Bosch TDS 1445 Sensixx Station

Ironing has to be one of the worst household chores known to man. I despise it with a passion but on the flip side refuse to leave the house without an ironed shirt. This was leaving me in something of a quandary. My ordinary steam iron was good but it just wasn’t quick enough…

Purchase Decision

One day when in John Lewis, Nottingham I discovered a in-store demonstration of steam generator irons. I had a go myself and it suddenly turned what was quite a heavy chore into something that was actually a LOT quicker. The iron had won me over but John Lewis prices hadn’t… After some good online consumer research I discovered the Bosch on a promotion at Comet. The reviews checked out and off I went. At £74.99 it presented good value and looked a solid item.

Setup

Setup was simple. The instructions were easy to understand and had great detail and pictures to help you along the way. The item came well packed and required removing from the box and water adding to the station. The reservoir can take over 1L of water, plenty of capacity for a heavy ironing session!

You simply pour in the water and then place the cap back on the reservoir. This seals the pressurised container and the iron is ready to be turned on.

Once you have turned the iron on there are two indicators on the base unit, one advises when you need more water, the other when it is ready to steam. There is also a dial that adjusts the amount of steam output from the iron.

On the iron itself there is a conventional heat dial that you would adjust as per the ironing instructions on the garment.

Once you have got it setup all you need to wait for is the green light on the base and you are ready to iron!

Operation

When the light has turned green on the base you are ready to iron. Take the iron and use as you would normally, but when required press the simple trigger under the handle on the iron to fire masses of steam at your garment. The iron will glide along as the steam forces out and it really will knock those creases straight out. You can halve your ironing time as it is so much more efficient. I tend to keep the trigger down all the time to sail through the creases.

Ironing is so much easier and with the steam on demand you can use your iron for other garments. It’s great to hang an item on a hanger and steam the creases out with some vertical ironing or use on curtains etc. The power really works and will get your creases out.

The sole of the iron is stainless steel. It hasn’t got any fancy treatments on that help it glide but the power of the steam as it shoots from the iron helps in this area. Overall the sole has lasted long and is always sparkling clean!

Maintenance

As with any heating appliance the effects of lime scale are inevitable. Every ten ironing sessions Bosch recommend you fill the tank, turn it upside down and shake the tank to loosen any scale. You then open the tank and drain the water. As I live in a softwater area there is never any scale except the odd flake. There also instructions to allow a conventional descaling should you live in a hard water area, however I have not had to resort to this as of yet.

Summary

Lets face it, everyone hates ironing. If you don’t then I would question why the hell not?! The Sensixx station provides a reasonable alternative to a conventional iron at a reasonable price. Yes it costs more than a normal iron but is so much more worth it with the time you save through ironing and saving your sanity!

It does an excellent job on all fabrics, has multiple uses and is extremely easy to use.

You may ask why not pay more for a more expensive steam generator which can cost upto £800. My answer to this is that you just don’t need to. At £74.99 why would you WANT to pay more?

Happy ironing!

Item purchased from Comet, Mansfield December 2008. £74.99