5B8915E2-498C-45EB-8267-63C2E1CC68835B8915E2-498C-45EB-8267-63C2E1CC68835B8915E2-498C-45EB-8267-63C2E1CC68835B8915E2-498C-45EB-8267-63C2E1CC6883
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Inspiration & Lifestyle
  • Dear Diary
  • Food & Drink
  • Fitness & Health
  • About me
CONTACT ME
✕

Getting Steamy

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Getting Steamy
Retro Chicks Vintage Reproduction Top 15
October 12, 2015
Marriots Way 10k 2015
October 15, 2015

Getting Steamy

October 14, 2015
Categories
  • Fashion & Beauty
Tags

I will start with a confession. I rarely iron ANYTHING.

When I was little our clothes went straight from the dryer to the ironing basket, where my Mum would then spend an afternoon ironing all our clothes so we could pull them from drawers fresh and ready to wear.

I, however, am incredibly lazy and I tend to shake my clothes nice and flat and then hang them flat on the drier. I find that most clothes can deal with being worn straight from the wash with this treatment. I have a very few items that won’t, cotton circle skirts and dresses are some of them, a few cotton shirts perhaps, and I have to admit that those items spend an awful lot of time hung in my wardrobe all creased and never worn. Poor neglected things.

I have a few tricks. I find that spraying things with water to make them damp before I wear them sometimes drops out some light creasing, I’ve also tried that “hang it in the bathroom with the shower on” method of steaming as well. I really will do pretty much anything to avoid ironing.

So, when Tefal asked me if I wanted to try a handheld clothes steamer, the Tefal Access Steam I thought it might be all my dreams come true (not my actual dreams, I don’t really dream about clothes steamers, the last dream I remember was that my hair was a different colour underneath than on top. I dream about important stuff)

tefal steam

The Tefal Access Steam is pretty self explanatory, but I still read the instruction leaflet like a good girl. You fill the reservoir at the back with “no more than 200 ml” of water (note to Tefal, a “fill to here” line would be handy, I just guessed) and then you turn it on, wait 45 seconds for the light to stop flashing while it heats up, then pull the trigger and wave it at your creased clothes till they are no longer creased.

It comes with a brush that you can use to really get into the fabrics of thicker items of clothing, like wool coats and jackets, and a steam catcher than saves delicate fabrics from water drips. I promptly lost this, so my first steaming attempt was without the cover. Then I found it again, so that’s ok.

First I pulled one of the items out of my wardrobe that gets about 1 wear a year as I am too lazy to iron it.

cotton shirt

I hung it up and waved the steamer at it as instructed. I’m not sure if I was very thorough, see aforementioned note about being lazy, but I was pretty impressed with the result.

You don’t get that nice crisp finish you get with ironing, but neither do you have to remember where you put the iron, find the ironing board, clear a space to put the ironing board, or most importantly, do any ironing. Although I prefer how it looks ironed I would wear this blouse like this and it took about 2 minutes, which means more wears for the blouse! It did leave the fabric damp, so leave a few minutes before you want to wear something!

after steaming

The other thing steaming is good for is to give vintage clothing that you don’t want to wash too often a bit of a refresh. A lot of my vintage can be machine washed but I have a few older and more delicate items that need hand washing. I don’t like to do it too often, mostly because, er, did I mention I’m lazy? But also because the more it’s washed the quicker the fabric wears out. This has lead to occasions where I’ve got all glammed up for a night out and as I warm up after a few drinks in a crowded bar I suddenly realise that my frock is maybe a little whiffy and I should probably wash it tomorrow.

Enter the handheld steamer!

I have used it to refresh a couple of my vintage dresses and although I haven’t yet worn them anywhere nice and warm to see if they are whiffy, it seemed to do the trick. Steaming is a well known way of dealing with the problem, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t!

handheld steamer

My original thought when they asked me to try the steamer was that it would be brilliant for travel. It is a little chunkier than I expected, so probably not something you would want to take where there was a weight limit or space was an issue, but if you have a big suitcase and a car it’s ideal!

It also has a very handy 3m cord, which makes me very happy as I have far too many appliances in my life that require being within about a foot of my inconveniently placed Victorian terraced house plug sockets. I’m looking at you microwave, and kettle, and don’t think you’ve got away with it either bedside lamp.

