Steamfast SF-407 Canister Fabric Steamer, With Telescopic Pole and Fabric Brush, 45 Second Heat Up Time, Chemical-Free Steam, Clothes Hook, Fabric Brush, 40-Ounce Water Tank, White

I bought this steamer because I love thrift store shopping. Anyone who's been to a thrift store may already know that you can expect a strange odor from anything and everything you bring home. Since I "upcycle" most of the things I buy, I wanted to kill two birds with one stone; eliminate odors as well as pressing the fabric for easy deconstruction. My steamer came about a month ago and I've used it a handful of times for about 40 min to an hour every time. I am very pleased with the construction, all of the pieces and parts look well made and are fully functional. The foam pad was squished pretty badly in the box but it popped back to life in about 5 days. I must admit, I the steam definitely helps the thrift store stank but does not remove it completely, it almost seems to go away and then once the garment is cool again it comes back very slightly. I did have concerns before making my purchase, one review said that the steamer squirts hot water randomly and could wet the garment or burn the operator. Within about 10 minutes of using the steamer I figured out what happens. With the buildup of steam and condensation coating the rubber tube after using the steamer for a few minutes, this water will travel to the lowest point and sit there. The continuous pressure from the steam still being made by the machine will push the hot water out the hose with enough buildup. To remedy the situation, one just needs to make the hose straight again every few minutes by lifting the steam head high up, allowing the water buildup to drop back down into the tank. The steamer makes a noise before it shoots water out so it's easy to anticipate. SCIENCE. As far as taking wrinkles out of fabric, it works great. I would recommend this for anyone who has regular household needs. I really only need to use it about twice a week for maybe an hour. Although it would work for a shop or for someone with higher volume of steaming to do, the item was clearly designed for clothing, the range of motion allowed by the hose and extension cord are not extensive- you really can't hang something longer than the extendo-holdy pole. Overall, a great product, the only thing I might change about it is weighting the base more because as you steam, your tank becomes lighter and lighter and very thick heavy fabrics may not be held up by it anymore.

I am one of those people that will wash clothes and if they come out too wrinkly they are hidden away in my closet....essentially forever. I remembered how fast and easy it was to get wrinkles out of clothes using a steamer when I worked in retail as a teenager and wondered if a smaller home model would be as effective. Well...it certainly is. I LOVE this steamer! The first day I got it I excitedly pulled it out, filled it with water, and began testing it on my newly washed clothes. It was so fast and easy that I began pulling those clothes out of my closet that were so wrinkled that taking an iron to them seemed hopeless and in less than a minute each article was complete. The basics: light materials (rayon, silk, cotton) are perfect for a steamer. The wrinkles come out very quickly and if a few drops get on the item when you initially turn the steamer on the steam makes the water evaporate almost immediately. The steamer also works really well on thick fabrics such as sweaters; although it's not as quick as rayon it's still very quick...probably still well under a minute. Positive: very fast, clean, and easy; the pole that you hang your clothing from is very convenient; the pole can be collapsed for easy storage; great for odd items like ruffled collars on women's shirts that are more difficult to iron; can also be used on curtains although an extension would be needed because the cord can only extend about 6'. Negative: if you want a crease in your pants than you can't use a steamer. This is the best money I spent since I got my first Tivo over 10 years ago. I am going to buy one for everyone I know. Whether you see the iron as a nuisance like I did or not the steamer is still an excellent purchase and a really great price for the overall value.

I did a lot of research before buying this one. The other price points (unless the super professional grades) don't add much more feature, more like a bigger water tank. 45 minutes of steam is enough for me, as my arm was sore after 30 minutes or less. :( Pros: steams up really fast (< 1min), no drips. works well. The trick is to sweep the wand *SLOWLY*, instead of rapid back-and-forth motion. And I find that putting the wand with the brush INSIDE the shirt, and pulling it out & upwards gives you more tension in the fabric and thus makes it smoother and crispier, more than just taking the wrinkles out if you just do it from the outside. Heavier cotton requires more work. Cons: The pole is still too short (but others are of same height). So for longer clothing, you have to stoop down to get to the bottom hem. The pole is steady, just wobbles slight from all the tugging, but that doesn't bothers me. The problem is the hanger will wobble and twist a whole lot more and thus making steaming process a bit harder. Caveats: some wrinkles may return if you don't do enough(same with using the iron). And also, the clothes can wrinkle when slightly damp from the steaming. So hang them carefully afterwards. Overall I like it much better than an iron, and much safer. You may still get slight burn from the steam if not careful, but nowhere close to touching a hot piece of iron. All this is just from my first use after reading all the tips in other reviews. I can only get better with practice. Highly recommend! EDIT: This portion is an update after one year of use. The steamer had clogged up a few times (no steam coming out after 1-2 minutes). It turns out, there was mineral build-up from my using regular tap water (vs distilled water). I had to give it a thorough clean & rinse thru to get all the yucky brown & black residues out. Make sure to flush out all the mineral deposits. I also recommend that you empty out all the water if you don't plan on using it for days. Not just the tank, but where the water pools at the bottom of the unit. Keep it dry if not in use.

