Customer Reviews

Rowenta DX-8800 1750-Watt Professional Iron

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

The Professional label on this product is a big misnomer.

Ask frequent sewers and quilters what they hated the most about the last iron they replaced and they will almost invariably refer to leaking and the auto-shutoff feature if present. Typically, they press seams as a batch and go back to sewing... only to return to a iron that has shut off and requires a reheating cycle.

The auto-shutoff on this model makes it poorly suited for the sewing room where the 'professional' label should apply.

This (and other) Rowenta iron produces good steam and can burst steam to a certain extent. However, usually between 6 months and 1.5 yrs, Rowentas begin to drip. The valve design just doesn't hold up to water hardness that long. Failure number two.

For garment sewers and quilters, a professional system with a separate water boiler (tank) works far better:
* won't shut off on you
* since the iron doesn't make the steam (the boiler does), the sole doesn't have the 'hot spot' where household irons drip the water to make steam, which tends to scorch fabrics
* true professional models have a thicker sole which will maintain a more even temperature (still without the hot spot)

I teach sewing classes (garment, home dec, totes, etc.) and have completely walked away from household iron designs like this one. You will not see this type of iron in a commercial workshop. Noone there would have the time to wait for the iron to get hot again every time you've been away from it.

This iron is a better than average housesold model, designed for 'ironing' your laundry and not for pressing in a sewing room.

For general ironing duty (like laundry), check out the T-Fal 1759 Ultraglide Diffusion Iron for about half the price. My t-fal irons (i've had 2) have outlasted my Rowenta iron, with just as good a performance and with the advantage of the ultraglide sole, a ceramic-like sole coating that does not scratch, even over metal zippers (the stainless steal sole on the rowenta WILL scratch over metal zipper)

Rating this (and similar) Rowenta as a conventional household iron:
Performance 5
Durability 3 (before it begins dripping)

As a sewing room iron: 2

Overall Rating: 2 (because they label the product as professional, where it fails to the task)

P.S.: for any household iron, be sure to empty the water tank after use to prolong the life of your iron. Leaving water in the tank leads to premature wear of valves and seals.

I have to admit before buying this iron I had the same old clanking cheesy iron I had used for 10 years ...that is when I used it. I usually just rewashed something rather than dragging that awful iron out....

It felt odd buying such an expensive iron (and I paid $10 more than amazon is charging) when I wasnt sure I would use it but I knew there had to be a better way... I have had it for six months and have had no mechanical issues. I see there are reviews with some various issues - I guess every single mechanical item has some individual lemons that come off the line ...it happens. Also unhappy customers are much more likely to voice their opinions that satisfied ones...

First let me say that yes, its heavier than cheaper irons but I think this actually helps 'press' out the wrinkles and pushing it back and forth isnt an issue for me with the weight - and I am not bench pressing it. However, if you need a light iron because you have minimal hand strength this wouldnt be a good choice. It holds a boat-load of water so you aren't filling it all the time. I just LOVE that. You can vary the steam and there is an auto-clean feature using the steam. The iron is also meant to use tap water, not anything special...

I have to say I iron now - and unlike my last iron where I would have to make pass after pass to get out a wrinkle, with this iron usually one pass is enough on regular weight clothes so ironing is actually quicker.

Rowenta is a very good quality name and a long standing company known for great irons... will every single iron come off the assembly line absolute perfection? probably not but I feel sure it is the individual iron and not the whole line because I think this has been a trouble free and great iron.

This is my third Rowenta iron and each one is more improved than the last. What I love about the DX-8800 is the larger water tank and the weight of the iron. I use steam a lot and hardly have to fill up the tank. The heaviness of it makes ironing easier. I also like that it has a strong burst of steam and the vertical steam option. The cost of it is higher than most, but I feel is well worth it. I hope to use it for many years to come. I would strongly recommend this iron to anyone.

Despite it claiming an "Anti-Drip system", this iron leaks like crazy even at the highest temperature. Tried everything I could: adjusting the steam and temperature but it continued to leak. It's also quite heavy which may make for better pressing but also makes it harder to use.

I'm returning after trying it for a couple of hours' ironing.

On the plus side, its large water tank is a nice feature.

I have always hated ironing; I'm just not very good at it. With the high costs of our dry cleaning bills, I decided to buy a good iron and try again. My mother recommended this iron and she was right...it works great!! My husband's shirts (with the addition of heavy starch) look like they have been to the cleaners. The iron has paid for itself in two weeks. It produces variable amounts of steam and is heavy enough to press out the toughest wrinkles, such as my husband's heavy khaki pants. Since I was not very good at ironing, it took me a few shirts and pants to get a clean finished look. But practice does make perfect and the money we are saving has been worth extra time.

This is my 4th Rowenta Iron (YES I'm clumsy but I *LOVE* Rowenta's). This was by far the most expensive that I've bought but I had a gift certificate to offset the cost. Honestly the only difference between the Professsional iron(s) and the $50-60 Rowenta's models is the WATER TANK and the WEIGHT (this is good for my wrist why?). However, it's nice that I don't have to keep filling up the water tank every two items especially when Rowenta suggests that we add water when the iron is UNHEATED (you've got to kidding!) But still, is it worth the extra money? Honey, I think *NOT* unless you have a gift certificate too. Also, as much I dropped them back in the day .. they keep on tickin'!! I've gotten BETTER over the years (13+) but this one (maybe others too) have the anti-slip on the bottom... so that should help eliminate some TIPPING OVER and any unnecessary accidental skin contact (ouch!). VERY NICE but truthfully why don't they ALL have this anti-slip? These aren't the $9.99 K-*art specials, so Rowenta SHOULD be able to add this to all of their irons. Hmm .. my next comments will be to the Rowenta folks with this EXACT suggestion too! Seriously. Happy Buying and remember .. this is a GOOD PRODUCT!!!!

It was a very nice iron. Unfortunately it stopped working after four months. At first it started to spill water. I tried all kind of water to fix this without any help. Now auto-off switch shuts down iron in the middle of ironing at random times. Sometimes iron will not turn on at all.

This was a good iron to iron with but the round temp. control is difficult to turn and even harder to read as the handle gets in the way. A better solution would have been to put the line for setting the temp. at the side so it was easily visible.
The filler hole cover is very hard to open and close.
The iron was not heavily used at all maybe once a week for a few items but after 14 months it just quit.
This is supposed to be the Rolls Royce of irons, I think I got a Ford.
Will not be getting another Rowenta iron .

This is truly the best iron ever. If you spend money on your clothes, then you should spend money to maintain them. No other iron is heavy enough to press a shirt but this one uses it's weight as an advantage. This iron is by far superior to anything I've used, even professional pressing.

As others have said, the auto shutoff is a royal pain. In addition, don't believe the stuff about using tap water. This iron must use distilled water or it will clog up and stop working.
Repairs are very expensive, close to the cost of buying a new iron.