Jiffy Steamer J-2000 Residential Series 1300-Watt Garment Steamer
by Jiffy Steamer
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List Price: Our Price: $130.60 You Save: $39.39 (23%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Buy Used: from $110.99 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Jiffy Steamer J-2000 Residential Series 1300-Watt Garment Steamer
Customer Review: Great purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
After borrowing a friend's ConAir steamer, and reading numerous reviews, I purchased this Jiffy from Amazon about a month ago. The Jiffy seems to be better-built than the ConAir, and puts out more steam, more consistantly than the model I borrowed.
In the last month, I have steamed everything I can think of in my house, to see how it works. I have been pleased with this product, and here is what I have learned:
1) A steamer is not an iron. While I have read reviews of how you can press creases into clothing, I have not been successful in this (yet). I don't really care about creases, though, and have not spent much time trying.
2) A steamer is a tool. You have to learn how to use it properly to get good results. Steaming from underneath works better than steaming downward into the right side of the fabric. Just like anyone who uses a hammer a few times is almost certainly going to hammer their finger, you will probably burn yourself while you are learning to use a steamer. When I first started using the steamer, I wanted to steam upwards, like I iron. It was counter-inuitive for me, but it works better to steam downwards.
3) Wrinkles really do fall out of fabrics, but this seems to only happen with synthetic fibers or blends with a high percentage of synthetics. If I had trouble ironing it, it will take some work to steam it. However, I always iron in more wrinkles than I take out, so for natural or difficult fabrics, I do a better job with a steamer. Fabrics that I was afraid to iron (too thin/delicate) steam beautifully.
Now, about the Jiffy J-2000 specifically:
This steamer heats up very quickly, in just two or three minutes. I like to turn it on while I decide what to wear, and by the time I get it all together, it is ready to use. The wattage (1300) is slightly higher than most personal steamer models and makes a big difference in how quickly you can finish a garment.
The steamer is very sturdily built. It uses heavy-duty plastics, and comes with a wrench (magnetically attached underneath the steamer body) to secure the parts tightly. The pole that holds the steamer head and clothing is shorter than I would personally like (and the hose is a little shorter, too) and stands about 5 feet. I could not steam all the way to the top of my curtains, while they were mounted to the wall. The water reservoir does not leak, although when you pull it out, some water does remain in the connection area, but not enough to make a mess.
The list price on amazon for the steamer was 169.99, quite a deal more than most of the other steamers listed on Amazon. I purchased mine with a special 25$ off through Amazon, so paid 145$. I think that it is worth that price. I would not pay this much for the ConAir model that I borrowed. In a year, I may think the Jiffy is worth the Amazon list price.
Customer Review: I can't believe I waited this long!
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I have to say that I was skeptical about using a steamer to get wrinkles out of my clothes. I once purchased an inexpensive travel steamer and found that it was completely worthless. It produced steam, but it did nothing to remove wrinkles. I was convinced that the only thing I could do to make my clothes wrinkle-free was to iron or use the dry cleaners.
After doing some research on different models of steamers and reading remarks online, I have to say that I still wasn't completely convinced that steaming would work. But I was desperate. My dry cleaning bill is easily $80 every month, and I needed to find another option.
I finally came across the Jiffy Steamer brand. The online reviews were positive. I figured that since they have been in business since 1940 as "the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of steaming equipment", they must be doing something right.
I decided to bite the bullet and buy one. When I received it, I opened the box and was able to assemble it with the enclosed wrench without any problems. I noticed right away the "industrial" look of the unit. The base is very sturdy and impressive. The hose at first seemed stiff and unyielding, however once I turned the unit on and steam flowed through it, it was flexible and easy to work with.
The test: I pulled together my pile of wrinkled clothes that I was ready to take to the cleaners. I filled the reservoir tank with regular tap water, plugged the unit in, and flipped the switch. Literally, within a minute or so, I had steam coming from the head.
I hung my wrinkled silk shirt on a hanger, which I then put on the hook. I put the steam head to my shirt and to my surprise.... it worked!! The wrinkles just disappeared. I then proceeded to steam the rest of my clothes. Again, I had the same great results.
I am very happy with my steamer. It is expensive, but with my dry cleaning bill being $80 a month, it paid for itself in a little over 2 months. I can't say it eliminates dry-cleaning altogether, because it doesn't clean your clothes. But, if like me, you use the dry cleaner because your clothes become a wrinkled mess after wearing them and you need to look "polished" at work, this may be just what your looking for.