Update: This is my update after a few years of use (3-4 times per week). For my original review, see below. This steamer broke today. And by broke, I mean the same plastic ring that crumbled into pieces when I originally bought it (see Original Review below), once again crumbled, and now the hose cannot connect to the steamer. This happened mid-steaming my clothes for work this morning...I'm looking a little haggard today. Also, recently, it started leaking water onto the floor - badly. And because the water gets so gross, that caused these hard white deposits to be crusted onto my hardwood floor. Further annoyances with this steamer also include: (1) The reservoir where the water goes into the unit (under the water tank) gets DISGUSTING quickly, and is impossible to clean. It always has brown, white, and black chunks of some hard material that continue to build. Cleaning it is gross, takes forever, and you still can't get everything out of the little crevices. (2) The entire unit (being lightweight and on wheels) turns when you try to steam a garment. (3) Sometimes, it just wouldn't work. Literally, I'd turn it on, wait 10 minutes, and there would be no steam coming out. I could put my hand over the steamer and nothing. It acted like the hose was kinked or something, but the hose was not kinked. When it did this, I'd have to turn it off, wait a bit, and turn it on again. Sometimes it just wouldn't work at all and I'd have to wear something that wasn't wrinkly that day. Overall, this steamer lasted me a few years, and basically did it's job. But now that I have become accustomed to having a steamer around, I will definitely not buy this one again - I'm going higher quality for more money. Original review (4 stars): The first time I got this steamer, the little plastic ring that screws the hose onto the base crumbled into pieces when I tried to attach it. Amazon was awesome about sending me another one right away and arranging for me to send the broken one back hassle-free. But beware when you are putting it together to not tighten that ring too much. I've had the steamer itself for over a year now, and I have not used an iron since. It works really well and does what it's supposed to. Just be careful not to catch your finger or hand in the steam...ouch! If something is really really wrinkly and a thicker fabric, it is not too effective since you'd have to hold the steamer over the wrinkle forever, but for suits, pants, skirts, dresses, jeans, and shirts that have normal post-washing or wearing wrinkles it works great. Definitely not a top of the line steamer, it's still a bit flimsy, but for the price, it's a pretty good one that has been very useful to me for over a year now.

I wish I'd known how awesome steam cleaners were before. Would've saved me so much time, effort, and exposure to chemicals. I'd originally bought it to kill dust mites on my mattress, but I had read that steam cleaners were really good for household cleaning. So I gave it a shot. Normally on my tub I'll use a Magic Eraser or a spray tile and tub cleaner. Even when the mold is visibly wiped off, I still smell mold unless I use Soft Scrub (bleach-based cleaner). When I used this steam cleaner on the tile and tub, the buildup loosened and wiped off easily with a soft microfiber sponge. I was skeptical that it could be anywhere near as effective as bleach, so I was pretty shocked when my tub didn't smell at all like mold. It still takes maybe twice the time of using Soft Scrub, since it's a relatively small steam cleaner without fancy attachments, but it's worth it. No chemicals! (And I won't accidentally bleach my clothes!) My kitchen is small and I cook a lot, so it's worth getting on my hands and knees to clean the floor. Sometimes I'm lazy and use multipurpose spray cleaner; other times I'll use dish soap and water. The steam cleaner worked better than even soap and water. The buildup that tends to get stuck in crevices gets soft enough that the sponge molds into any hard-to-reach places and wipes it out. Even without soap, grease came off completely. That floor has NEVER been this clean. Caught myself cleaning things that were already reasonably clean, just to see what else it would remove. It's a lifesaver for baseboards. If you're not someone who cleans them religiously, you know how difficult it is to remove that caked-on dust. With the steam cleaner, it wipes right off. I would caution anyone who uses it on painted surfaces (walls, for example) not to let the surface steam too long, or the paint will start to loosen. The handle is designed so that you'd have to really not be paying attention to burn yourself. If the hose kinks, the steam does stop coming out. If you don't see steam coming out, more than likely it's not having any effect. But propping the handle back on the stand while it's extended and waiting a little while will cause it to start steaming again. (It really does only take 40 seconds to start steaming, even at first.) My one little gripe is that the hose isn't quite long enough to get the top of the tile in my bathtub. (First world problems.) ...Haven't tried using it to get wrinkles out of clothes yet, but I will, since I hate ironing. It looks as if there are other steam cleaners on the market that'll have more pressure, higher temperatures, are adjustible, probably cover more surface area, and have attachments that will allow you to scrub as you go...even pieces that go down your drains to kill bacteria and mold. But they're expensive - probably from $400 to $2,000. This is easily the best $50 I've ever spent. It just does so much.

