Elena Ivashchenko, editor of the Happy Parents website and a mother of two children, tested the new Philips steam generator and was convinced from personal experience that it greatly facilitates the life of a modern housewife.
Philips PerfectCare Pure
I’ll start with a confession: ironing is in the first place in my personal hit-parade of unloved homework. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, and that kind person who one day invents a machine for automatic ironing at home will receive the Nobel Prize and the immense gratitude of all driven housewives.
What a “driven housewife” is, I fully realized when I became a mother for the second time. The ironing board suffered the most from this happy event. During the first couple of months, a mountain of obscene-sized clothes grew on her, mostly for children. I promised myself many times to deal with it and every evening I felt like an oath breaker … And the mountain grew, and all my attempts to solve this problem came down to putting clean, but still wrinkled T-shirts, skirts and dresses on the shelves in my daughter’s closet. It was in these circumstances that an “alien” appeared in our house – Philips PerfectCare Pure.
The word “steam generator” has always pictured in my imagination an apparatus of impressive dimensions. So I was surprised to receive a small box of Philips PerfectCare Pure for testing from the courier. The generator turned out to be surprisingly compact – so much so that I was able to put it on my ironing board without any problems. But still, those who plan to purchase such a unit should heed the advice on choosing a steam generator and immediately think about where to place it during operation. In my case, PerfectCare Pure quickly migrated from the ironing board to a nearby chest of drawers. Fortunately, the cord connecting the base of the steam generator with the iron allows it.
My acquaintance with PerfectCare Pure began with the instructions for use. The manual – four pages with pictures and a minimum of text – will be mastered even by those who are completely far from technology. The first thing that caught my eye: when you first connect, just press the button and start ironing will not work. First, you need to insert the supplied water filter into the unit (there are even two of them, the second in reserve), and then fill in the water. But thanks to this, the steam generator can be filled with untreated tap water.
When trying to fill the generator, I ran into the first and, probably, the only inconvenience: the lack of a container for pouring water into a XNUMX-liter tank in the kit. Fortunately, I found a glass with an iron spout at home. Otherwise, it would be necessary to adapt a measuring glass for this case, or better a watering can for watering indoor plants.
Without exaggeration: I was amazed at the speed with which I stroked the ruffled skirt made of thick cotton.
For those who iron things as needed, it may seem that the steam generator takes too long to warm up before starting. For example, my husband is convinced of this, recalling that he needs to iron something, about five minutes before leaving the house. Indeed, the steam generator is not an iron; it cannot be used ten seconds after turning on. But the heating time declared in two minutes is more than compensated by the speed of the ironing process itself.
Those who often use temperature control on the iron will have to forget about this option. PerfectCare Pure doesn’t have it as a class. The steam generator is equipped with OptimalTemp technology: it decides for itself at what temperature of the soleplate to iron a particular item. This is certainly a big plus, but I realized this a little later. At first, I only appreciated that thanks to this technology, the generator can be left on the ironing board with the sole downwards without fear of burning the surface.
When the iron does not need to be constantly put on the priest or returned to the base, ironing ruffles, folds and ruffles, which abound in children’s clothes, accelerates significantly. Without exaggeration: I was amazed at the speed with which I stroked the three-tiered ruffled skirt made of heavy cotton! After her, the test was passed by her husband’s starched shirt, jeans, a scarf made of a mixture of silk and wool, children’s T-shirts with rhinestones and thermal transfers. No special settings, no waiting, when the iron heats up or cools down in order to smooth rough jeans, or, conversely, not to ruin the silk shirt. I have never ironed so fast, honestly! The last test was the outfit of the princess, prepared for the children’s matinee – an eerie mixture of synthetics and tulle, sprinkled with sparkles. It’s good that kids don’t wear this every day. On it I have successfully tested the vertical steaming function.
As a result, in 30 minutes of testing, playfully, I ironed more items from different fabrics than in an hour with my steam iron. In my “tunnel”, clogged with crumpled clothes, a blue light dawned: I had, if not an automatic ironing machine, but an apparatus that could significantly reduce the time for this unloved household chores.