Customer Reviews

T-Fal Ultraglide Easycord Iron

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

I bought this iron for Mrs. Spudman and she loves it. I've used it a few times myself and must say it feels good in the hand and does a superb job removing wrinkles. So why do "we" like this iron so much?

The T-fal doesn't require distilled water like many other other irons, and the owner's guide actually recommends regular tap water. Lugging home the occasional gallon of distilled water can be a nuisance.

We like the convenience of the nine-foot cord that's much less restrictive than shorter cords on other irons we've owned.

Mrs. Spudman raves about the powerful steam and the awesome ability of this iron to make wrinkles disappear. My quilter wife pressed some pieces of material that had been folded since the Iron Age. Those wrinkles weren't even a challenge for this T-fal.

With a transparent water tank, filling to the correct level is easy. The water inlet hinged lid fits snugly and securely like none we've experienced before. One fills the tank with the iron in a horizontal position.

This is an attractive iron with easily understood and easily read controls. A light comes on when the iron has reached operating temperature and another light stays on while the iron is plugged in and is on.

With its 1700 watts of power I especially like the three way automatic off feature on this iron. It'll cut off after 8 minutes of nonuse in the vertical position or 30 seconds of nonuse in the horizontal position or on its side.

The Easycord system works wonderfully and has to be experienced to be appreciated. The T-fal's design keeps the cord up and out of the way.

The UltraGlide is a comfortable, attractive appliance that glides over fabric almost effortlessly. We like its performance and safety features, especially the very sturdy heel stand around which the cord wraps neatly for storage. So far we have absolutely no regrets about purchasing this iron.

When my second Rowenta iron in 4 years began to leak all over my ironing board, I came to Amazon.com to buy another because it was supposed to be the best iron on the market. After reading reviews by customers who experienced the same problem, I began to look at other brands and found this T-Fal Ultraglide. Right price, for sure! I just finished ironing a 100% cotton tuxedo shirt with french cuffs (one of my toughest ironing jobs) and commented out loud "I LOVE this iron!" Lots of steam, light weight, you don't need to go over an area more than once (honestly!) and you can even removed little "boo-boo" wrinkles you put in yourself with a burst of steam at the press of a button. Also works on my linen clothes beautifully. I have not tried it on anything but the blast furnace, full steam setting, so I can not attest to it's ability to deal with silks & delicates, but feel confident in highly recommending this iron.

I just went through multiple purchases (and returns) of irons ... two Black & Deckers, Panasonic and this T-Fal. Had no idea an iron put out by 'that cookware company' would be the best one!
PLENTY of steam, no leaks, heats up quickly and glides super-smooth.
Only drawback is there's no "on" switch to speak of. You just plug it in. It does have an automatic shut-off if left unattended or tipped over.

NOTE: The Blue iron is Prime-eligible, yet shows a picture of an earlier model. I took a chance and it IS the same design as the Red one!

Get this iron ... it's a great value at most any price.

I purchased this iron based on the Consumer Reports recommendation after my Black & Decker D2020 Digital Advantage stopped heating and I could not find the D2030 to replace it. While this is overall a decent iron, I was a bit disappointed by its performance. I am a quilter so my irons receive a considerable amount of use. However, since the type of use is slightly different than ironing clothing, this iron just did not work well for my needs.

1. The iron must be filled with water while the iron is horizontal. This is fine if you fill the iron before you plug it in, however, if you need to refill the iron in the middle of use, it becomes quite the juggling act to hold the iron off the ironing board, fill the water tank, and try to determine when you have reached the fill line. In my opinion, this is a very poor design.

2. Often times the iron would not produce steam without shaking it. I suspect that this is due to the water tank design. It seemed like I needed to shake the water into the location where it would produce steam. When you place the iron back in the upright position, you can hear the water gurgle as well. When I am ironing in short spurts for a seam or two, I want the steam to be readily available. I do not want to wait for the water to travel through the iron or have to shake it to speed up the process.

The iron does have some nice features. The sole plate is quite smooth and glides over fabric really well. Once the steam starts working, it presses fabrics reasonably well. However, I found it difficult to have the quick, crisp seams given the issues with the steam.

