If you're starting out on your search for the best steam iron then there are a few factors you may want to consider when looking into the best ways to do washing and care for your laundry. The Russel Hobbs 25090 One Temperature Iron needs distilled water if you live in a hard-water area. The iron took a super-fast 7.18 seconds to heat up, and was good and steamy. The spray was fine, but left a visible wet patch on fabric. (The manufacturer advises you to do a patch test when using it on delicates in case it stains.)

The ceramic soleplate, with its 138 steam holes, glided well over fabrics. The ceramic is infused with titanium and tourmaline – used in hair straighteners – and this gives a strange purplish-brown tint to the soleplate. The titanium is there to spread the heat and eliminate cold spots; the tourmaline emits infra-red heat and negative ions, making that heat gentler. The shut-off feature makes the 25090 One Temperature Iron very safe, and it’s easy to clean. Nevertheless, it isn’t for me, though, as I like a more powerful steam shot. Verdict To use the water spray, you press the left-hand button on top of the handle. Spray comes out just above the point of the iron. To use the steam shot, you lift the horizontal iron a couple of centimetres from the fabric and press the right-hand button on the top of the handle.

Reviews

What we like about this steam iron from Morphy Richards is that it offers that little bit more than a typical steam iron, which is why it gets our vote for the best steam iron for families.

A great feature for families or those who tend to wander off and forget they’ve left the iron on, the built-in safety auto-off feature works from 30 seconds after the iron is left on its side or soleplate – or eight minutes when left on its heels. If you want to dry iron, you have to empty the reservoir first to avoid spontaneous bursts of steam. If the iron is motionless, with the soleplate down or on its side for 30 seconds, it will automatically shut off. This happens after eight minutes if it’s upright on its heel. The iron beeps and flashes its light. You move it to return it to operating temperature. You have to leave four seconds between shots to allow the temperature to build up. To steam vertically and remove wrinkles from hanging clothes and curtains, hold the iron close to the fabric (or a distance away, if the fabric is delicate) and press the steam-shot button. It seemed really magical, and completely counter-intuitive that an iron could successfully smooth both cottons and synthetics at the same temperature, but the mystery was solved when I used my infra-red thermometer. The iron is always at 100ºC, which is basically the normal (low) temperature for synthetics. To fill the Russell Hobbs 25090 One Temperature Iron, you open the water cover on the front and pour in water up to the “max” mark. Then you set the steam control lever (which sits directly above the water cover) to the setting you want.The 210g steam shot was good when you used it vertically to drop creases out of hanging fabrics, with a loud “poof” sound and a cloud of steam, but I was much less impressed when it was held horizontally above fabric. It didn’t really make much of a sound, or emit much steam, and it’s difficult to work out the reason for this without taking the iron apart. There are four settings: no steam, steam, high steam and the self-cleaning button. When you turn on the Russell Hobbs One Temperature, the red light on the main body of the iron slowly pulses on and off as the iron heats. When it glows steadily, the iron is ready to use.

Since the Russell Hobbs One Temperature Iron uses plenty of steam, and has an unusual soleplate, it can get creases out of cottons at a lower temperature. It’s definitely a good iron. It gave a nice effect on polyester and on wool, and an excellent result on my heavy cotton shirt. The snub nose point manoeuvred well around buttons. To avoid scale build-up, the iron needs to be cleaned once a month. It will require cleaning more frequently in a hard-water area. You fill the tank to the “max” mark, set the steam control to “no steam”, stand the iron on its heel, and switch it on.On its side it switched off after 28 seconds, and left upright on its heel it shut off after 7mins 50secs.