New appliances often come with time-saving options—ways to speed up cooking and doing laundry. With irons, the best time saver is plenty of steam. Even the worst irons Consumer Reports tested can remove stubborn wrinkles, eventually. But a hot iron that delivers lots of steam does it faster.

Of the more than three dozen models in our steam iron Ratings, 10 excelled at steaming. The bottom-scoring irons emitted little steam. We also test for ironing quality, which includes noting the temperature consistency, how well an iron removes wrinkles, and how easily the iron glides across fabrics. Our ease-of-use tests find out how easy it is to fill and empty the iron and to see water levels, markings, and more.

When you're shopping, pick up the iron to get a feel for it. Some aren't ideal for large hands, while other irons are heavy. You'll see weight noted in the Features & Specs tab in our steam iron Ratings.

Steam Features

These convenient features are on many of the irons in our tests and noted in the Ratings.

  • Steam surge or burst-of-steam button provides an extra blast of steam to tame tough wrinkles. This feature is especially handy if you often press linen or heavy fabrics such as denim.
  • Steam gauge or adjustable steam lets you adjust the amount of steam or shut it off. Most irons have an anti-drip feature that is meant to prevent leaks when you steam at lower settings.
  • Vertical steaming allows you to use the iron in an upright position to remove wrinkles from hanging garments and to freshen up drapes.
Three steam irons from Consumer Reports tests.
From left: T-Fal FV4495, Panasonic Nl-W950A, and Rowenta Steamforce DW9280.

The Steamiest Irons

These scored excellent in our steaming tests and were very good or excellent in our ironing tests. They appear in descending order based on overall test scores. All have auto shutoff. This safety feature turns off the iron when it's motionless after a bit, sensing that you've forgotten a hot iron is on.

Not-So-Steamy

These irons scored poor in steaming, so they took longer to get the job done, and have low overall scores. The Continental does not have auto shutoff.

For all the details see our steam iron Ratings, and our steam iron buying guide highlights features you'll want to consider.

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