If you're thinking of buying a more expensive iron-say Rowenta-don't. My wife is a quilter and kept complaining about our $15 iron that we had since marriage. It didn't get very hot, didn't steam well, and left marks on clothing as early burn indications. She kept telling me that quilters use Rowenta irons and explained why. So, as Christmas approached, I started looking at Rowentas. There were some common themes throughout my findings: 1. They are expensive. 2. They leak and are unreliable. I found this out by reading several reviews online, reading consumer reports, and seeing multiple refurbished ones at the local Ross store. 3. They are great for the short time that they last, but not worth the price.

This caused me to look at other options. On Consumer Reports I found this T-Fal iron as they preferred pick. I looked for reviews online and there were only a few, but all positive. It is half the price of a Rowenta, so I gave it a try. I have never owned a Rowenta, but I'd bet this iron works just as well, only it has much more quality, reliability, and costs much less.

I honestly thought that an iron was an iron. I no longer think that way. I use this iron daily to iron my clothes before work. It glides so effortlessly and gets all the wrinkles out without applying lots of pressure or staying in one place for several seconds. It creases pants very well and has lots of steam output constantly (3 steam settings to regulate how much you need). And while creasing my pants, it does not burn them, make them shiny, leave white pattern marks, or anything. I don't notice much benefit from the cord manager, but that may be because I am more concerned with performance. Another huge benefit...this iron does not need distilled water. You fill it with regular tap water!

You probably want to know what my wife thinks of it since she was the one I bought it for. She loves the iron. She is not mad at me for not getting the Rowenta she had her eyes on. Anyway, I have yet to find any real cons to go against the pros. This is a great product. The only cons I could come up with are: 1. If you use the steam a lot, be ready to fill the water tank often (however, since you just use tap water, this is not a big deal at all). 2. The shape at the base is unique and functional, but it doesn't work well with resting trays at the end of the ironing board.

So, Ditch the idea of higher priced brands because it isn't worth it. Don't believe me, check the online consumer reviews. There are plenty to substantiate my claims. Good luck.

It is such a relief to finally find a great iron! I tried the Black & Decker Digital Advantage and returned it because I had to reset the temperature at least 8 times while trying to iron one shirt! It kept flipping from where I set it (at level 6, cotton, with steam) to level 1. This T-Fal works equally well for right or left handers due to the easy cord system and it glides very smoothly. I iron fast (not because I'm good, but because I'm impatient) and sometimes unintentionally iron in a crease where there shouldn't be one, but this iron takes out those mistakes just as easy as can be. The water reservoir is a nice capacity and there is a feature that lets you set your steam at levels 1 through 3. I set mine at level 2 and ironed 9 shirts in an hour, only refilling it once. There are steam holes on the sole plate all over and not just on the rim which is very helpful.

I was surprised to read that you are to use tap water and NOT distilled water for best results. It is supposed to be cleaned every month but the process does not seem to be too difficult. If it is, I will come back and add to my review.

I'm indifferent to auto makes, to clothing manufacturers, but I'm a longtime fussy connoisseur of irons. And I'm here to tell you that you'll never find a better iron than this one. There is NO dry cleaner that can produce on big flat presses a finished dress shirt as beautifully as YOU can with a good iron: immaculate, with no long, clumsy diagonal pleats extending up from the cuffs or down the center back. Walk into any board room where working men have stripped down to shirtsleeves and look around at the "professionally" prepared dress shirts that make a man look slightly unkempt.

I had settled on Rowenta years ago until I discovered that my expensive Rowentas were unable to heat up to blast-furnace cotton and linen levels satisfactorily after a year or two of ownership. And I'm not alone. (Don't take my word for it: There are lists/bulletin boards online devoted to reviews of laundry implements, and I've seen the same observation expressed there.) That was when I bought my first T-fal.

Now, I can take or leave T-fal's cookware, but, friends, in the iron department they got EVERYTHING right. I used that iron for years until I dropped it. And then I held my breath and bought this one. And (whew), this model is my old, original, T-fal and much more.

