Philips PerfectCare Elite Plus

This product is amazing and has reduced the amount of time spent ironing considerably. The intelligence of this iron is its most redeeming feature, the auto steam function cuts off when your iron is stationary, and back on again when you start ironing. You can go from ironing your jeans to a silk shirt and not have to adjust the temperature. Can iron straight over rubbery prints on t-shirts. Lightweight and easily refillable. Would definitely recommend.

What a flop

The reviews on here must all be fake, this iron is a complete flop. The iron simply does not get anywhere near hot enough to work as an iron, this results in having to take 5 times as long to iron a dress shirt and does half the job. It seems nothing I do enables me to remove most wrinkles after multiple passes yet a $20 Target special removes them first pass. Who cares about being able to put an iron down without burning your cloths, you have the stand right next to you anyways and makes the feature pointless if the iron never gets hot enough to do what it was made for which is "ironing out wrinkles". Also you have to spend a few extra minutes at the start to run the steam through the iron away from shirts to get any moisture out of the steam and get the steam generator actually running at full speed.

Iron does not do the most important thing about ironing which is removing wrinkles.....waste of money and Phillips customer care can't even tell me what temp the iron plate should get too.....useless

A fantastic lightweight iron with smart functions.

However we have a big problem with water dripping through our ironing board. After ironing 5+ shirts the ground is soaked.

Called Philips help line and was told to buy the Philips anti drip ironing board cover. Very frustrating that a $700 iron requires the purchase of another product to work properly!

Not sure of where to go from here???

After my steam Tefal steam station iron started to fail after just 2months new, I decided to purchase the Philips Perfect Care Elite iron and must say, I am very impressed by its features. 1. I’m able to disconnect the water tank to fill or drain the water,. 2. It heats up quickly. 3. It’s quiet when steaming. 4. The cords fit neatly into the body of the station for easy storage. 5. It’s light to carry. 6. It irons everything beautifully. I highly recommend it.

I have been using this iron for 3 weeks now. The iron is light to handle and the point of it - makes it so easy to get into narrow spots on your clothes. Best of all not having to refill the iron constantly. The ability to iron all types of materials even the delicates without having to change the dial is fantastic. The intelligence of this iron is great - being able to set the iron down - even on the ironing board and walk away without any burnt ironing board covers fantastic. The only thing that I would advise any purchasers to look at is - see if your ironing board is suitable for this type of iron as it is much bulkier and larger than a normal iron. This iron is also very good for getting creases out of clothes such as dresses/skirts/trousers or even shirts whilst hanging on the coat hanger but remember to use the glove that comes with this iron - because of potential steam burns. The steam on this iron is amazing. So far the Philips leaflets/website and write ups that I read are all true and much more

I honestly was so excited to be selected to try out this iron. I saw the RRP and thought gosh who would spend that on an iron. But can I say this to me is no iron. We have shirts we were going to toss as they never ironed and this breezes through them with no issues. It’s super light weight meaning you can iron for hours and still comfortable. The fact I am not checking settings and nervous if I’m going to destroy a expensive garment is amazing and I honestly can not recommend this iron enough it is worth every single cent it’s worth! I am truly converted and can not sing it’s praises enough

I wanted an iron that was simple to use but was also delicate on my cloths as my old iron would sometimes yellow stain them. The handle is a little tricky to hold at times but other than that for someone that hates ironing this iron is fun and easy to use and results are always perfect!

I cannot begin to tell you how much this has changed my life! Things that took 10 mins to iron now only take 1... I love love love it! I have literally been walking around the house looking for new things to iron.. that's how much I love it! Highly recommended

This iron really is a pleasure to use, the ironing plate is sleek and lightweight and practically glides over fabrics when ironing. It is a pretty good investment if you have a bunch of clothing that cost more than $100-$200 each. Small but thoughtful designs here and there. Made the whole experience better.
Main cons are price and size.

This product was provided for review but I will absolutely give my fair reviews as with other products.

Summary –
It is a pretty good investment if you have a bunch of clothing that cost more than $100-$200 each. You want to protect those.
Quite a foolproof iron that does what it says. No whites marks, no shines, no burns and a sheep load of steam.
Small but thoughtful designs here and there. Made the whole experience better.
Main cons are price and size.

Long meticulous details as follows.-

I have tried a number of different irons before. Not that they are things that go damage often, but I have family members that would leave them on things that will melt and damage both iron and whatever things they left it on, for instance, my $300 rug. Of course, that $200 iron is damaged too. R.I.P

Now… for This Steam Generator Iron

Burning -
I am glad to say that I left this on my ironing board to attend to my kids etc. So far, zero burns. I also left them on some fabrics to give them an extended boost of steam, no burns. I have put it on fabrics for a while and lift it up to touch the fabric with my hands. It is hot but not to a point you need to retract your hands straight away. The reason why it doesn’t burn clothing is due to the relatively low heat. They rely quite heavily on the steam to do the job. Warning though, the iron itself doesn’t leave scalding heat on the clothes, but the steam still do. So don’t go steaming your hand.
This is probably the first iron I will not start stressing the moment I hear a family member need to iron their clothes while I was out. It is pretty foolproof as there is no confusing settings for people who rarely touch Iron or have no basic understanding of any fabric.

Especially good for people who wants to protect their expensive dresses or pants.

White Marks or Colour Change -
They did say that they do not leave white marks on clothing. I have tested on different type of materials and weave from jeans, tea towel, wool, polyester, cotton, and none of them had any white marks. I tried ironing over pockets and underneath embroidered clothing. No pocket white marks. No embroidery patch marks. I took a few clothing that always had some sort of color change when I iron over them and I have to say I am pretty impressed, there is no white mark and no observable colour change. I thought I saw some colour change before but it quickly went away. It is most likely just due to the steam and it dries up fast enough.