Had this unit for a couple of months now and use it a couple of times per week. Over all I am pleased with it. While it will not replace an iron for pressing purposes it does do a good job at steaming wrinkles from most fabrics. Which is convenient considering that is what it is suppose to do, heh. **Good points** 1) The water heats up to steam level quickly. I rarely wait more than 60 seconds, or so, for steam build up. 2) The steam is a steady adequate flow once going. It rarely spurts out hot water (until other home steamers I've tried). 3) Once turned off the water cools down relatively quickly and thus the steam flow from the "sitting" unit stops shortly after power off. 4) The base is light weight but heavy enough that my clothes don't cause it to tip when they are hanging from the fully extended pole. Unless I do something stupid like hang way too many clothes off the pole for some reason (did that once, don't know why, hah). 5) I have yet to see any significant mineral build up. Though arguably I only use the steamer for a few minutes 2-3 times a week. **General points (not bad but not spectacular either)** 1) The hose, while perfectly long enough for articles hanging from the extended pole, will not reach the top of hanging high level drapes. As this is a floor model and not designed to be lifted that makes steaming said drapes difficult without first taking them down. Nothing horrible, just thought the hose length should be noted. 2) This item works well for a home steamer. The "home" moniker should be noted, as it does not produce powerful industrial steam flow. And as such will not replace an iron for very thick/stubborn fabrics (even when using the included backing pad). **Bad points** 1) nothing negative has come up yet. Overall, I have been very pleased with this home steamer and found it to be an excellent purchase. It is a well priced (maybe even cheap) unit that still produces good results with no noted negatives so far.

I saw my aunt use a steamer once, and I thought wow this looks interesting, and I am so glad that i saw it because then I got my own. First of, about this one in particular, I love the fact that while storing the rod can go down, it has three little levers that help you raise the silver rod to the maximum height or to the minimum height. This definitely helped me because I store mine in my coat closet and it fits under the jackets that are hanging in there. Secondly, it barely takes any time to heat up, I mean it say 40 seconds and I completely agree, it does not feel like it takes more than that to provide a constant nice flow of steam. If you are using it with any shirts or any clothes that say iron free, then this thing works like magic, I mean i dont even touch the shirt and just go down and it is straightening out in front of my eyes. With other materials, you might have to take a bit more time. Also one question that I had and couldnt find an answer to was what about 100% silk, since silk seems so fragile you would think it would burn, but I have used this steamer on two 100% silk shirts and they were perfect, I mean obviously you dont hold the steamer in one place. Anyways, great piece of equipment, especially if you live in a small apartment or where you have limited storage since an ironing board and an iron will take a lot more space. Plus, the best part (i almost forgot) is that you can actually freshen up your clothes, I wanted to wear these pants that I had not worn for ages and they looked dusty. I used the steamer on them and they looked like they had been washed, followed by a lint roller and the pants were perfect. All in all, a must have in any household.

like the title suggests, it has larger pool for water and gives you 45 mins max worth of constant steaming for longer projects. I use this steamer just for making synthetic dreadlocks, I make all types, steam seal DE and SE dreads as well as crocheted with steam seal DE and SE dreads. Here is what I found for a good steamer to use; I purchased two steamers, both this company, one was the handheld Steamfast SF-435 Compact Fabric Steamer and the other is this one the Steamfast SF-407 Fabric Steamer. I tried both out and found that the handheld one only steamed for like 5 mins before you had to refill and try again. if you tipped it by just an inch or two it spills out hot burning water, you literally have to keep it totally straight upright. It does steam really well if your doing like 1 dreadlock but if your like me and in a day turn out many dreads, or just even like 5 dreads you should get the one with the larger pool of water. This one, Steamfast SF-407 Fabric Steamer, has up to a max of 45 mins total of consistent steaming. You can then refill and keep going and you can tip as much as you need. Heres the hitch, this one has a downside. it works super perfect if your reaching up where the hose to the handle is stretched up all the way but if your sitting like me every now and then (every few mins) it will stop steaming and you will have to stretch it out for a min or two before it starts up again. I dont mind this because it doesnt really take up much time to do this when it happens so thats as bad as it gets. The upside besides lasting longer with steam is that the unit heats up hotter than the handheld making it go much faster and better for sealing and locking your dreads. I put the handheld in with my husbands things so he can steam his shirts but I keep this one for nothing but locking dreads because I think its one of the best in this price range. I did try my mothers steamer which is an $80 super big time high quality fancy steamer and it literally does nothing, no sealing, instead it blows steam in a fine stream and burns you while NOT sealing and locking your dreads. Hers was the Eureka 350A Enviro-Steamer Hotshot Hand-held Steamer-dont buy the Enviro Steamer it is really crappy. I have talked with other dreadmakers and they say the Steamfast and Rowenta brands are best. Hope that helps!