Philips PerfectCare Elite Steam Generator Iron, Optimal Temperature Technology, 470 g Boost, 1.8 Litre, 2400 W, 6.7 Bar, Detachable Water Tank, Auto-Off, Carry Lock, Safe rest, Navy (GC9630/20)

Okay, here is an honest review. I bought this iron (the Philips PerfectCare Elite Steam Generator Iron GC9630/20) in December 2017, Before that, I bought a similar Iron in May 2015 (GC8650/80) which is more expensive. So the 1st iron (2015 one) lasted 2.5 years but I used tap water. This iron I used de-ionised water (from well known UK super market). This iron just broke down yesterday (16/03/2025). So, it lasted 7 years, 2 months. The valve which builds up the pressure began to fail and started making a lot of noise. In that 7 years, It's never leaked and never burnt any clothes. The plate is still flawless and I use the iron every week for a family of 4 for about 2-3 hours at a time (377 weeks).To be honest most irons should last a similar time if using de-ionised water. My previous iron plates have detreated and burnt clothes so the Philips plate technology is pretty good. It takes about 2 minutes to warm up and create the steam and once up to pressure. It maintains that pressure throughout the ironing cycle where very rarely, you would have to wait to build up the pressure again (i.e. when you blast the steam for ages). It's light, quick, the lead and steam pipe stores away in cavities around the edges, it has about 1.5m cord length so you need to be close to a socket, removes most creases effortlessly and 1 tank of water lasts about one 2.5 hour session of ironing.Since 2017, it's gone up about £40 but as I'm quite impressed by it's performance so today, I have ordered the same iron again. It is expensive and I am sure I could find a cheaper one but after long time, you get so used to this iron, does not make sense to go into the unknown. Lets see if the new one outlasts the old one. Well done Phillips. A little expensive but a great product.

I thought long and hard about buying this expensive bit of kit for a one-person household, but the £40 price reduction in March 2016 convinced me to risk it, thank goodness. I read all the reviews, but from the moment it arrived, my misgivings began to disappear. It isn’t over-large, it isn’t over-heavy. I’m an 82 year old woman with a heart condition, but I don’t have problems lifting it, and it fits beautifully on the upper shelf of a sort of half-width unit in my kitchen, (25cm wide, 32 cm high, 50 cm deep). It seems like sense to store it near the source of water, and I wouldn’t keep it high up. To those reviewers who say they don’t think their elderly mother could cope with it, think again – she might love it.I also don’t at present feel the need for a new, expensive ironing board. The steam generator sits comfortably on the counter by the sink. My ironing board, bought because there is nowhere in my house to store a full-length board, folds over at both ends for storage and might also be described as a bit rickety; but it copes perfectly well with the Philips. It gets pretty damp by the end of an ironing session, but I leave it by a radiator for an hour or two before putting it away, and it dries out. I might buy an additional felt cover.But the ironing experience! Like most reviewers, I’m not fond of ironing, and recent health problems had led to me reducing my ironing to a minimum. I started on a basket full of bone-dry domestic items such as table napkins and drying-up cloths. I had no trouble setting up the iron and using it. Creases disappeared at one sweep of the iron, and in no time the basket was empty. Then I went on to a heap of collared cotton jersey tops. Fairly soon I found that doubled cloth sections, such as the collars, really didn’t need to be ironed on both sides – they looked just as good after being pressed on the top side only.The end result was a pile of laundry ironed in half the usual time, and looking very much better than it used to when I was using my old steam iron. To summarise the benefits of this marvellous contraption:1. Time taken halved, because of absence of faff.2. The sheer joy of absence of faff.3. Excellent quality of ironing.By absence of faff, I mean everything that Philips and Amazon reviewers describe about the iron: only having to wait for it to heat up once, for two minutes; not having to refill the tank: not having to sort items at all, or think about temperatures; being able to put the iron down anywhere on the board (or the laundry) without risk of scorching; one sweep of the iron over the surface being enough, no ironing up and down or increasing the pressure by using one’s physical force. I was so pleased that next day I went through my wardrobe and picked out all the remaining badly-ironed items, and re-did them with the new iron – the first time in a long life that I have ever ironed for the fun of it. I must be in love.June 2019.I'm 85 now, but still in love. To call an iron life-changing would be a bit OTT, but this one certainly makes a tiring chore much easier, and I continue to iron with a certain zest. Buy it for your mum or your granny, she'll love it. Buy it for your wife - she'll love you.

Very large water tank which is great for alot of ironing but not too good if you’re short on storage space. Iron is lightweight so good for arthritic hands. Cables are a good length and it couldn’t be simpler to use. Really zooms through the dreaded ironing chore in no time. Ferocious steam booster which frightens my cat but hey, she doesn’t have to worry about ironing! All in all an impressive machine that I enjoy using. Would imagine it to be ideal for ironing businesses as the temperature automatically adjusts to the garment you’re ironing, so no organising clothes by cool to hot and vice versa.