Customer Reviews

Home Touch PS-200 Perfect Steam Commercial Garment Steamer

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

(Updating my review after 6 mos of use.) I've found the Homemedics PS-200 "Perfect Steam" has been fine for all types of clothing. This is the smallest, value-priced model, so I wouldn't expect it have enough steam for thick upholstery or to press creases and folds (It's upright. Commercial steamers don't do this either without a flat surface! They're for removing wrinkles- not pressing clothes.) I bought it to use instead of a steam iron- and for the same price, it's faster and easier. It has worked for denim jeans, suits, blankets, wrinkled khakis and dress shirts. Read the manual for tips- it helps to have the pole all the way up. When the hose starts to gurgle, water is condensing in the hose. Just hold the hose straight up and let the water drip back into the tank. The manual says this is normal and the condensation does not affect the steam. I find it's ready in 15 seconds! Also, steam runs consistently when the clothing is hung higher than the pole- meaning I have to hang clothing from the top of a door frame or shower rod. The hose is long enough to reach but I wish the pole could have been made to extend a foot taller. I'm sure the reason it's not longer is that it would have made the unit too unstable (tip over more easily with added height) - it's a very lightweight unit with a small base. It's small enough to fit inside my tiny closet. Distilled water is a must in Colorado. The water does need to be emptied out after each use or else mildew/mold will form. You may have to lift and tip the unit over a sink and shake the hose to completely empty. I was expecting much less for the price and was pleasantly surprised.

I had the same problem with the steam petering out. What is happening is that there is buildup of minerals in the pipes and it eventually clogs. The way to fix this is to take off the hose and the reservoir and put vinegar in where the hose was and where the reservoir was. Let it sit. Then take a turkey baster bulb and put it over the opening for the hose and flush. AFter a little work it will finally free up and you are good for another 8 mos. If you used distilled water it wouldn't do this but that is ridiculous.

As for the how breaking....mine did that after about 2 years. The plastic simply fatigues. I called homedics and they said they will send me out a new one free immediately.

The above sounds like a hassle... but this steamer beats the pants off the Conair and the Shark and..it sounds like it beats the rowenta.

The only thing I don't like is that the pole could be longer.

My sister and I each received one of these steamers as a gift for Christmas, 2003. In a now familiar chorus, after nearly a year of use, hers started tripping the reset button every time she used it, and just today, the hose snapped off of mine, just like reviewer G. Williams.
I loved this little steamer, and probably used it an average of 4 days out of the week. I never had a problem with the performance until now...and the broken hose is a big one! How ironic that just today, I was bragging to someone about what a good little machine it was. Famous last words.

update: 5/05...i went on the homedics website to send an email about the hose. there was no product category for the steamer, so i just picked one of the other products and wrote about the steamer anyway, asking how to buy a new hose. after about 3 weeks, i got a reply from their CS who said they would just send me a new hose...free! it came about 3 weeks later...during which time they had gotten mixed up and sent me an additional brush, and even called my home and left a message about the mix-up and apologised profusely. I was really pleased with the way this was handled.
So, now my steamer is back in business, and I am once more wrinkle free...at least from the neck down.

The garment steamer was easy to assemble and begin using. The user manual is adequate -- we'd recommend special attention to the need to hold the hose up high frequently to drain any condensation back to the reservoir -- to avoid sputtering on the garment. Because it does exactly what we expected it to do, we rate it at 5 stars -- a very nice applicance for a reasonable price.

I read an article about steamers, and decided to try this one because it has all the features suggested for a good steamer, and at about 1/4 the price of commercial grade ones. It does a nice job, so far, I have to say i am very pleased. I think if you take care of it, by emptying out the water container and small amount of water left in the bottom of the machine between uses, as the instructions suggest, this little steamer should be fine for household use. I like to freshen things up between dry cleanings and it really does the trick and saves lots of time.

The Home Touch (Homedics) Perfect Steam definitely beats ironing. This product is a replacement for the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer product from HSN that I received as a gift, with which I had nothing but unpleasant experiences.