The steamer now has a permanent home in the room I grandly call my dressing room, which is the “third bedroom off second bedroom” so common in Norwich houses and more accurately described as the place I throw my shoes so I can shut the door on them.

So yeah, in summary, highly recommended for vintage lovers and lazy people who don’t like ironing. But also ideal for organised people who iron their clothes before they put them away and maybe want to give them a quick refresh before wearing.

The Tefal Access Steam is available at Currys, Amazon, Tesco and Littlewoods (in order of current price, Currys was cheapest!) and starts from around £50.

Related

Share
27

15 Comments

  1. Topnewsarena says:
    October 14, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    Getting Steamy //t.co/VAgj4AjC6Q

  2. Ur_Image says:
    October 14, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    Getting Steamy: //t.co/2qEifyWIZa will start with a confession. I rarely… //t.co/oFpOodv6Sa

  3. Ur_Image says:
    October 14, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    Getting Steamy: //t.co/2qEifyWIZa will start with a confession. I rarely… //t.co/MuPyI79elH

  4. TefalUK says:
    October 14, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    RT @Retrochick_uk: Getting Steamy with @TefalUK : review of the Access Handheld Steamer : //t.co/JAw2zAhksq

  5. TefalUK says:
    October 14, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    @Retrochick_uk great to hear your thoughts, Gemma! And we’re glad to hear the access steam has liberated the blouse! ?

  6. CiCi Marie says:
    October 14, 2015 at 5:42 pm

    I feel the exact same way about ironing – and was also spoilt growing up, but that somehow did not make me an adult that embraces it either! My kids, if I have any, are gonna look like they emerged five seconds ago from a hedge, all the time. This device is therefore intriguing to me – but would I buy something just to make my clothes look neater… I’m more likely to just buy clothes that don’t need ironing – anything to get out of extra laundry duty 😉

  7. Karen Bailey says:
    October 14, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Karen Bailey liked this on Facebook.

  8. Cathy S'Carey says:
    October 14, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Cathy S’Carey liked this on Facebook.

  9. Debbie Scriven says:
    October 14, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Debbie Scriven liked this on Facebook.

  10. Catherine Beck says:
    October 14, 2015 at 9:00 pm

    Catherine Beck liked this on Facebook.

  11. Rosie Alia Johnson says:
    October 14, 2015 at 9:38 pm

    Rosie Alia Johnson liked this on Facebook.

  12. Ingrid Rogan says:
    October 15, 2015 at 1:24 am

    Ingrid Rogan liked this on Facebook.

  13. mancunianvintage says:
    October 15, 2015 at 8:03 am

    I’m one of those strange creatures who loves ironing. Give me a spare hour, a great programme on the telly and I’m a happy bunny.

    You’re right about vintage items, sometimes they need freshening up both in terms of appearance and erm other ways so this sounds like a really nifty tool to have.

    Happy steaming!

    //www.mancunianvintage.com

  14. Niamh says:
    October 15, 2015 at 4:24 pm

    Does the steam catcher really work so there’s no chance of hot water being spat ont to clothes?

    • Gemma says:
      October 16, 2015 at 2:52 pm

      It seems to! I’ve only tried it a couple of times, and not on anything very delicate, but it fits over the front and it like a cloth filter.

About Me

Gemma
Incurable cancer, cocktails & fitness. Size Inclusive Personal Trainer, red lipstick wearer, cocktail drinker. Multiple Myeloma June 2021. Norwich, UK
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
These photos were kind of a big deal for me. ad. LET’S RUN! It’s been a year. Just a photo dump from our birthday trip to @elmleynature Our trip to @elmleynature deserves a proper grid spot, and I’ll share more photos soon. Pugs. Great for cuddles, terrible guard dogs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Do you ever go out on your own? Happy Easter Chickadees!

One of the ways I earn money from this site is with affiliate marketing using Skimlinks and Shopstyle. Click to find out more

Archives

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2022 Betheme by Muffin group | All Rights Reserved | Powered by WordPress
    CONTACT ME
       

      Loading Comments...