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Text, photos and video by Tom Hintz
Posted–5-24-2018
I have long felt that saving money is always a good thing if it doesn’t cost too much. I had been using our old, bargain steam iron for my work at yesmensew.com but more often than not found myself struggling to get simple wrinkles out of the fabrics I used. When making my own Edging Tape the limitations of that cheapo iron caused me to have impure thoughts about low-buck irons and really big sledge hammers. In lieu of violence I did the next best thing and searched Amazon for an iron with modern day capabilities, like working. I came across the Rowenta Steamforce Iron and life began making sense again.
Soon after getting my shinny (really shinny actually) Rowenta Steamforce Iron I made the next batch of Edging Tape and was able to experience using a real steam iron and how that real-world performance made related tasks in the shop more efficient to the point of being enjoyable. I know, ironing enjoyable? Perhaps it is a temporary thing, but the Rowenta Steamforce Iron sure seems to be on a whole new level than any iron I have seen/used/touched.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron (#DW9280) is modern in every sense of the word. From a sleek exterior to the 1800-watt power and easy to use controls, this German-made iron brings a full load of capabilities to make our work easier and faster. In my case, the Rowenta Steamforce Iron expanded my capabilities in a big way.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron is 11.4”-long by 4.9”-wide and 6”-tall. That size and the 3.85-lbs weight seemed big to me but in use it is surprisingly easy to control, and it is not tiring to use. The only explanation I have for that is the Rowenta Steamforce Iron must be balanced well and ergonomically designed to interact with the human physiology as gently as possible.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron sports a LED screen that relates temperature info along with letting you know when it is up to temperature and ready to go. To protect us while our eyes are glassed over by the Rowenta Steamforce Iron performance they built in a three-way safety sensor that shuts the iron off if it remains on the sole plate or either side more than 30 seconds. It also shuts off when setting on its heel without moving for 8 minutes.
Another water-related feature had me reading it a couple times to be sure I was comprehending correctly. The Rowenta Steamforce Iron advises using tap water! No distilled, bottled (eventually expensive) water. It has a built-in anti-calcium system as well as a self-cleaning system you trigger with the push of a button.
That motion sensor is also used to prevent steam being released when the Rowenta Steamforce Iron is not in motion. That is meant to conserve steam and extend the working time of the maximum 350 ml water tank capacity.
Incidentally, a flip-out panel reveals a built-in funnel of sorts for filling the tank. Not having to use distilled water means we can step over to the faucet, open the fill cover and fill er’ up. It doesn’t get much easier or with less water spilled on a project or other surfaces.
The only knock on the Rowenta Steamforce Iron I have seen with any regularity is that the tank is colored to match the rest of the exterior (nice color also) but it is also reasonably dark. That can make it difficult to see the water level in some lighting conditions. So far, I can’t say it has been a big issue for me even though I have used it in normal interior lighting and under my stupid-bright photographic lighting. I’ve been working on wearing my eyes out for nearly 70 years now and if I can see the water level the rest of the world might want to try a different angle or something.
It’s obvious that the designers of the Rowenta Steamforce Iron considered killing wrinkles to be the primary design feature. To make full use of the impressive 1800-watt power they built in an electronic steam pump and a thumb-operated button that releases an impressive jet of steam. All this steam power can be shut off altogether with a switch on the forward part of the handle area when dry ironing is your choice.
That steam power means up to 30% more steam is driven into the material as compared to mere mortal irons lacking the pump. The sole plate is all stainless steel with a nonstick coating applied to further reduce the effort needed to iron clothes or project material. The sole plate has an internal aluminum central core that makes it heat up more quickly, evens that heat out across the sole plate which helps prevent “hot spots” and the damage they can do before being discovered. With 400 steam holes the Rowenta Steamforce Iron sole plate you get wider, more consistent coverage of that quantity of steam.
Something the Rowenta Steamforce Iron can do that no other iron I can find info on is to steam vertical surfaces like drapes and such. Hold the Rowenta Steamforce Iron close and hit the steam shot button under your thumb. The steam that is released is impressive, and effective.
On the underside of the handle is a trigger that releases a spray of water. Between the power of the Rowenta Steamforce Iron and being able to hit trouble spots
with the water spray there is little in the real world that will not succumb to the Rowenta Steamforce Iron wrinkle eliminating capabilities.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron water tank has an “anti-scale cartridge” that reduces the formation of scale within the tank. This cartridge is built into the tank and lasts for the life of the iron with no user maintenance available.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron has a button on the top of the tank area that starts the Self-Cleaning operation. You must fill the tank, then turn the temperature to the high range, indicated by three dots, and shut off the steam.
When the Rowenta Steamforce Iron reaches that temperature unplug it and go to a sink or other suitable container to catch the water that will be emitted. Push and hold the Self-Clean button for one minute while shaking the Rowenta Steamforce Iron gently. The Rowenta Steamforce Iron will automatically begin making steam and after a short time water will start coming out of the holes in the sole plate. That process flushes dirt and scale from the water tank and internal system. Full instructions on this Self-Clean process are in the manual.
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron is simple to use in part because it functions as expected. My older iron never did do what I expected no matter how long I would wait. The Rowenta Steamforce Iron has plenty of power to tame the toughest wrinkles in the canvas I use for my FlyingRC.net RC Plane Protector Sets. I am sure that part of that is delivering loads of steam through the 400 holes in the sole-plate. Everything seems to work together and that makes it even more effective.
The narrowing nose, called “High Precision” is just a narrow nose but it does fit into places others might not. What I most like about the narrow nose is that it makes starting to iron something like my edging or the seam folds on a pocket or pocket flap much easier. Get that narrow nose started and you can work around the piece quickly.
Speed is something to consider with the Rowenta Steamforce Iron. You simply do not have to wait as long or go as slow with this iron. Between the power and the abundance of steam, wrinkles just do not stand a chance. And you do not have to go over them several times to be rid of them. The Rowenta Steamforce Iron smooths them out and the steam makes them stay that way.
The instructions that come with the Rowenta Steamforce Iron are clearly written and help the new user to get the Rowenta Steamforce Iron working quickly. Part of why the instructions are not more extensive is that the Rowenta Steamforce Iron does a lot of stuff on its own. You dial in the fabric family being worked with which sets the temperature and watch the LED screen for the display to stop flashing indicating the
The Rowenta Steamforce Iron has a street price of $117.29 (5-21-2018) which was surprisingly low to me after reading the list of features and the large number of positive reviews from users. It turns out that buying the Rowenta Steamforce Iron was a good decision as it does everything I can think of in my shop and I have not come close to using all its power.
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