Philips PerfectCare GC9230/02 Steam Generator review

I've just been telling you (here) about the Philips PerfectCare Ironing Party that we hosted last week, in conjunction with Come Around, and as promised, I'm back to tell you more about the iron itself. The model that we received was the Philips PerfectCare GC9230/02.

The initial reaction of pretty much everyone who laid eyes on it was "wow, that's a beast" ! It is huge, much bigger and more cumbersome than a standard iron, but that's because it's a steam generator. The actual iron part that you hold and move is no heavier than a regular iron - in fact, I think it's even lighter because the water is in the base unit, not the iron itself.

Now, I have to admit, I was a bit wary of steam generators up until now. I couldn't really see the point of them - after all, a steam iron has steam in it already doesn't it ? - and they seemed a bit scary and complicated to use. I had visions of so much steam and hissing going on that that my front room would resemble a cross between a Chinese laundry and a dragon's lair ! Well, I'm happy to say, it's not scary at all to use (apart from the few times you knock the steam button by accident and make yourself jump when it hisses !) and, once you've used one, you can certainly see the point because they have a higher steam pressure than normal irons so you can crack on through your ironing, even on resistant fabrics like denim, in record time and with very little effort.

The Philips PerfectCare GC9230/02 also has some amazing features built in that take all the risk out of ironing. First of all, you can forget all the faffing about with different temperature settings for different fabrics. This has a "one size fits all" approach which means that it is 100% safe and effective on all fabrics, even delicate ones like cashmere and silk. You don't have to worry about choosing the right temperature and you don't have to wait for the temperature to adjust as you switch fabrics. Even from cold, it only takes 2 minutes for the iron to warm up.

Amazingly, it is also designed so that you can leave it standing on even delicate fabrics for 5 minutes without it causing any damage. If you've got young kids in the house, you'll know how easy it is to get distracted for a second and burn or scorch fabrics by leaving the iron standing on them so that's a fabulous feature to have. I was dubious about how well this would work but I tested it on an old silk blouse and was amazed to see that, after several minutes, it didn't leave a mark.

Now obviously, all that steam needs water so I thought I'd be constantly refilling the water reservoir. I was pleased to see, though, that it contains a generous 1.5 litres of water which is enough for 2 hours of ironing. It is also dead easy to refill because the water tank is detachable and you can fill it straight from the tap.

One feature I haven't tried yet but that also looks simple to use is the "easy de-calc". There is an automatic reminder to tell you when your water tank is due for cleaning and the whole operation takes less than 60 seconds. 

The only downside is the price - at £250, it's certainly not cheap - but it does have a 2-year guarantee and a 30-day money-back-guarantee. Also, for the next couple of days, you still have a chance to win one on the Philips Home Living UK facebook page.

*** STOP PRESS ! Special deal : If you’ve purchased your own PerfectCare iron, register its barcode and date of purchase here, along with your contact details and you’ll receive a 50% off Amazon voucher for the new Philips Easy 8 ironing board, priced at £100. The new Philips Easy 8 ironing board incorporates 8 clever solutions for truly easy ironing, including a unique Shoulder Wing System. Fast, convenient and safe ironing will be the thing of your future!***

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £250

for more information : https://www.facebook.com/philipshomelivingUK

Disclosure : We received a Come Around party pack, including the steam generator, ironing board and a whole host of other goodies (as detailed here) in return for hosting an ironing party and blogging about it, as well as giving an honest review of the iron.

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Our Philips PerfectCare Ironing Party 

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