Customer Reviews

Rowenta IS-8100 Commercial Garment Steamer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I'll make it simple: If you are looking for a home-edition garment steamer, your top 2 choices in the marketplace will likely be the Jiffy 2000 and the Rowenta 8100.

I tested both for 10 hours; on a 1 to 10 scale:

Jiffy (Looks = 6; Engineering = 10; handling = 9; craftsmanship = 10).
It looks like a mop bucket on wheels but it performs like a jet engine; every part of this machine from the plate at the bottom of the unit to the steam handle is built for rugged usage.

Rowenta (Looks = 10; Engineering = 5; Handling = 7; crafsmanship = 4).
It looks like a UFO but performs like a Pinto with much less steaming power; it is built as a toddler's toy having most parts made with inexpensive plastic including the watertank base and valve: pull the machine a single foot OR tilt it a mere 1 inch and you will experience a slow-building cascade.

Buy the Rowenta 8100 as a decorative piece to make your closet look good.

Buy the Jiffy 2000 as a garment steamer to make your clothes look good.

I received an IS 8100 steamer as a gift. Now, nine months later, the steam head has come apart. It just fell apart. It appears that daily use (four or five days a week) may have been too much for this "commercial" product. I'm trying to obtain a replacement part from Rowenta now. I'll update my review once I get a final answer from their customer service department.

When the product is working, it works pretty well. I use it on wool suits, and it removes wrinkles quickly. However, without the steam head, this is useless for me.

I enjoyed how this product worked at first. The steam was powerful. The machine looked great. However, the water tank design is cheap. The lid did not stay on the tank well ever. I had enough when the lid slipped off spilling a gallon of water on my hardwood floors. I will look at Jiffy steamers which might be worth the extra $ for real professional quality.

I love my steamer! This is probably the best purchase I ever made. It steams out wrinkles in a flash in every fabric I own. No more spending time ironing for me. In a short minute, my clothing looks beautiful. I have had no problems with the tank whatsover, and love the idea that I do not have to worry if I forget to leave the steamer on. I used to have a hand-held steamer, and you cannot even compare the two machines. Bravo for the Rowenta steamer. It receives complete raves from me!

I LOVED this for the 3 months I used it before the head fell apart, despite hot water leaking onto my hand. It removed wrinkles from dress shrit and slacks very well. Now it's useless and no replacement head is available. I would put the effort into repair, but it appears from reviews that more trouble is inevitable. If you haven't experienced problems with this machine, either you haven't had it long enough or don't use it.

Update: I Duck Taped the head together and continued to use it, but now the water tank cover doesn't fit properly and resulted in a laundry room flood. This product should be recalled!

We purchase two of these steamers. We thought it was a fluke with the first one with the tank/cap. Both had the same problem. Once the water in the tank is replaced, the cap does not screw back on. Either the tank shrinked or the cap expanded. Fortunately the store we purchased them from refunded our money and told us that others were returned for the same reason.

The hot steam burned right through the hose that attaches the hand-held piece to the tank (at the bottom of the "neck")

The hose is rubber, and under pressure from the steam, it literally disintegrated. This happened the THIRD time I used it.

My steamer worked well for all of 5 mins. The pole went from upright to a 45 degree angle without hanging anything on it and would not straighten out; the defect appeared to be at the connection where the pole screws into the machine. Then within minutes I had water all over my hardwood floors. I had the same problem as other reviewers, the water tank kept leaking. So off to the returns department we went. I guess it steamed well for the five minutes that it worked? Not worth all the mess and hassle of returning it.

I had this steamer for about 5 months and then the steamhead started warping. Seemed like the plastic head split a bit and the steam that escaped melted it? What a waste of money. I held it together with tape for awhile and then just chucked the whole thing. I had the water tank issues as well. Never again will I buy a Rowenta product after this experience!

I have used the steamer a few times and it has met my expectations. It heats up in about 60 seconds and steams effectively. The only downside is that when you are done steaming, some water tends to be left in the hose and the base unit (aside from the water reservoir). The unit isn't that heavy so I usually pick it up and hold it over a sink to let the excess drain. I imagine that leaving the excess in the machine might result in mold or other negative implications. This is a minor annoyance and wouldn't stop me from buying another unit. I would imagine this would be an issue with most units.