Steam -
It produces a lot of steam. By far the most I have seen in an iron. Possibly even compared to vertical one too. I have used vertical steam generator a lot when I was young being a fashion shop staff. Never did see any did as much steam as this one. It produces the most steam when you activate the steam again after leaving it a little while as most steam generator I’ve used. There were a few times when Ironing dark clothing that I couldn’t see where the groove lines are due to the steam just floating up between my line of sight. It does however makes those groove lines flat out faster than the previous irons I have used. While it doesn’t make your clothes look brand new as there are still some visible grooves. However, when I finished ironing a bunch of clothes and stack them up, they look and feel significantly flatter than when I was using previous iron.

Water Tank –
Large water tank. But it doesn’t translate to longer ironing time between refills. Maybe a little, but what it really provides is the needed amount of water to give that massive steam it generates. The entry point of water is also quite big which is a big plus for me. No more aiming and splashing and leaking towards the iron ( for other standard steam iron ) The water max limit is also very visible. No more guessing game of is it full or not. Another thoughtful design is the water level indicator. It isn’t a mark to show water is too little. It actually beeps to notify you so you don’t have to check the water level every now and then to make sure there is enough water.

Descale –
Very easy. Hear the alarm, turn power off. Unscrew knob while collecting water with a cup. Yellowish water but shows it does its job I guess.

Iron itself –
Very light. Thank goodness for that. Carrying around a steam iron with water filled in isn’t fun. This on the other hand is so light. It’s a joy to carry.
The swaying motion to activate the steam generation while on auto mode is a plus. There is also an extra function of sorts I noticed. If you activate the auto mode and do a ‘double click’. It will turn on intermittent steam output. Pretty neat if you don’t need continuous steam for any particular clothing. ‘double click’ to turn it off.
The head of the iron is also narrower, and plate is thinner than my previous iron. Which is a plus for ironing children’s clothing between buttons or any delicate decorations.
The steam cord is also pretty long which means I can pull it horizontally across any standard ironing board with no issue.

There are some downside.
Due to the massive steaming. Clothes that I got out of the tumble dryer with Extra dry settings, feels like they are cupboard dry after ironing/steaming. This may not bug others so much but you probably don’t want that if you live in more humid region.

The other downside is the steam rebound. It doesn’t bug me usually, but when I try to iron the inside of some small clothing, due to the almost enclosed area the steam bounce back to your hands instead of float upwards. It is way hot. They do provide a glove that protects you from the heat though, and that glove really does the job. It just doesn’t feel comfortable wearing it the whole time, and feels a bit troublesome wearing and taking off when you need to iron inside of any small clothing. So if you have a habit of ironing from the inside, you may need to find another way to do it.

This steam generator iron does not advertise to be leak proof and it isn’t. However, it is very minimal and nothing a few glide over can’t fix. I have owned previous steam iron that leaks like it’s peeing and this one does just a few little drops if any at all.

The size. It is a fairly big size and those who want to purchase this will need to take note of their physical measurement and while they have place to tuck the steam cord in, it is pretty tough to tuck it in and out every time you use it. It is not automatically or windingly retractable. You have to stuff it in manually. I suspect most people wouldn’t bother with it. So in addition to the machine itself you might need to consider the space the cord will take when untuck. It is a pretty thick cord much needed for the tremendous amount of steam it produces. If you see any advertisement of this product that shows the whole steam generator including the water tank etc, fitting on to the side of any retractable platform of ironing board. They must have used a ridiculously gigantic ironing board to take that photo. I just don’t see how that can happen with the standard ironing board.

Last cons would be the price.

This iron really is a pleasure to use, the ironing plate is sleek and lightweight and practically glides over fabrics when ironing. The fact that you don't have to worry about changing temps for different fabrics or even lifting it off them if you walk away from the board makes it extremely user friendly for those who just don't love ironing that much. I was actually a little wary of just leaving it sitting on clothes and walking away, but I tested this multiple times when managing my two toddlers at the same time as doing the ironing, and nope, no burns at all! It was also nice to switch between light and heavy fabrics without having to stop and wait for the iron to heat up again, or cool down after. The only time I had an issue ironing something with this was when I used it for iron on labels and found that on certain fabrics it just wasn't getting hot enough to melt the label on properly, so they've started coming off in the wash. Not a huge issue and not something most people would have to worry about (other than mums of kids at daycare/school) but was a little annoying that I'll have to hold onto my old iron for these.
I did also find when turning on the auto steam feature that there would be a little bit of water on the clothes when first turned on, but didn't have this issue when manually pressing the steam on, so not sure what's happening there.

While the iron itself is just lovely and lightweight, the base is really big and clunky looking. Set up was fine as it fits on a larger ironing board with plenty of room, or the cord is long enough that you could even put the base on a table near the board, but I found storage a bit of a pain as I have a small house with limited cupboard space to pack it away in. It definitely takes up a lot more room than your standard iron. I also found packing away the cables a bit fiddly. There are little compartments on the side where you have to fold them up and kind of stuff them in. The power cable isn't so bad, but the water hose is one of those things that I think is going to end up going in the 'too hard' basket and getting left out when packing away in the future. I found myself wishing they had some kind of retractable system, like my vacuum cleaner cable.

In summary -

Pros:

Irons like a dream, smooth, lightweight and fast!
Don't have to adjust temperature
Never have to worry about burning items
Water tank is large - don't need to worry about running out of water halfway through a basket of ironing, also easy to clip on/off to refill

Cons:

Storage - very bulky, takes up a lot of space and is a general pain to pack away with the fiddly cords!
Not so great for iron on labels

Overall I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this, I would have given 4 and a half stars if I could. It really was a pleasure to iron with. For the price tag I don't think this iron would be necessary for someone who irons a shirt to go out once a month, but for anyone doing large amounts of ironing regularly, this iron would definitely be worth the money.

Firs impression.... this unit is bigger than I thought it would be. I showed it to my 15yr old Son and he's like....I'm not ironing my clothes with that, until he realised the iron lifts off the main unit haha! Likewise with an elderly friend who has a problem with her hands. Seeing the unit she was thinking she wouldn't be able to lift that, but in actual fact it would probably be perfect for her because the iron is in fact lighter than traditional units!

Yes yes ok it's sad that I was so excited that I was showing my new iron to my friends, but you have to admit this isn't just a plain old everyday iron yeah?

