Polti Vaporella Simply VS20.20, Steam Generator Iron with Detachable 1.5 L Water Tank, Max Pump 6.5 Bar, Steam Boost 210 g/min, ECO Function, White/Black

Product Information

The slider switch under your thumb is a godsend for big jobs because it saves you constantly squeezing your index finger on a steam trigger button. That said, there’s no additional steam shot – it’s either steam or no steam. Yes, if you’re on a budget. It’s great value for money and performs far better than expected. Despite a few design niggles, we’d have no hesitation in recommending the Polti as a good bet for powering through your ironing pile. But if money’s no object, you’ll get even more steam and an even better performance from the pricier Bosch Ultimate Steam Generator. Verdict Features-wise, the Vaporella Forever 670 Eco’s 4.5 bar pressure and 110g per minute continuous steam are nothing to write home about. And its water tank (officially 0.7 litres but we measured it as 0.8 litres) is half the size of most. But sometimes it’s what you do with it that counts and the Polti’s actual performance impressed. Steam-generator irons: These are smaller and come with a separate large tank for ironing without frequent interruptions and offer a medium steam output. They are suited for anyone with a considerable amount of garments to iron and people who are looking for modern products that perform well.

Steam levels are controlled with buttons on the base. We found that the “eco” mode, which offers a medium amount of steam, was powerful enough for most everyday ironing. The only caveat, as discussed, is the storage. There is enough space to store the hose and power cord, it’s just arguable whether to stow one on each side or loop both around the appliances. In the end, we plumped for one on each side.Steam felt more powerful than the numbers suggest, so powerful it that can competently iron both sides of a shirt at the same time. It supplies a good and steady steam that doesn’t run out of puff, even after a few minutes. It’s easily enough steam iron a garment, at which point the 0.5 litre boiler can catch its breath while you get your next garment laid out. The Polti looks old-fashioned and functional in white. Its controls are nice and simple. You control steam levels with a couple of buttons on the base. Iron temperature is selected with a traditional dial on the iron itself. And, unusually, it has a slider switch under your thumb that lets you trigger constant steam (just press the finger trigger if you only want steam for a moment).

And one final design quibble: the iron isn’t very stable sat on its heel when you want to put it down for a second while adjusting a garment. Storage is also a bit annoying: there are clips on both sides of the steam generator base, but it’s hard to decide whether to stow the hose on one side and the power cord on the other or wrap both around and secure them with both clips. But it has a couple of annoying design touches. The first is that the steam hose and power cord are both on the left-hand side, which is a pain if you’re planning, like most right-handed ironers, to put it at the right-hand end of your ironing board. And the 1.8m power cord is a bit short, considering it’s on the left.