For me, there are two tests of a good steam iron: how quickly does it empty the water reservoir (that is, how much steam does it put out), and will it steam-iron linen immaculately. The answer to the first one is you'd better have an extra measuring cupful or two standing by when you've set the T-fal on maximum steam, a thumb-rolled control independent of the fabric selection dial. And I found the answer to the second when I attempted a large piece of needlework linen (comparatively coarse) that had been folded into a nice package, and the folds IRONED IN (argh) by a well-meaning Ebay dealer. I cannot tell you what sort of effort it takes to get ironed folds out of heavy, natural linen! In the past I've used multiple, multiple passes with a vintage dry iron at peak setting with a dripping press cloth, and even then the shadow of the fold remained. But the T-fal, with a tankful of tap water, on maximum steam setting with a minute to pre-warm to that hot, hot linen setting, plowed straight through those folds in two passes. And they were utterly, utterly gone!

Any old iron will do poly-cotton for you. But you need not be a fanatic, ahem, to appreciate what the T-fal will do for your husband's expensive heavy-cotton dress shirts, for your Marc Jacobs linen skirt and heavy cotton twill pants, for your grandmother's precious table linens at Thanksgiving (wait until you see your mother's face!).

I am a seamstress and iron a lot more than most. This is the best iron I have ever used. Ok, well maybe not as good as the fancy professional steam irons, but for a simple household iron it is really great. The steam is always consistent and never leaky (as long as you have the heat turned up to one of the steam-appropriate levels) and the sole plate is smooth as butter. I think that's what sets this iron apart from the rest, it glides really well. This is my second of the Ultraglide iron and I am totally loyal.

Since I just used this iron for the first time, I can't comment on its long-term performance, but there are several things you should know before buying this iron:

1. It is the heaviest and most uncomfortable to use iron I have ever owned. It is heavier than the Rowenta PowerGlide 2 which it is replacing (and the Rowenta is heavier than the old Black and Decker it replaced).

2. And it is extremely uncomfortable to use for, it seems to me, two reasons: its vaunted (by the consumer publications that ranked this model highly) cord handling mechanism and the design of its heel plate - definitely unusual, over-sized and providing solid support for the iron but, still, at least contributing to both the weight and discomfort of using the iron. As I type this, my right arm still hurts after a mere 15 minutes of ironing.

3. I bought the red model because the picture of the "blue" model suggested that the color was more aqua or light green than blue and I don't much care for green. The actual color is more of a deep burgundy which is quite attractive. Unfortunately, it is so deep a color that it is close to impossible to tell how much water is in the iron. This is more of a problem than one might imagine because one fills the iron when it is in a horizontal position. So, if you don't put in enough water to get through your ironing session, or have so much ironing you must refill it, you pretty much have to turn it off and let it cool off so you can set it down horizontally to fill the tank. If the picture of the "blue" model is accurate, it might be easier to judge the water level in that model.

4. The manual recommends monthly cleaning which means removing the anti-scale valve and soaking it (the black section only) in white vinegar or plain lemon juice for 4 hours. Before you do that, however, you have to fill the water tank to its maximum setting, put the steam control lever on 0, place the iron on its heel, plug it in and wait for the indicator light to go off. Then you have to unplug it, hold it over the sink, press the ejector button to release the valve (so you can put it in the lemon or vinegar) and "gently shake the iron over the sink until all of the water ... runs through the sole plate." Given the size of the water tank and the weight of the iron, I shudder to think how long and uncomfortable this process will be. But you're not yet done. After you put back the anti-scale valve, you have to heat the iron for 2 minutes to dry the sole plate.

On the positive side, it did do a nice job on the clothes. But I wonder, as I've wondered about other products reviewed by the consumer publication over the past 2-3 years, if the people who recommended this iron actually used it - or read the instruction manual.

If there is any way for you to test this iron, by buying it at a real store rather than online, I strongly recommend that you do so .

The iron had 1 tiny hair of copper sticking through the insulation right at the base of the iron... like where the wire comes out of the guard sleeve.

My wife got electric shocks from time to time using the T-FAL iron and could not figure it out where it was comming from, until our recent discovery of the little hair of copper wire sticking through the insulation.

We called T-fal and we send the item to them, they claim it is found to be not defective and won't fix it under a warranty.

Spoke to supervisor Pierre Sterling at T-Fal customer service.

Or... actually as in T-FAL NO SERVICE I would say!