I have a terrible secret to admit.
There was a period of time when I started getting lazy with my laundry. I knew I had a good iron and ironing board, and didn’t have a problem ironing my clothes, and so I would sometimes be lazy and leave the load in the dryer knowing it would get wrinkled, and I would iron it all later.
What’s the difference, I would rationalize – if I have to iron 5 shirts already, why not do 10 or 15?
I know, it’s shocking. It’s my terrible dark secret, and not in the best interest of taking care of your clothes.
While I hope you can’t relate to my particular brand of procrastination, I think you can probably relate to being faced with a large pile of very wrinkled clothes, regardless of where they came from.
You need steam. And a lot of it.
The Rowenta DW9280 is a powerful iron that rides its reputation on generating lots and lots of steam. In this article we will take a closer look at what makes this steam iron one of the best values for the money.
German Engineering
Rowenta is a German-based brand that has dominated a corner of the laundry market with its line of world renowned steam irons, each suited for a grouping of particular niches.
At first glance it can seem difficult to penetrate through all the different model numbers, colors, and features. Determining which Rowenta iron is best and which one is best for your particular needs can be quite a feat.
The 9280 is one of the most powerful steam irons on the market – it comes with both additional watts than other irons as well as steam pump technology to get more power out of its size.
Because of this additional power, the Rowenta DW9280 can be considered one of the best values for the money. The next nearest price iron that would be similar in quality would easily be in the five to six hundred dollar range, while the DW9280 can be bought for less than one hundred dollars.
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400 Hole Soleplate
Rowenta irons live or die by the quality of their soleplate, the piece that comes into contact with the garment the most. A bad soleplate can easily leave scorch marks or stains on your clothes, and can easily get scratched to the point where it becomes a fight to get the wrinkles out.
The DW9280 comes with a 400 hole soleplate, which is in line with the other irons from this brand. The 400 hole soleplate gives perfect steam distribution and aides greatly in glidability. You can easily move the iron across the garment and the entire surface of the soleplate can help pass the steam to the fabric.
More basic irons tend to have less than one hundred holes in a much smaller distribution, making the user work harder to cover the garment properly. The stainless steel is very durable and scratch resistance, and the angled precision tip gives you additional control in sharp corners like collars and shoulders.
Pump Injection Technology
Although other Rowenta irons share the number of holes in the soleplate, what sets the DW9280 apart from its brethren is the pump injection technology, which adds 30% more steam power than comparable units.
Other irons often use the power of the steam itself as the propelling force between the iron and the wrinkle. Pressing the steam buttons will open the valves that allow the steam to escape from its chamber
The DW9280’s injection technology, however, adds a pump to this process. Rather than relying on the power of the steam, the pump gives the 30% additional force to the steam.
The extreme steam burst feature outputs 210 grams per minute of steam. Wrinkles are simply no match for that level of steam power.
Here’s a video review from TopAmazon:
Specifications
- Dimensions: 11.4 x 4.9 x 6 inches
- Item weight: 3.85 pounds, shipping weight: 4.3 pounds
- 1800 watt
- 10.8 oz water tank
- 400 hole soleplate
- 210 g/min burst of steam
- Good for these fabrics: linen, cotton, wool, silk, nylon
- LCD display shows temperature readiness by fabric type
- Auto shut off at 30 seconds horizontal or tipped over, or 8 minutes left upright and unused
- Works with tap water
- Integrated anti-calcium system and self-cleaning system keeps its lasting for a long time
What’s the Difference Between The Rowenta DW9280 and the Rowenta DW8080?
The Rowenta DW9280 and DW8080 are very similar models of steam iron. The DW8080 has many of the same features, such as the 400-hole soleplate and auto shut off system, but is slightly less expensive. The DW8080 has 1700 watts of power that generates 150 g/min of steam burst, while the DW9280 has 1800 watts of power and generates 220 g/min. The DW9280 also includes the digital temperature display.
Pros
The Rowenta DW9280 has awesome steam power. Many online reviewers bring up how surprising the amount of steam is, and how quickly it helps smooth out fabrics.
Although this unit is heavier than other similar products, the stainless steel soleplate and steam pump technology make it very easy to destroy wrinkles on clothes, often in just one pass, with no leaks or scorching of your garments.
In addition to using the extra wattage to power the steam pump, this unit also has a smart electronic system which stops steam when the iron is not moving, conserving both water and electricity.
Cons
On the flipside of what I mentioned above, the topic of steam comes up often in some of the negative reviews. It can and does put out a lot of steam, and if space is at a premium in your particular ironing area, I can see where the amount of steam may make you wish you were ironing outside instead.
The other common ding against this iron is that it is hard to see the water level. The water tank has a particular coloration and texture to it that is similar to the exterior color of the iron, tricking the eye and often requiring people to hold it up to a light source in a certain way to determine the water level.
Amusingly, this becomes a bit of a controversial topic in the reviews, with some reviewers utterly perplexed by the challenges of other reviewers in seeing the water level, and yet more reviewers recommending letting the lack of steam tell you the tank is empty.
Customers Views
The Rowenta DW9280 has a lot of positive reviews out there, many of which are very effusive of its many features. However, it also has a lot more negative reviews than other similar products – almost 20% are one star reviews. Why is that?
First, the good. Around 50% of the reviews currently are five star reviews. The Rowenta brand is well known and many of the reviewers are impressed by the design. These irons are known for the care and quality of the engineering and this one continues to carry on that tradition.
Another common theme is the best value for the money. The additional wattage and steam pump technology give this iron a leg up on its competitors, however the challenging water tank and standard soleplate configuration keep it from reaching the same high price point of the next tier up of irons.
The negative reviews didn’t all have a single common theme. Several reviewers reported that the finger clearance when holding the iron is very low, and that oftentimes their knuckles would scrape the temperature wheel, inadvertently adjusting the temperature away from what was dialed in.
Some of the other negative reviews tend to fall into the realm of “your mileage may vary”. This iron is heavier than other irons, for example, which can be a surprise and detriment to some. Additionally, the 400 hole soleplate can make it very easy to go through lots of water, but that all depends a bit on the amount of laundry you are attempting at any given time. So keep some of these factors in mind as you look at adding this iron to your laundry setup.
Conclusion
Outclassing its nearest competitors, but not quite achieving the heights of more expensive steam irons, whether or not you will like the Rowenta DW9280 really boils down to one question:
Do you want steam?
If your laundry process can be turbo charged by adding more steam and more steam power to get rid of hard to reach wrinkles with a minimum of frustration, this iron is for you. If you have a lot of wrinkles to get out across a variety of fabrics and you don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it, this iron is for you. If you want an iron that is the best value for the money, then this iron is for you.
