10 best steam irons for stubborn creases, tried and tested by an expert

For hard-to-banish wrinkles and creases, this iron was hard to beat. It saw off stubborn creases easily, and the tapered tip was fab at getting into tight corners. School shirts looked brand new after a quick one over with this power steam machine – and the button groove meant minimal fuss when ironing.

As well as traditional ironing, you can do vertical steaming with this iron, and it’s pretty versatile in other ways, too. You can adjust the temperature on the dial (useful, as it did get astonishingly hot, so beware, kids and novice ironers) and the amount of steam it jets out. The steam function was absolutely drip-free. Those in hard-water areas will appreciate the self-clean function and anti-scale cartridge.

This iron is a great all-rounder – perhaps a bit on the heavy side, but I’ll forgive it as it was still easy to manoeuvre.

Designed to be easy to store, this is a great iron if you’re short on space, as the cable tucks away neatly and the plug tucks into the base. Although compact, it’s a full-size machine, making ironing a load of washing relatively quick.

There’s a 320ml water tank on board, and you can opt for dry or steam ironing. While dry ironing, you can use the steam shot, or you can spritz water on garments to get out really dried-in wrinkles. I found the dry mode did an adequate job – my washing looked like it had been ironed, for sure – but the steam mode was much more effective at giving it that crisp look.

The iron is pretty lightweight, and it glided well over all fabrics. I liked that there’s a one-temperature control, so it’s safe for all ironable fabrics, giving us peace of mind. It’s also a good iron for those who are new to the game (hello, students).

I found the Tefal’s high pressure iron an absolute game-changer when it came to ironing. The steam generator base has a 1.2l tank, which meant I could get through huge piles of laundry without refilling. The iron took just moments to heat – no more than a standard steam iron, in fact.

I loved the smart setting, which detects when the iron is moving and blasts steam, and then stops when the iron isn’t moving. I found it provided enough steam that I didn’t need to do both sides of garments – especially handy when ironing bed linen and other large items. It also stops steaming automatically when it’s upright, which is a very handy safety feature.

One last thing to mention is that it has a headlight, which sounds gimmicky, but is very useful for showing up wrinkles, especially if you’re ironing in less-than-perfect lighting conditions. The price tag may be eye-watering, but it could still be worth every penny to die-hard ironing perfectionists, who are sure to love this machine.

I was blown away by this steam generator iron. The iron itself looks smart – all black with some rose-gold-coloured trim. The slots in the base unit enable you to tuck in the flex and the steam cable neatly when it’s stowed away. As for the 2l reservoir, I found it to be easy to fill – it slots out horizontally and slots back in easily.

The iron comes with different modes, including the iCare mode, which makes sure all ironable fabrics will be safe and a turbo mode for creases that are really dried in. However, during testing, I found the model to be so efficient, I barely touched the modes – the iron heated up quickly, and it’s so lightweight it glided easily over all fabrics.

This machine is certainly an investment, but if you’re particular or do a lot of ironing, I think it’s worth it.

For those who are new to steam generator irons and are baulking slightly at the price, this Beldray is a great entry-level option. It’s considerably easier on the purse than some of the other steam generator irons I tested for this review, and it did a very decent job of my laundry.

The 1.5l water tank took around a minute or so to get up to full steam. You can adjust the temperature on the iron using a traditional dial, and that’s all the variables there are. The trigger button is well positioned, so you can squeeze it while you iron.

The soleplate was pretty friction-free – while it didn’t glide quite as freely as some of the other steam generators here, rest assured it didn’t catch or rumple the fabrics. Nor did it get overly hot and leave shine on the clothes. You can also use this as a vertical steamer on hanging items, which is handy.

If you want to do ironing away from the mains power, this Tower corded and cordless iron offers you that functionality. If you’re doing a big load of ironing, and battery power isn’t going to see you through the whole lot, you have the option of plugging it into the base charger and using the whole thing.

The base does make it a bit clunky when ironing but it doesn’t make it much heavier than your usual corded iron, which I was pleased about. You can also use this iron in vertical mode – simply detach it from the base and steam hanging garments without getting wrapped up in the cord.

Performance-wise, this iron was decent enough to deal with all but the worst wrinkles. It glided beautifully across the clothes, and the button notch on the tip was handy for doing shirts. This is a nifty little iron that offers good value.

If you live in a hard-water area, you’ll be only too aware of how much damage limescale can cause to irons, kettles, dishwashers and the like. This Tefal iron is a great option, as it comes with a filter that cleans out any scale before it enters the steam. You can pull this filter out to clean it, too. As well as prolonging the lifespan of your iron, it means you don’t get grim stains on your fresh laundry.

I found the performance excellent – it glided over cottons and nylons with no hitches or dragging. The auto steam was great for blasting out creases without requiring any elbow grease on my part, and there’s a steam boost trigger button if you’re working on something that’s really rumpled.

While some may find this machine a bit on the heavy side, it definitely feels robust and well-made.

Beldray’s digital touchscreen steam iron left me really impressed. It takes a lot of the trial and error out of ironing – it has a temperature screen that lets you select from four preset modes, based on fabric type. It’s really easy to use, and I liked the fact that it’s so visible – it reminded me to change the temperature between garments.

The iron was quick to heat up, taking seconds rather than minutes. And it has a fairly lightweight design, however, I found the circular base a bit bulky and annoying when I was ironing. Bonus points for the extra-long flex, though, as I could iron away from the mains power. There is a powerful amount of steam with this iron, too – it was able to get out stubborn, dried-in creases with fairly minimal effort on my part.

If you find wires restrictive when ironing, this cordless steam iron is a good shout. It comes on a base, which isn’t as bulky as the steam generator bases, but it is chunkier than the one on the budget-friendly Tower cordless iron featured in this roundup. I found the stated charge-up time of 11 seconds a bit misleading, as this only gives you 35 seconds of ironing time. I couldn’t get through a whole garment before it beeped to recharge again. The idea is you put the iron back on the base in between items, so you still need to iron close to the mains power socket.

When using the iron, it did glide well over fabrics, thanks to the ceramic coating on the plate. The temperature control is easy to use, and it heats up very quickly. The notched plate made ironing around shirt buttons and in pleats really easy, too.

A lot of steam-generator irons are pretty bulky, and I struggle to find space for them to be stowed away. This one, however, is only a little bit larger than your standard steam iron, yet it has a massive 1.5l tank, meaning I could get through loads of ironing, without needing to refill – even if I was constantly steaming the garments.

As with the Tefal steam generator included in this round-up, the Philips PerfectCare auto-adjusts its temperature depending on the fabric. This means I was able to switch between silk pillowcases and the dreaded school shirts, without hanging around for the iron to cool down or heat up. It also meant I never got it wrong. There is a slight button notch on the soleplate, but I didn’t find it quite as good as some other models I’ve tested here, as it’s just a bit too subtle. The iron itself is lightweight, and I was able to blitz through piles of laundry without getting aching arms.