The Home Touch heats up very quickly, and I'm able to steam a week's worth of dress shirts and pants within a half-hour.

Some slight annoyances:
- The garment hanger needs to be taller, especially for us people who are 6' tall and more. And it can be a little sturdier.

- Maybe I'm missing something, but the wheels should be able to lock. My unit will sometimes roll around while I'm steaming.

- I can't see the error/warning light while steaming. It would be helpful on the top of the unit instead of hidden away on the side.

- You may need to experiment with the type of water you use. I found that my tap water would cause the error light to come on. I'm now using distilled water, which seems to do the trick, but am next going to try my hand at filtered water.

All in all, this is a solid product. I recommend it.

I too have experienced the water tank caving in and not working properly if you forget to take the water tank out of the steamer unit, and mind you, you must also remove the cap from the water reservoir even after you remove it from the steamer. I have tried putting hot water in the tank in an attempt to regain its original shape to no avail. I would not recommend buying this steamer for this reason.

The steamer is nice, it does get clogged often even with distilled water...you have to use distilled water in it. It is difficult to make creases with it but it does help with wrinkles in skirts and sweaters. After using it a few times I would still buy it again.

I don't typically review products but in this instance I had to. When I first received this product I was ecstatic. The concept was simple and the implementation was effective with a low price to let anyone indulge. I've used this for about 6 months and was happy enough to buy 3 more to distribute them as gifts. Lots of people surprisingly don't have one. The price point was competitive and the flaws at first were minimal.

Until mine broke... first let me say that the steam comes out quite quickly. It's relatively consistent and doesn't sputter too much (unless you tilt the hose forward). When you use it, take the brush off... The stiff nylon brush seems more likely to snag delicate fabric than iron out wrinkles. I haven't used any other comparable product so I have no basis for comparison. I thought I was getting a bargain with others costing 50-100% more. With that I still expected a quality product. Boy, was I disappointed. Taking it out of the box I found the design to be awkward. The water tank seems unnecessarily complicated and a bit undersized. When hanging something heavy, the unit just doesn't feel that stable. I've used distilled water only and even doing so, after a few weeks, leaves the water cloudy and bacteria-ridden - not a pleasant sight. The part that connects water tank to the unit is very unique and complicated with small parts - 5-6 to be exact including 2 valve/seals and a delicate spring. Just for a connector!? With that part breaking alone and you might just have to throw the unit away.

The garment pole uses really thin/cheap tubular steel - almost like an aluminum pop can. The 3 segments are secured together with 2 flimsy plstic holders similar to how a collapsable camera tripod stand works. Well, that's the part that broke. After not using it for a while I discovered the unit was 1/3 shorter one day. The plastic "hinge" snapped. The hose that rests on the pole sat 1/3 shorter and was permanently crimped after only 2 days of discovering the flaw. I suppose it's still useable but I haven't used it much in the first place! I don't abuse it or move it around. Warranty seems pretty useless too since I emailed them and they told me to return the unit along with $5 "handling fee" for a replacement. It may be free shipping from Amazon but for me to mail the unit back and pay another $5, I might as well have bought a better brand with a superior design. This one flaw broke, but I can see lots of other parts breaking too.

In summary:
The plastic hinges to secure the 3 sections of the pole vertical are too flimsy.
The pole is made of thin metal that could break easily.
The hose crimps easily.
The nylon brush will snag delicate fabric.
The brush will sputter if tilted even slightly forward giving your fabric wet spots.
The valve is unnecessarily complicated and delicate.
The drain plug is a plastic screw.
The unit seems to be able to clog easily even if you use distilled water out of the box.
The unit is not bottom heavy enough.
The unit is not tall enough.
The customer service is substandard.

I guess you can't expect much for $50. I just hope my friends have had better luck than me with this unit.

I think this is an okay product. I have two problems with it. First the rollers on the bottom do not have locks on them. When I barely touch the steamer it wants to move on me. Second the bottom is not heavey enough, when I start to steam a shirt from the inside the steamer wants to tip over.