Bosch TDS2551 Steam Generator

My steam iron is ok but I found that I struggled with things like duvet covers, so whilst watching QVC and their helpful demonstrations I decided that a steam generator iron was the way to go.

I did a little research and read several reviews and decided on this iron. There was no way I was going to pay over £100 for one of these so when I found this one on offer for £79.99 from Argos I jumped at the chance.

The Bosch Steam Generator Iron is a bit like a regular iron but it is attached to a base unit which is under pressure and generates the steam. The steam is sent down a pipe to the ironing plate.

The base unit is not overly large and according to other reviews is capable of being stored on top of the board but I prefer to store mine on the floor where it is a lot more stable.

With my board at full height this is still possible as the lead at 2m is long enough to still reach the end of the board. There is a black silicone iron rest which is detachable from the main unit (where one would normally rest the iron) which can be placed on top of your ironing board for ease of use.

There is a clear, removable water tank , capacity 1 litre, at the front of the unit which is handy to take off and take to the tap (this takes tap water) and provides continuous steam to the iron at 4.5 bar.

Simply place on the unit and press the start button. Once the unit is ready, (about 3-4 minutes) the green lamp illuminates and you're ready to go. To iron with steam you simply pull up slightly on the lever within the handle.

There is a dial on the main unit to vary the amount of steam generated but I find that I use it on full the whole time.

The ironing plate also gets hot like an normal iron and has a dial to lower the temperature of the sole plate so that you can iron synthetics but also give them a blast of steam. In my experience you can't do this with a regular steam iron.

The iron also has the ability to steam vertically, for curtains in-situ for example but I can't say I've ever used that feature.

I think that this iron has speeded up my ironing time by about 1/3 not the mention the quality of the ironing is much better.

It I were to suggest and improvements I would say that he water tank could be made a little easier to empty completely.