. I go through irons and vacuum cleaners like crazy. Guess I was wrong.

I never buy an expensive iron anymore. I buy something that has auto on/off, teflon plate and lots of steam. When it breaks or if I drop it, I don't cry, just toss it. The last one I bought was a cheap Black n Decker and it has worked great for about two years. By the way, check out Consumer Reports if you do decide to buy another expensive iron.

I have had my Rowenta Professional Press for 4 years.The first time I used it I set it on steam (Cotton/linen) like you would on any other Iron and set out to iron my DH dress work shirts. That setting was way too hot and I melted a sleeve (trash one NEW work shirt).It works and steams just as well on a lower setting. Last year I had to find the book to it to see why it was spitting and sputtering, it said to use tap or Spring water, I had been using tap,switched to spring water and no longer have any problems.I really love this iron. I also have a Euro pro Shark. It's small 7 1/2"h x 3 "w, very light weight, has steam and has a longer than usual cord. Works great for pressing seams open on small pieces.Would still like to have a Rowenta Steam Generator.

I got a Laura Star about 8 months ago and I love it! I had seen it for two years at the home show, so fianlly I started looking on the internet, and found one that had been a model at a small sewing center/store. It was sold at a considerable discount. I have ironed hours at a time--I got so I began ironing everything, just to use it...sheets, socks, etc. It has the vacuum/blower ironing board. Since we wash and hang dry all clothing, it is well worth it, (instead of drycleaning bills)

I'm glad I read this thread. I'm just starting to sew and had been wondering whether I needed a better iron. But now I've decided to just stick with the ancient Proctor Silex I've been using. I can spend the money on other things.

I'm one of those people who buy things and cling to them for way too long. Until recently, I made do with a ten-dollar model of Black and Decker, purchased more than ten years ago at a discount store. No auto-shutoff feature, which forced me once to leave a business meeting because of a nagging voice that said I had forgotten to unplug it. The short cord didn't quite allow me to use the entire length of the ironing board. It made steam, but not much of it, and it water spotted everything it could. Dear MIL pitied me when she saw it.

All that time I was I was pining for a Rowenta iron: European slickness, and all. On the advice of Consumer Reports, I bought a Black and Decker Digital Advantage model for half of the price of a Rowenta. I'm happy as a clam with it: it steams like nobody's business, it doesn't waterspot, it heats up quickly, it beeps when it's ready, it has a self-clean cycle and an auto-off feature. The cord is good three feet longer than on the last iron, and it is mounted on a swivel, so no matter how I position the iron, the cord is never in the way. The temperature settings seem maybe a bit low, but ample steam supply corrects any wrinkle removal problems that I have encountered so far.

By the way, CR rates Rowentas pretty low on reliability. It's pretty sad, considering how much they cost.

Kasia

When I googled irons it said the averege iron lasted about 3 years. So I just replaced my Rowenta of 6 years with a $8.99 model from the hardware store. My new iron works fine for me. I don't require much just heat and steam.

I have purchased 2 Rowenata and have been disapointed with both of them. My Mon got one of the new Maytags and loves it so far.