Yes it is somewhat bulky in size, but not really, the fact that you can put it face down on the ironing board without worrying about burning it kind of negates the issue. If like me you have an ironing board that doesn't have adequate space (or perhaps stability) for the unit then I've found the cords are certainly long enough to have it on a nearby bench or a stool (or even on the washing machine). And it's not that heavy so it's easy to move around (the lock feature that secures the iron to the base is awesome for this purpose too).
I think it would even be worth buying a better ironing board for it.

This is my first steam generator type iron, I have only ever used normal irons before and only when I really have to....yep I'm one of those people that doesn't really like ironing and I certainly find it strange that some people do.
But OMG this makes ironing so easy, when I first got it (yes novelty effect to some extent) I had to look for things to iron. And because it's somewhat of a pleasure to use (because wrinkles just melt away and it makes the job faster) I think I can now see how people find ironing therapeutic.

The thing I'm most impressed with is how easy it irons wrinkles out of heavy cotton items (think the heavy duty hi visibility work shirts of a mine worker etc) and yet it can also handle dedicates without a problem. Really this is more than one appliance because you can also use it as a steamer for jackets etc. But the most impressive thing is how easy the water compartment is to take out and fill, it's so easy that I wish I had to fill it up more often!

I have two teenage children who are in Australian Air-force Cadets, so they have to iron their own uniforms and they have to be up to standard every week (particularly the dress uniforms (blues)). My 15yr old Son is really impressed with the Phillips Elite Plus, it just makes the task so much quicker, instead of ironing only the set of clothes he needs on the day, he is happy to iron all his uniforms!
Best of all it can be used to steam the brim of their hat (which needs to be perfectly flat).

With a steam device like this you would think that the reservoir would need constant filling and that it would be noisy (ever tried one of those steam cleaners for a shower etc???), but it doesn't which is impressive. I've found that the iron heats up quickly and when it is drawing water or doing it's thing it's not very loud at all, actually quieter than a coffee machine I had.

So negatives, not really,
I'm not a big fan of using the auto function but that's probably just the way I do ironing.
I did find if doing a reasonable amount of ironing the underside of the ironing board was wet from condensation. But I am still impressed that the clothes don't end up saturated so it's not really a negative???
Oh apart from that if you don't dry your clothes in a dryer and only do cold washes then perhaps be careful because steaming them could make them shrink (like a dryer or hot wash would have done). I'm pretty sure a new pair of pants I brought have shrunk a little after I steam ironed them.... well I hope it's not that I've gained more weight!!!
Other than that I can't think of any except maybe the price?

I know the Perfect Care Elite Plus costs a lot of money to buy, but if you do a reasonable amount of ironing I think it's money well spent, besides it's not unlike what you would spend on a vacuum cleaner that you generally only use once a week and then possibly have to buy bags (or filters) for. Or a coffee machine which then you have to feed with good coffee beans etc right?
The Phillips Care Elite Plus doesn't need any extra $$ so for something that makes a mundane chore easier and quicker I think it's a very worthwhile investment.

Speaking about coffee machines, if you have ever had one you know how important descaling is. So it's good to see that the Phillips Elite Plus takes care of this and makes the task easy. This is particularly important if you don't live in an area with good water.

So if you want ironing be as quick and easy as possible then certainly consider the Phillips Elite Care Plus. If you're on a budget I know there are other models you can look at, but The Elite Care Plus I believe is top of the range for good reason, I don't think you will find anything better.

Quite frankly, I hate ironing! I can't remember the last time I ironed, but I couldn't wait for this to arrive so that I could give it a go. I've had this for a few weeks now. In the interest of transparency it was sent to me for the purpose of providing a review with no expectations around whether this review be positive or negative. Myself, my husband and my mother in law have all given this iron a good go and overall we think it is fantastic. More details below:

Negatives:
- My first negative about the product was how big it is. Once we sat down and had a think about where we could put it, then rearranged our laundry cupboard we have found space for it with no issue.
- The other issue around the size is how much space it takes up on the ironing board. I think I have a relatively small ironing board and to begin with I had it on a stool next to the board, but I found I could actually make do with it on the ironing board itself.
- There are compartments for packing away the cords, but trying to get the thick iron/steamer cord back into it's compartment is just ridiculous. It's virtually impossible.
- My husband used it for about an hour one afternoon and we discovered water had pooled on the floor under the board, and near where the extension cord was. This is not at all ideal.
- The unit itself gets quite hot. It took an hour to cool down, before I wanted to put it back in the cupboard.
- Because you have to empty and refill the water every time and then wait for it to heat (only 2 mins), it might not be ideal for someone who realises they need to iron the dress they're wearing as they're rushing out the door (usually me). Not the biggest negative because this iron actually does make you want to iron so this might be less of an issue for me now. :-)
- I don't think this is something I'd get out for just ironing one item. It'd be a bit of a pain to me. Maybe not to others.
- Sometimes when using it as an iron (as opposed to a steam iron) Ifelt I needed to get my hand out of the way or get burnt by the steam, and even though there is a glove provided for use when it is being used vertically as a steam iron, when using it on the board as a traditional iron, you really do need your hand free to negotiate the item of clothing.
- Not really product related but in terms of delivery it was made clear in the emails I received that the item needed to be signed for. Despite being home at the time, the box was left at my front door, on a rainy day with the wind and rain blowing sideways - a product worth $600- $700. I wasn't happy with this. Not the products fault, but I don't think the supplier would be happy with their couriers either.

Positives:
- It was packaged really well, and with all recyclable components except for 2 or 3 plastic bags. I really appreciate that manufacturers are considering the environment and doing away with foam and polystyrene.
- I really like the 1800ml water container, though even after ironing for 1 hour only about 300 ml was used. Nice to not have to refill a fiddly water hole with 100ml or so of water when you're ironing.
- The iron itself is really light and easy to use. Having a good access to the steam function makes ironing so much easier.
- I like the auto function which senses when you are using it and relases steam, stopping when the iron stops.
- You don't have to change any heat or fabric settings - the iron is so intuitive that you simply turn it on and use it for whatever fabric is in front of you.
- Great that you can rest it on your ironing board and it won't burn, though this is a hard habit to break when you're not used to it.
- I love that it has a timer which senses nil use after 10 minutes and turns the iron off. No more stressing about whether you forgot to turn the iron off!
- What I love about this iron, is the steam function. I have lots of stretchy dresses that I hang up, use the steam iron and I can complete a skirt or dress in less than 30 seconds. Not even kidding!
- My 3 year old has a bunch of dresses that she hasn't worn for months because I couldn't be bothered ironing the fiddly things. That will definitely change with this.

