I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ironing clothes does not have to be the most boring and frustrating part of doing your laundry.
I certainly get it – there’s just something about human nature that makes it difficult to drum up a bunch of excitement when you have a stack of shirts and pants in front of you that need to be ironed.
And to say nothing of when things go wrong – we all know how frustrating it is to finish cleaning a shirt and then you end up inadvertently getting some crease wrinkles right across the front from the steam iron.
I recently changed my mindset about doing all this laundry, and it totally changed everything about how I iron clothes. The difference between you and me and a professional dry cleaner or house cleaner is the equipment used. They are able to produce better work because they have better equipment.
You get high quality results by using high quality products.
You know how to iron clothes, so why not set yourself up for success by getting some high quality equipment, that will allow you to iron your clothes easily, efficiently, and quickly.
There’s one problem with that though: which steam iron is the best? A quick glance at the options available is all you need to do see that Rowenta is one of the top steam iron brands. Rowenta is known for combining power, precision, and performance to please their customers using their world-famous German steam iron engineering.
When I think of a quality steam iron, the first thing that comes to mind is the Rowenta DW5080. Rowenta’s approach to quality means good things for those of us powering through our stack of shirts. The Rowenta DW5080 is a steam iron that comes packed with professional-level features at an affordable price making it perfect for quality home use.
Microsteam 400 Hole Stainless Steel Soleplate
Steam irons live or die by the quality of their soleplate. The stainless steel soleplate of the Rowenta DW5080 is made for durability and performance. It includes 400 steam holes, which allow a high efficiency when moving it across the garment.
This even distribution of steam also allows the iron to work on a variety of garments and fabric types. You can expect smooth gliding no matter the fabric, giving you a perfect pass on all your clothes – no catching or clumping.
For dresses, slacks, curtains or other ultra-delicate fabrics, the DW5080’s high-performance soleplate allows it to do vertical ironing. No more having to struggle with flattening the garment against an ironing board. You can bring the iron to the garment with the DW5080.
The precision tip at the top of the soleplate gives the unit a very appealing modern look, and also enables you to get into very hard to reach areas such as under collars, around buttons, and seams.
Ergonomics
The folks at Rowenta know that you’ll often be holding their iron for an extended period of time, and as a result they’ve put a great focus and emphasis on ergonomics, making it easier than ever for your hand to not only hold the iron but easily glide it across your clothes.
When you’ve got a really stubborn crease or challenging wrinkle, it’s incredibly easy to toggle your thumb over to the steam blast control buttons (we’ll be talking about those later) to deliver a concentrated blast at the troublemaker.
When it comes time to switch from one garment type to the other, the temperature control wheel can easily be reached with the flick of a fingertip.
Self-Cleaning Systems
Another way the DW5080 is built to last is that it comes with a variety of built-in cleaning systems that ensure a long life to the device as well as your clothes.
What kind of water should I use in my Rowenta iron?
The Rowenta DW5080 is optimized to have it’s 10 oz water tank filled with tap water, rather than distilled water. The DW5080’s anti-calcium system is meant to remove minerals and deposits from the water as it leaves the water tank, which prevents build-ups and blockages and keeps the steam hitting your clothes as clean as possible.
Can the Rowenta iron work at a lower temperature?
A stray drop of water can quickly spread across fabric, causing major headaches. The anti-drip system of the DW5080 helps protect your delicate garments by enabling you to iron at lower temperatures without spilling water or generating leaks onto the fabric.
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Features and Specifications
- 10 oz water tank
- 100/gram a minute steam shot on demand
- 400 steam holes
- 1700 watts of power
- Dimensions: 11 x 5 x 6
- Auto shut off if left unattended for 30 seconds face down/ on side or 8 minutes upright
- Precision tip gets tight places like under collars or around buttons
- Anti drip system keeps stains off of delicate garments, preventing leaking and seeping of water when the iron is on a low temperature setting
- 3.4 lbs – lightweight and easy to hold for longer periods
- Designed for use with tap water
- Anti-calcium system helps prevent impurities and build ups by flushing out loose mineral deposits, to keep steam clean
- Made in Germany – a mark of quality for many people who appreciate the quality of engineering
- Even temperature regulation comes from the thick aluminum core that ensures heat does not build up on some spots of the soleplate.
Pros
- The DW5080 has several on-board safety features, including an auto shut-off system. This unit will power down if left unattended after 30 seconds either on its side or on its faceplace, and after 8 minutes if it’s left unattended in its normal resting position. You can be confident that the iron will safely turn itself off. However, if you’re quilting, sewing, or working on some other type of project where you will need to return to the iron, you can be sure that it won’t shut off too soon to the point of annoyance.
- A consistent theme in the online reviews is that people are impressed by how quickly the iron powers up. This alone can save you loads of time when you’re cranking through a lot of laundry. When you want to iron clothes, you want to power up the iron and go! The DW5080 allows you to hit the ground running.
- From the precision tip to the ergonomic handle/button placement and the 400 hole soleplate, it’s clear that the company cares about ease of use, and the online feedback agrees that the effort has paid off. Many people report being very pleased with how easy the DW5080 is to use, amongst a variety of different types of fabrics.
Cons
- With all the focus on ergonomics and how you hold the iron, I’d like to see a more textured grip on the underside of the hold in order to reduce friction. It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I can see potentially getting a blister on your finger from this thing.
- Despite the anti-drip system (which mainly is meant for low temperature settings), it seems the largest complaint online is from irons leaking water onto their clothes. The DW5080 does have a 10 oz. water tank, so I suspect that is at least some of these cases, the user overfilled the tank, whether by a little or by a lot. You’ll want to read through some of the specific reviews to keep a feel as to whether you agree with me, or if some potential drips or leaks might be a factor in your buying decision.
- Some folks may be a little put off by the tap water. Despite the anti-calcium system that cleanses the tap water, I can understand why you may want to use distilled water on your clothes exclusively and why you may not want to use tap water.
What are Customers Saying
As mentioned, a lot of online reviews comment on how quickly this steam iron heats up, allowing them to quickly start their ironing. Another area that receives a lot of praise is the ease of use, particularly commenting on the iron’s ability to glide easily across a variety of fabrics while maintaining an effective level of steam. In addition there are several comments complimenting the quality of the German engineering.
The criticisms in the online reviews lean toward the occasional leak. A few reviewers comment on receiving a non-working unit or one that quickly started having problems. Those reviewers however do compliment the speed with which they were able to receive a replacement unit.
The Verdict
Like I said at the top, when you use want high quality results, use high quality products.
Whether it’s ergonomic design built for precision and efficiency, or the large water tank and anti-calcium system to filter tap water, or the 400 hole soleplate that evenly distributes the steam across the entire place surface to quickly tackle wrinkles, the Rowenta DW5080 Focus Micro Steam Iron is a high quality iron.
If the thought of the stack of wrinkly shirts still gives you a slight amount of panic, up your game and swap your steam iron for the Rowenta DW5080, and watch the cares fade away as your arm takes on a mind of its own and in a cloud of steam, finishes all your ironing.