Another suggestion to consider: Jiffy Steamer also sells accessories, and one thing that caught my eye was a Steamboard. It is a flat board that has a hanger attached to it at the top. You can hang the board on a wall or a door, so that you can have a flat surface to press the steam head up against when steaming your clothes. Useful if you want to press seams on pants or long sleeved shirts. It's pricey, so I asked my husband if he could make me one instead!
Customer Review: Fantastic appliance! Love this steamer!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not new to steaming. I have a very small house with small closets and lots of clothes. Consequently, closet wrinkles are an everyday problem for me and steaming has been a daily ritual. People who think that steaming will replace ironing are unrealistic, though, and negative reviews are unfair. Steaming is fabulous for woolens, knits, synthetics- basically fabrics that tend to hold their shapes. Natural fabrics such as silk, cotton, and linen- the bad wrinklers- tend to look best when they are smoothed out with an iron, so don't throw away the iron! Steaming is still great to refresh after closet wrinkles on the natural fibers.
This being said, I have used various steamers over the years. I had gone through about 3 travel steamers when I realized that I needed something more heavy duty (and one that held more water). My last steamer was that Conair portable home steamer, the one without the rack. I think that I paid $39 for it. It had a flimsy hose, was very difficult to remove the hose to refill (a major pain!), and the steam was intermittant, plus it "spit" (and spotted) just as badly as the travel steamers. I just figured that steamers just did that. After having it for about 4 years it finally burned out.
I shopped and studied the various home steamers that are available today. I promised myself that I would get a good one this time.
"You get what you pay for" I told myself...
When my Jiffy steamer arrived I was NOT disappointed! It was so substantial to look at, with a very heavy duty rubber hose. This thing would be able to handle some heat! It heated up quickly, just like previous reviews had said, and much faster than the old ones I had experienced. The best and most wonderful thing is that the steam comes out evenly and consistently with no spitting. It is a joy to use! This appliance has cut down my steaming time in half because of its constant even steam. Another thing that I love is that it is so easy to fill, much easier than any of my past steamers. After I bought it I ran into other steamers in stores while Christmas shopping. They all look flimsy by comparison.
This steamer is a joy to use and I highly recommend this product. Take it from a person very experienced in home steaming, this is THE ONE!
Customer Review: Overall pleased with this
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a high quality steamer. You can tell it is well made - the materials are sturdy, although the unit itself is fairly compact and takes up much less room in our laundry room than an ironing board. The question I had when I bought this was whether this will replace an iron completely. My best estimate after having this for a week, is that for 95% of my ironing needs, it will. For sharp pressing needs, like a man's shirt collar, I think we'll drag out the iron. When I first tried the steamer, I was a little nervous because it seemed like hardly any steam came out. It is not a heavy steam flow, but a light, but hot flow of steam - watch your fingers, I've burned mine twice. It is a little hard to maneuver the clothes as you steam them - I think the board that you can hang up would be very helpful, so we may get that later. I steam by hanging a garment on a separate clothes rod and hold the bottom of the garment while I steam the entire item, but when you get to the bottom, you have to move your hand to reach the bottom edge of the garment (again, watch your fingers). The water reservoir holds a lot of water, which is very nice. I also liked the fact that the papers that came with the unit say that they test each unit before it ships to you. Overall, I am happy with this purchase. I plan to get many years of use out of it and I think it will save a little time vs. an iron and I don't worry about damaging my clothes with a faulty iron anymore. An added bonus is that I will not worry about burning the house down with this like I did with the iron (steam vs. a hot piece of metal).Customer Review: Makes Mornings So Much Easier
Summary: 5 Stars
I hate to iron. But for most of my adult life, I ironed each morning to make sure that I was wrinkle free for work. My husband recently finished school, and entered the professional workplace. It was hard enough stomaching needing to iron my own skirts, shirts, and pants. The prospect of needing to iron men's collared shirts was too much, and I knew he would dread doing it. I recalled my teenage years working in retail, and how nice it was to use to garment steamer to get clothes crisp for the store floor. So I started my research, and ended up purchasing the Jiffy J-2000. I am overwhelmingly thankful I did.
This steamer is easy to use, and great at getting wrinkles out of most things. We have had some struggles with wrinkles in particularly dense materials, but for the average fabric it works great. The water tank lasts weeks before needing refilling, and the steamer produces consistent steam. I'm able to steam pants and a shirt in a few short minutes, and the results are often superior to what I would have gotten from ironing. The steamer warms up relatively quickly, and I listened to another reviewer who suggested turning the steamer on then picking out your clothes so the steamer was ready by the time you'd picked out your outfit. I highly recommend this steamer to anyone who hates ironing, and/or who is looking to speed up their morning routine. Even my husband (who ironed maybe a handful of times in his life) finds this garment steamer easy to use. I will never go back to an iron and ironing board.