Do people still iron anymore? With the advent of wrinkle-free fabrics and, well, the rumpled look being so trendy, perhaps our irons are gathering rust. If you’re among those who still need to look professional but you don’t have time for pressing hot metal across your seams, I have a solution. Steam you stuff. Conair makes home garmet steamers that are lightweight and easy to use. The company recently sent me two models to review: Conair Complete Steam
and Conair Extreme Steam.
Conair Complete Steam Review
Conair Complete Steam is a small, handheld, portable steamer for clothes, draperies, bedding and more. With a 1100 watt steaming motor it’s got enough power to steam wrinkles out of the most hardy fabrics.
Conair Complete Steam has a compact pitcher-style design that is good for travel, I suppose; but it is still quite large; easily larger and then a regular sized hairdryer.
Conair suggests the device is best for removing wrinkles from clothing and curtains. You can also use it to refresh pillows and mattresses, since the package insert says it “kills bed bugs and dust mites with the power of steam.” Worth noting, if you’re using it for this purpose, you’re meant to concentrate on seams and folds in the fabric.
Conair Complete Steam can also be used on pet beds and furniture. Because it uses no chemicals it should not be damaging to most fabrics, though of course you’ll want to test it on a small, inconspicuous area first.
Conair Complete Steam – How it works
Conair Complete Steam heats quickly, and though it’s supposed to be ready to go in 60 seconds, I found it was steaming in 30 seconds. It has a good size steam tank (4.94 ounce for 145 mm water tank.) and a pitcher-shaped handle. The steamer is filled by twisting the nozzle off the top of the unit and adding water through the neck. Simple, clean and easy.
Steam flow & volume – User experience
Using the steamer is very easy. The air flows out of the narrow nozzle in jets, creating more of a cloud effect. It’s quite effective and the volume of steam you’ll get from it is impressively strong for a device of this size.
If I had one complaint about how I was using it, it’s that it could’ve used a low setting for smaller or more delicate areas. In this case however, if the worst thing about this steamer is it’s too strong for its size, that’s probably a good thing.
In some fabrics I found I needed 2-3 passes to get all the wrinkles out, but slowing the speed of my passes also helped. While the steam head is relatively small, and it did take a bit longer to do larger areas, it didn’t feel like I was using a portable steamer. It felt like a pretty powerful little device.
Conair Extreme Steam Review
If the Conair Complete Steam is the family sedan model, the Conair Extreme Steam is the Ferrari. This is a larger and more powerful steamer with a bigger water tank and turbo-charged power.
With a 1550 watt steam generator the Extre Steam produces hotter steam, and thus faster results.
The Conair Extreme Steam stands up on its own so there’s no worry about it tipping over if you need to set it down. It’s supposed to heat up in just 40 seconds, and during my testing it did exactly that.
One thing I did notice about this is that Even though I would turn the power button off, if the machine remained plugged in, it would still be hot hours later.
In terms of accessories, there’s a silicone band to pull fabric taught for easier steaming, a delicate fabric spacer to protect fragile fabric and trim, and a bristle brush to loosen fibers and let steam penetrate deeper Conair says the device provides 50% more steam, 50% hotter steam, and 67% faster results when compared to Conair’s previous generation garment steamer.
Want to read about more Conair gadgets? Review: Infinity Pro flat iron
Conair Extreme Steam – User experience
Compared to the Complete Steam, the Extreme Steam has more of a directed air effect. The steam exits the nozzle with some force and in a straight line, making it more directed and easier to get into small places like seams and ruffles.
Steam flow & volume
The steam generated from this device is definitely powerful, and noticeable. Where some steamers puff out some air, this steamer is powering that hot air straight into your clothes or furniture. As a result it works really quickly and it’s possible to steam a dress in minutes—and with no iron to fuss with. The large steam head is also great for larger things like table cloths and curtains, where doing those same items with the Complete Steam might take substantially longer.
Overall review – Conair clothing steamers
Dress steamed with Complete Steam, on left side, wrinkled on right.
These steamers are easy to use, of course, and they are handy to have. I haven’t picked up my iron in about 10 years, but I do find myself reaching for these effective, handy, easy to store garmet steamers.
Conair Complete Steam (Price: about $30 ) or the Conair Extreme Steam (About $55) are available from Amazon and Walmart