OVERALL:
We all loved this iron. My MIL irons everything and she wants one. She even said she was going to buy one, and sent a photo of it to her friend she was so excited about it. The fact that I can iron a dress or a skirt easily in less than 30 seconds makes this a winner for me. Because it is so easy to use I can guarantee that this is an iron that will be used by me.

Biggest downfalls would be the bulk of it, and the price. For your average family I think the price makes it inaccessible. For these 2 reasons I am giving it a 4 out of 5 instead of a 5. For someone who needs to iron work shirts regularly, or who loves to have freshly ironed clothes and sheets (I know right - there are some people who love ironing!), then I think this would be a great time saver and worth every penny.

Let's start with the obvious, this iron is bulky and requires a lot more storage space than a traditional iron, it also takes up a lot more space on your ironing board unless you have a dedicated ironing board for such an iron. Of course, you could place the base on the floor or a table/benchtop while you're ironing, whatever works in your situation. I must admit that once I got over the size of the iron and found a suitable setup I was actually excited about getting stuck into the ironing which I'd let accumulate for months!

The 1.8 litre jug is easy to remove from the base and fill through the large opening. It was just as easy to place back on the unit and power on the iron. It does take a couple of minutes to heat up and it does have an audible noise while doing so. Coming from years of using a regular iron I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to set a temperature or select a fabric type, I could just pick up any item of clothing and iron - no sorting, no waiting for the iron to adjust to my fabric needs. I did find that I needed to use the steam most of the time, ironing without steam didn't produce enough heat to power through creases, especially on thick cotton uniforms. In fact, even with the steam on, it struggled to remove the creases on a few thick cotton shirts. This was the only time that I was slightly disappointed in the steam iron.

The iron itself is light and glides over fabric with ease, it's comfortable to hold and when needing to reposition your item of clothing you don't need to stand the iron upright, you just slide the iron, face down, off your fabric and onto your ironing board - this is brilliant. No more wobbly irons on a wobbly ironing board, no accidentally touching a burning hot soleplate when rearranging your clothing. It is such a simple thing, but it makes such an enormous difference in the whole ironing process, it is safer and easier and much quicker. I also love the claim that it is guaranteed not to burn any ironable fabric - you can even use it on wool. You do need to get used to the thick hose/cord attached from the ironing base to the iron itself, it is quite thick and bulky and does heat up.

It usually takes me about three hours to get through my pile of ironing but with the Philips steam generator iron I was done in half the time - literally and the tank of water lasted the whole session. For the first time in my life I enjoyed ironing, I normally leave my ironing until my cupboards run bare - that is how much of a chore I find it. That is, until now, I look for more things to iron. I'm sure the novelty will wear off but for now I'm more than pleased.

I used the Eco mode on t-shirts and clothing that didn't require much steam and it worked fine, although it obviously still works better with more steam so I'm probably not going to use the Eco mode very often. I probably won't use the provided glove much either. It does fit, and I appreciate that is was included in the package, but I haven't needed to use a vertical steam iron before and I can't see it being beneficial for me.

Descaling your traditional iron can be quite a hassle and although I haven't needed to descale this iron yet, after reading about it, it sounds like a very simple process and will be welcomed by anyone who has descaled a regular iron. There are so many positives about this setup.

The only negative I really found with this steam station was it's recommended way of moving it. When placing the iron on its base there is a locking mechanism that holds the iron in place and theoretically you can then pick the iron and base up together using the iron's handle. I do not trust the plastic clip to hold something that weighs just over 5 kilos. I prefer to pick the whole thing up from underneath the base and cradle it in my arms to move it. Perhaps they should have made the locking mechanism a little more robust.

I can no longer use a normal iron - I have been spoilt with this Philips steam generator. I look forward to many years of hassle free ironing. Overall, I am very impressed and it did exceed my expectations.

The Elite plus consists of a larger base station which holds a couple of liters of water, and the smaller hand piece which is connected by a not so insignificant cord.

The water jug is removable which makes it easy to fill, and its also easy to see how much water you have left, none the less the machine beeps when its run out or getting low.

The base station takes a minute or so to heat up, and beeps when your ready to iron.

From there, you have the option via a couple of buttons on the hand piece to run the steam in automatic mode, or in manual mode. On automatic, the hand-piece delivers a good amount of steam as you move the hand piece about, via some sort of motion sensor, or some kind of black magic.

There is no temperature setting at all, which seemed weird at first. but you soon realise that the iron relies on the steam, not the temp to do most of the heavy un-wrinkling.

Another weird thing is that you don't need to take the iron off the board when re-positing your shirt. It seems somehow wrong to just leave the iron face down on the board - but you get used to it, and I left it for at least 5 minutes once while i made a coffee with absolutely no damage to the ironing board at all. It also switches itself off if you leave it on. For me this is awesome, as I seriously have had to drive back home to make sure I have turned the iron off any number of times.

For general ironing like business shirts etc, I find the automatic function the easiest and hassle free option to use.

On the manual function, you use a trigger button to operate the steam jet manually, which seems to work much better of thicker/tougher fabrics like Denim, or a particularly stubborn Linen shirt I have that I was considering throwing away simply because it was a hassle to iron.

On general use and feel in the hand, the iron is much noticeably lighter, and the friction between the garment and the base of the iron seems ridiculously low. The only slightly negative thing I could say about it, is the thicker than normal hose takes a bit of getting used to. Positioning the base station on the floor under your ironing hand seems to be the best way to set things up so that the cord doesn't get in the way or snag on your garment. The cord also provides a little less freedom of movement than a regular Iron, but this is just a first reaction to use, and is not noticeable at all after a while.

I have to say that I'm definitely not missing having to adjust the temperature all time. At 5am (pre-coffee) its easy to burn a shirt because the temp is set wrong, or worse finish and wonder why it's still a bit crinkly because the temp was too low.. All of this is just a non issue now. You just turn it on, and Iron. There is absolutely no messing around. Its always set properly and ready to go.

The only other negative thing I can nit-pic is that after ironing a fair few items, and too be honest 'going to town' with the steam button, there was some drops of water on the floor under my ironing board. I think this is more to do with my crappy ironing board than the iron, and if you give one of these a go - it might be worth shelling out for a better board. Seems logical if you want the best results out of it, and I will do this in the near future.

The Iron also comes with a glove to straighten clothes when using the iron as a steam generator only. I'm a guy with guy hands and there's no way in hell the glove is ever going to fit me. I'll probably never use this though, so I'm not bothered. The glove does fit my partners hand though, which is a win for me, as its an excuse to get out of doing that kind of ironing. "Sorry honey, but the glove doesn't fit"

All in all this is a fantastic product, is well made, and does a fantastic job of what its made to do.

Where have you been all my life?

The designers appear to know all about ironing and what makes this job more palatable when they designed this beauty. It's perfect for household ironing, saves a lot of time and does a great job particularly the button slots, they are the best I've ever found in an iron. Must say I was a bit skeptical about the auto-temperature feature at first, but soon discovered my concerns were unfounded, it goes from fine, sheer fabric to heavy denim without any fuss at all, so now there is really no need to sort ironing into bundles of particular fabric type, that we've done for years. Whatever garment is on top in the basket is ironed next, no matter the fabric type and no more spray bottle next to the iron....fabulous! Have to love that 1.8l tank and the de-calc feature...this list goes on and on.

There are sooo many things I just love about this steam generator and trust me I've done more ironing since I got this than I have for a long time....as with any new appliance you need to use it often to learn how it will suit your lifestyle and I have to admit I wasn't disappointed in any way, although I did have some hesitation beforehand.

Purposely I left the completed washing in the washing machine for a few hours, so it was really crumpled when I hung clothes on the clothesline and of course the clothes dried in this crumpled state...not a problem as the steam generator soon took care of that. Normally I hang washing asap but thought this would be a good test and I wasn't disappointed, jeans have never looked so good and ironing is so much faster too.

Being a dressmaker who sews all of my own clothes (including jeans etc) and home dec items (definitely not sewing for other people) I know the true value of a good steam iron during garment construction and knew this was where my greatest test would be as seams need to be set correctly, otherwise the garment takes on a 'homemade' look, definitely not what you want. Am now making a handbag using a poly-suede upholstery fabric, which can't be ironed, and which needs interfacing heat-bonded to the wrong side. Hey presto!! what a perfect bond!! I've used this same process with my previous steam iron but never 100% happy with the results, they were 'barely' OK and I needed to find a better option as the bond will (I guess) release in time.

Well, I've found it! Not only is the bonding process perfect, but the steamed seams are so much better than the previous handbag only a couple of months ago. The difference is chalk and cheese, also I've found that using this steam generator with it's non-burn guarantee, I can hold the iron on the fabric longer ensuring a really sharp crease. Wow!

Many years ago I used to make pleated skirts (remember them?) and even though I don't make them these days I decided to test this iron for pleats on a scrap of similar fabric. Success again! A few times I have taken pleat-basted-fabric to the dry cleaners and asked them to steam the pleats so they remain permanent, but the sample I did with this steam generator has proved I can now do this at home, if pleated skirts ever come back in fashion! ...scary thought those skirts, but most things seem to go full circle. So while some owners will want to 'remove' creases, there are also those of us who want to 'add' creases to certain areas of our garments and this iron does both.

A recently made quilt was steamed in a vertical position, a job that was made so much easier with this iron thanks to the long cord and remote water tank. I also steamed needlework that has been in a frame for many years, and this too, was rejuvenated and now looks fresh and new. As you can see I have steamed a lot of things and pleasantly surprised every time.

There is really nothing I dislike about this steam generator, although one small (really picky) thing is the thermal glove was too small, but I do have long fingers and this might not be a problem for everyone. However, I have also just discovered 'silicone fingers' and have purchased some (international supplier) which should arrive in the next few weeks. I am hoping these will suit better when I'm wanting to steam some small sewing items, but again, realise most people might not have a use for them, so wouldn't include this as a negative in any way.

Lastly, my arthritic hands really do appreciate this lightweight iron, it has eliminated a lot of pain in hands/wrists/etc as having the water tank remote from the iron eliminates a lot of weight. I also like the detachable water tank, much easier than filling the (old) iron and spilling water...which I guess everyone has done at some time? My steam generator lives on the cutting table in the sewing room and really the space needed is no more than an iron and a spray bottle of water plus the little filling cup, plus it's much more stable and unlikely to fall off. The carry handle is perfect for the times I might need to move the generator and the auto-off is really handy, while the heat-up time is not a problem as it takes this long to get clothes ready to be ironed.

So, in my opinion, Philips is onto a winner with this steam generator and I will be recommending this to friends who also sew...and those who don't! It has definitely changed the way I iron and/or steam things and I know there will be more uses in the future. It's not 'just' an iron!

If you've read this far you might like to also check the website https://www.philips.com.au/c-p/GC9681_80/perfectcare-elite-plus-steam-generator-iron

I've had this a couple of weeks, and here's what I love about it so far:
The shape of the plate is narrow enough at the front that it doesn't catch or have difficulty steering around a single one of the buttons in my mountainous ironing pile. Normally I find bigger or bulky buttons are a pain to navigate around but this has really made that problem non-existent and ironing a lot less tedious for me.
The cord is nice and long, and reaches easily from my bench to where I like to do my ironing - this is not always the case with other irons.
The Optimal Temp Technology that means no changing temperatures between fabrics! Legendary! We are a large family with a variety of adult & child uniforms, workwear, businesswear, and craft/sewing. I have had fun testing the claim by switching from one extreme to the other in our range, and it really does go seamlessly from one type of fabric to the next. This is a winning feature for me.
Because the water reservoir stays on the base and you're only lifting the actual iron, it is ridiculously light compared to using a regular iron. For me this is just a matter of comfort, but I can imagine it could be a game changer for someone with pain or strain issues.
The smoothness of the plate gliding over fabrics is something else. It's like playing air hockey lol. It gliiiiides.
Related to that, is the de-calc function, which is the simplest I have ever owned or used. I live in Brisbane with hard water and descaling everything from the kettle to my scalp is the bane of my existence. This iron not only tells you when you need to do it, it makes it as simple as unscrewing the plug and letting it run out. This will keep the plate shiny and smooth so I can continue my air hockey indefinitely ;)
The huge water tank means I now have no trips to the kitchen to refill during an ironing mission.
The easy start instructions - it came with a quick start guide with pictures. Perfect for the instruction manual -averse and impatient among us.
The auto switch off feature - I never paused long enough for this to kick in without me wanting it to, I can imagine it might be annoying if you're called away during ironing often, but my kids are old enough now for me to get a clear run at things so I loved this. I have never forgotten to turn it off yet, but I'm a worrier by nature so having one less thing in the house to wonder if I remembered to turn off is great by me.

Things I'm ambivalent about:
It takes two minutes to get up to temperature. I thought this might annoy me, but since it beeps to tell you when it's ready, it hasn't bothered me at all because I just do other stuff and get reminded to come back to that part by the beep.
Eco mode... I tried it and didn't use it again. I mean I like to save energy but I'd rather just have it working at full strength and it did seem to drop steam power, so... I didn't pursue it.
It's big and bulky. I had some mental blanks about how to work around this at the start which I'm a bit embarrassed about now but what the heck, in case you are similarly sleep deprived and do too lol - my ironing board is old school, so the holder on the end is designed for a regular iron and doesn't fit this, so it had to take up real estate space on the board itself. Or, I could have the base on the table or floor, but then I find it really annoying putting the iron all the way over/down there onto the base every time I wanted to put it down. The website says you can just rest it on the ironing board - it's no-burn guaranteed after all - but far out it's un-intuitive to do that. Eventually I realised I can just have the base on the floor and the handset rest on the old school iron holder attached to my board. Duh. The hose is long enough that this reaches (although now that I think of it, I am short. Your mileage may vary.)
Likewise with being big and bulky - storage is a bit of an issue as my laundry-room is ridiculous. I've started leaving the ironing board up and it out all the time. It has a lock to fasten the iron onto the base in order to carry it around (and maybe for child safety? not really an issue for me any more but sensible, I guess) but it's awkward to lug by the iron handle when attached to the base and just feels... wrong. I end up cradling it round the middle and carefully transporting it like a sleeping child or particularly tasty casserole.
The hose gets really hot really quickly, obviously I guess since it's transporting the steam from the base to the iron, but I still found it a little alarming how quickly it heated up, and I don't like to squash it into the inbuilt storage slot for it while hot, so I leave it out to cool down and then the whole thing ends up just staying out until I next use it. The storage for the hose seems a little awkward to me, if I'm being picky.
For an almost $700 machine it's very... plastic. It looks BEAUTIFUL, so not an aesthetic issue, but I have been quite nervy about kids knocking it off because it looks like one tumble to the tiles and we'd be holding a memorial service, no second chances. Obviously I haven't tested this theory out. My old regular iron may have had a couple of tumbles in it's lifetime though, just quietly.

Actual negatives:
It's hard to find one, this machine is pretty legendary in my opinion. My only downside would be the price. JB Hifi currently has $100 cash back. It's still a serious chunk of change. But's pretty freaking awesome.

INTRODUCTION

Ironing has changed a lot over the years as technology has evolved. Ironing is a lot less tedious, more fun and allows us to produce high quality results on our garments without the hassle of going to the dry cleaners -which let’s face it, is time consuming and expensive. Having said that you need an iron that you can trust to produce great results, is easy to use and is not going to ruin that expensive piece of clothing.

The Philips PerfectCare Elite Plus Steam Generator Iron is what everyone been waiting for. The design is ergonomically pleasing and the gold colour is very dynamic and stylish. It can handle large volumes of clothing, gives great results and is easy to use. Below is my unbiased review of the product.

It has the following features:

• AUTOMATIC SHUT OFF
• CARRY LOCK
• EASY AND EFFICIENT DESCALING
• INTELLIGENT AUTOMATIC STEAM
• LARGE DETACHABLE WATER TANK
• LIGHT WEIGHT AND COMFORTABLE
• NO BURNS – GUARANTEED
• OPTIMALTEMP TECHNOLOGY
• MINIMUM NOISE
• POWERFUL STEAM
• T-IONICGLIDE SOLEPLATE
• ECO MODE

I had the opportunity to test each of these features and found them to be innovative and thoughtful:

AUTOMATIC SHUT OFF

A great feature. We lead busy lives and often get interrupted - the automatic shut off makes ironing safer and wastes less precious energy

CARRY LOCK

The iron has a lock or push in or release button that allows you to release the iron from its base station where the iron normally sits when not in use. This is useful if you want to stop the iron from slipping when it’s hot or stop a child from taking the hot iron off its base (good thinking Philips).

EASY AND EFFICIENT DESCALING

An iron that looks after itself? – Yes the iron alerts you (light and audio signal) when it’s time to empty the Easy De-Calc Plus system that prolongs the life of the iron by insuring that no lime scale builds up. A problem in everyone’s water system unless you got those water filter systems at home. Nice feature since I expect my quality product to last.

INTELLIGENT AUTOMATIC STEAM

A button that I always keep on because of how useful and convenient it is as normally you use the trigger to activate the steam, but with just one button the steam will come on every time the iron detects any movement. The sensor is very accurate and there is half a second delay each time you stop moving the iron.

LARGE DETACHABLE WATER TANK

The iron has a reservoir tank that has a tube connect to the iron (1.9 Meters Long). The tank can hold up to 1.8 litres of water, which is more than enough to handle large loads of ironing. You can hear the pump kick in every so often.

LIGHT WEIGHT AND COMFORTABLE

This is a feature attractive to people who would do ironing for lengthy periods and I find the iron an acceptable weight when tested. People with arthritis will find a light iron convenient as it can be painful to do repetitive chores for long periods.

NO BURNS – GUARANTEED

A must have feature and one of the main advantages of this iron - it sets the temperature for you as stated on their website “You can even leave it resting face down on your clothes or ironing board. No Burns, no shine Guaranteed” – I found when testing the iron a little hesitant to leave it in a steady positon face down, but like it says on the Philips website no burns – Guaranteed.

OPTIMALTEMP TECHNOLOGY

The technology that allow you to iron everything from silk and jeans without adjusting the temperature. It’s just amazing feature to be able to iron any sort of fabric without needing to sort your laundry.

MINIMUM NOISE

When testing the iron, I found it to an acceptable noise level. The only thing you will hear is the pump turning on and off as it’s feeding the water into the iron. Sounds like a Dolce Gusto coffee machine in the morning, which is a nice sound to hear if you ask me.

POWERFUL STEAM

The iron advertises Up to 150g/min continuous steam and Up to 500g steam boost for vertical steaming to refresh clothes and curtains. A good boost on stubborn creases. Also tried steaming clothes while they were on hangers and it worked extremely well.

T-IONICGLIDE SOLEPLATE

There is no doubt that the soleplate allows the iron to glide along with effortless fast results. When I tested it glided across the clothes like a hovercraft on water. Cleaning the iron hot plate every so often is a good idea

ECO MODE

A feature that is certainly welcome as everyone wants to save on energy. When testing the iron, I found the eco mode suppresses the stem intensity, making the iron more efficient.

CONCLUSION

After a couple of weeks of using the Philips PerfectCare Elite Plus Steam Generator I must say this is definite buy for anyone who wants to take the hard work out of ironing. It’s a product that can handle any job big or small or any type of material that is ironable with excellent results.

One thing to note is when using this iron on an Ironing board it pays to add an additional layer of material as the intense steam generates condensation and your ironing board could be wet after long use. Apart from that tiny niggle I can highly recommend the Philips PerfectCare Elite Plus Steam Generator Iron and can definitely see it being used in most homes all round the world.

MANUFACTURER SPECS:

Max 2400W power
Up to 500g steam boost
Up to 150g/min continuous steam
1.8L detachable water tank
Auto shut off
Intelligent automatic steam
Ultra-light weight iron
Safety carry lock
Easy De-Calc Plus
No burns – guaranteed

Cyclonic steam chamber: Yes
No burn: Yes
No temperature setting needed: Yes
OptimalTEMP Technology: Yes
Silent steam Technology: Yes
Smart Control Processor: Yes
DynamiQ: Yes

Continuous steam: Up to 150g/min
Power: Max 2400W
Pressure: Max 7.5 bar
Ready to use: 2min
Steam boost: Up to 500g
Vertical steam: Yes
Voltage: 220-240V

Safe on all ironable fabrics: Even delicate like silk
Soleplate gliding performance: 5 stars
Soleplate name: T-ionicGlide
Water tank capacity: 1800ml
Hose length: 1.9m
Low water alert: Yes
Power cord length: 2m
Precision steam tip: Yes
Ready to use: Sound indicator
Refill any time during use: Yes
Safety auto off: Yes
Soleplate scratch resistance: 5 stars
Tap water suitable: Yes
Descaling and cleaning: Easy De-calc Plus
Descaling reminder: Light
Carry lock: For transportation and safety
Hose storage: Hose storage compartment
Glove for extra protection: Yes
Energy saving mode: Yes
Energy saving: 50%
Product packaging: 100% recyclable
User manual: 100% recycled paper

Manufacturer Link to Product:

https://www.philips.com.au/c-p/GC9681_80/perfectcare-elite-plus-steam-generator-iron

This is a great domestic steam iron – if you have a lot of ironing to do, such as easy-care business shirts and baby onesies, etc, this is for you. This is an in-depth review, as ironing is something I’ve been quite serious about for years.

In the interests of full disclosure, this iron was sent to me for review – having said that, I’ve spent that amount on an iron before, and will do again.

Not everyone will be able to afford this amount of money for an iron, though. I believe the RRP is around $699 AUD.

I used it on business and dress shirts, business trousers, linen napery, delicates, wools, and various fashion fabrics.

The heat up time is rapid, which is great. It’s very easy to fill – do check your tap water ph. It has a descaling function, however some tap water can be extremely acid or alkali – I’d be careful with a machine that costs this amount. They recommend distilled water in the instructions, if your tap water is too far out of range. DO read the instructions! The easy de-calc/de-scale function is a good feature, and was easy to use.

The tank is 1.8 litres, which we’d easily go through in one ironing session. I tend to do a fortnight worth of ironing in one hit and we have a lot of natural fabrics requiring steam. I filled it with exactly 1.5 litres for the first time, and the tank was filled to within a millimetre of the max line, so I wonder about that – not that it matters.

The iron head is very lightweight, a good long steam cord. The power cord is long enough, and yet I can’t help but feel that as homes are never built with enough power points in the right places, an extra yard would have been nice, if they want to charge that much.

Not keen on the huge footprint of it on the ironing board – my board is strong enough, however the unit wouldn’t sit flat on the iron ‘holder’. I had to put it on the board itself, which takes up real estate on the board. Not much help if you have tall people with long trousers to iron for – luckily that’s not us. You can place it on a bench or table, but that’s not ideal.

The lock annoyed me, we have no kids, and I’d never pick up the unit by the iron handle, which seems to be the intuitive thing to do after you’ve locked it – I won’t use the lock. My irons stay set up. Great if you have kids.

The steam holes on the soleplate seem to be more in the nose, and then steam diffuses further down. Can someone please make one where the steam holes are fairly even, all over? The teardrop shape has a long and fairly narrow taper at the top, compared to my three other irons. That’s fantastic for tidying up around a button or a pleat that may have become rumpled or pinched as you turn the garment around. I placed the iron head on a silicone mat for irons… I didn’t want to constantly leave it down on the ironing board, nor did I want to be forever placing it in and out of the unit – just a personal comfort preference, and not wanting to be leaving a hot iron on the board cover continually in the same place, going forward.

The button slice at the top of the iron is large in comparison – well thought out – the button slices are usually not big enough to get around a large decorative button. I iron behind buttons on the wrong side, however sometimes you want to quickly tidy an area that has become mussed as you move the garment – without slowing to turn the garment over again. A big plus for this iron.

On close inspection, the soleplate seems to be something of a permanently attached ironing ‘shoe’, like the ones for delicate fabrics. I ironed a viscose faux ‘silk’ top with this, that’s normally extremely hard to iron. The plate glides over like butter on a hot pan – lovely! And no worrying about burns, or having to iron under a cloth so you can’t see where you are. I’ll wear that top a lot more, now.

It DID leave a shine on some other garments, where tested on the inside hems. I’ve never found an iron yet, that didn’t leave shine on certain materials – even though the care labels state they can be ironed. Under a cloth still, for those. It’s the fault of the material, not the iron.

The power on button is obvious, and you have the option to press it for 2 or 3 seconds to get extra power – I did that on thick linen that I make my tea towels out of. You still have to damp and spray for that weight of linen and canvas. The extra power steam wasn’t enough. I like a heavier iron for thick linen, though this was absolutely fine for lighter linen mixes, after damping. I still had to use the clapper on hubby’s woollen business trousers, to obtain a nice sharp crease. That being the nature of wool, I didn’t really expect this unit to be able to do that by itself.

The Eco button, I used once to see if it worked, however it’s not a feature that I’d use – it seemed a little wimpy on that setting.

The iron took a while to be ready again, directly after turning it off. My other one knows that it is already hot and comes back almost immediately, if you find another thing to do after switching off – this one takes a little while, not long, but enough to annoy me.

The steam button under the handle is easy, however if you want to use two steam bursts in very quick succession, you’ll accidentally turn on the steam boost. One quick press turns it off again, however it can be a little annoying. I’d rather just have the on/off for that feature on the top with another button. I found the steam made funny noises and came out a bit weak and wobbly when I switched to my left hand to iron in the other direction – often done for small pleats around cuffs, etc. Was this to do with the sensor that knows which direction you are going, or is it the switch under the steam button more for right handers? Wasn’t impressed about that. Overall I like the machine, and will use it for rayons, viscose, lighter fabrics.

I left the iron down on a few pieces of test fabric. I came back after a minute – it was fine. The iron isn’t as hot as I’d like for thick cottons and linens… I had to do many passes to have the thicker fabrics dry out enough after steaming and damping. However most households seem to have a higher proportion of synthetics now, so it would be great for that. We have natural fabrics mostly, and the iron performed just as well as some others, though I did have to take a few passes more to tackle creasing for some thicker cottons, even though the steam pressure is good. The thicker linens stayed faintly creased :-(
It was a heck of a lot easier to move the iron around though – it really does glide, and is very lightweight.

Honestly though, I was working through 15 business shirts, and became annoyed and got out my other steam iron at about number 10… I wanted to combine the features. I really was irritated about accidentally turning on the steam boost all the time – especially when it didn’t make much difference in the results. My old ‘other brand’ steam iron took out wrinkles from 100% cottons much more efficiently – I think the steam is somehow better, the iron can be made hotter, and more weight in the iron head. But I wanted the taper and the button slice in the Philips!

It has a loud clicking noise as you steam – nothing awful, however maybe disturbing for infants or shift workers trying to sleep close to where ironing is being done. It didn’t bother me at all. Happens every time you press for steam, so I’m assuming it’s some sort of noisy valve opening. Philips ought not to claim that it’s quiet, though.

There is no water drip from this iron, unlike my other that claims to be drip free and isn’t. This iron is WONDERFUL for that. I’m impressed with no drips- important for silks.

Including the heat mitt is a lovely thought, however a glove style might have been nice, to make it easier to keep pleating and details in place while doing vertical steaming. That isn’t necessary though, just a thought while using it.

I won’t use it for my sewing; it switches off too soon, and isn’t designed to be on all day. It would be frustrating using it on a heavy canvas coat construction, for instance. I’m still looking at an industrial steam iron for the ‘on all day’, heat control, and user serviceable parts features that domestic irons simply don’t have. I don’t sew for business purposes, however I often make our clothes, household items, and our costumes for conventions. It’s great for if you do a little sewing now and then. Let’s face it – way, way better than an ordinary iron.

I didn’t fancy the automatic steam option, which is a button on the top of the handle – I don’t iron enough of all one thing. If I were ironing 10 pairs of kid’s shorts and twenty tshirts, or 10 baby onesies, I probably would. I prefer more control, one garment to the next.

I’d like to see how this will perform over time – after another brand developing problems at around six months, and nothing but troubles ever since, I’d like to think that this unit will be trouble free. It certainly is, so far, and I’ll happily add it to the arsenal.

Ultimately though, I would not purchase this iron myself – as a serious sewist, it doesn’t have features that I’d expect for the price. There are other products out there, which do have what I’m after, for not a lot more. You can’t walk into a department store and get one, but they do exist.

There is a LOT of plastic in the body for such a pricey item. I know that that makes it light, and that’s good for someone moving it a lot. However plastic is relatively cheap to manufacture and mould, and the expensive research and development has mostly been done, as they’ve been doing this style of iron for a while now. I don’t quite see where that amount of money is, in this unit. I think they’d do better to make up in turnover what they’d lose in the margins for this product. A lot of people with large households could really do with this, but simply can’t afford it. I found the black and gold colour to be a little...twee. I didn't like it; personal preference.

My impression is that there should be more bang for your buck, and I’d have liked the ability to have a hotter setting. If you have mostly lighter, synthetic garments, and lots of jersey/t shirt materials you will LOVE this, especially if you have volume to do. Four stars for lighter ironing, losing a star for the price. Three stars for my uses, which are on the unusual side, I would imagine; including the price drawback. It’s good, however the price isn’t justified in my opinion.