The best steam irons in the UK to make light work of the laundry pile, tested

4 hours ago 6

Hands up if your favourite way to spend a Sunday afternoon is tackling a mountain of ironing? No takers? Shocking. Faced with crumpled cottons and crinkled collars, there won’t be many who approach the ironing board with anything resembling excitement – and if you do, honestly, what’s wrong with you?

I am certainly no fan of ironing. In fact, I’d be happy with a wardrobe full of everything “stretch”. But when my children were in school uniforms, I faced a daunting pile of creased clothing every week – and found the only way through it was to arm myself with the right tools.

You want an iron that glides smoothly across garments, without the risk of scorching or leaving any limescale marks. I also swear by a decent ironing board – one that’s sturdy, height-adjustable and comes with a quality cover and padding is, frankly, essential (look out for my upcoming test of the best).

Stick with me as I reveal the best irons from my testing – models that will see you speed through those sheets and shirts in no time at all.

At a glance

Best iron overall:
Breville DiamondXpress VIN401

£39.99 at Amazon

Best cordless iron:
Tefal Freemove Power

£79.99 at John Lewis

Best iron for storage:
Russell Hobbs Easy Store Pro Plug & Wind

£37 at John Lewis

Best workhorse iron:
Tefal Ultimate Pure

£84.99 at Argos

Why you should trust me

You might have gathered by now that ironing isn’t my favourite sport – but it’s definitely one where I’ve put in a lot of hours. Ironing two uniforms, five days a week, for 12 years means I have ironed literally thousands of shirts.

These days, the pile is smaller, but the stakes are higher: when you’re ironing your nicest threads (or the young people’s best drip), the last thing you want is one scorch mark or a rogue water droplet to ruin your finery. I also use my iron to flatten fabrics for dressmaking.

How I tested

I selected nine irons from leading brands to test, and started by considering their size, weight and ergonomics in my hand while I used them, noting comfort and efficiency.

Each iron was used to cut through the crinkles on items including bedsheets, tea towels and cotton shirts, the latter to see how it handled collars and manoeuvred around buttons. I also ironed a silk sari, to see how each model fared on delicate fabrics – and, while I would never normally iron jeans, I did for this test to see how the irons coped with heavier fabrics.

As well as evaluating performance and features, I used a power meter to measure the maximum wattage as each iron was heating up to gauge how much electricity it was using. I also timed how long the irons took to reach their top temperature, looking out for any that were especially fast or slow.

I tested all of the models on a height-adjustable Brabantia ironing board D with a PerfectFlow cover, which I recommend because it doesn’t become soggy from steam, thanks to three layers of padding, including Fairtrade, unbleached cotton.

After testing, all the irons that weren’t collected by manufacturers were donated to Furnishing Futures, a charity that creates fully furnished homes for women and children who have survived domestic abuse.

The best irons in 2026

The reviewer Caramel Quin testing the Breville DiamondXpress. The iron is pressing a pink and black fabric against a white tiled wall.

The Tefal Freemove Power is being tested on a pair of blue jeans. There is a white tiled wall in the background

Russell Hobbs Easy Store Pro Plug & Wind Iron is being used to press a piece of yellow fabric by a person wearing a white shirt.

Tefal Ultimate Pure on an ironing board next to the back end of a cat

The best of the rest

Tower Ceraglide 2800W 360 Cord Cordless Steam Iron Black and Gold

Morphy Richards Power Steam Elite 3000W LED Steam Iron

What you need to know

Should I register my new iron?

Many of these irons provide an extra year’s guarantee (so one year becomes two, or two becomes three) if you register the product online. So, yes, it’s worth registering.

Corded vs cordless irons

Cordless models are certainly convenient for a host of reasons – freedom of movement, no tangles, easy storage – but not at the expense of performance. I tested one excellent cordless model and one convertible that I frankly preferred when corded.

Does the ironing board matter?

If you iron rarely, a small board, or even a towel on a table, will do. But if you do lots of ironing, get a good ironing board that doesn’t become soggy when you use the steam shot. Mine is height-adjustable, too: being able to sit down while ironing is a gamechanger.

Are steam generator irons worth it?

Steam generators (an iron on a big base) often produce twice as much steam, making quick work of ironing. One of the main reasons for their appeal is the large water reservoir – holding litres, not millilitres – which means you won’t need to refill them often. Great if you have a mountain to get through. Look out for tests of steam generators and ironing boards in the coming months.

How much does it cost to do the ironing?

The maximum power use of the irons in this test ranged from 2.3 to 3.9kW. Electricity costs are in kilowatt hours (kWh), so if you’re using a 2.8kW iron for half an hour, it will use 1.4kWh. The energy price cap introduced on 1 January 2026 is 27.69p a kWh. Multiply this by the last figure, and you’ll discover it costs 39p to use a typical iron for half an hour.

This is, of course, the maximum it costs, based on an iron’s peak power rating. In practice, it may cost less, as the iron uses less energy when it’s up to temperature. So half an hour of non-stop steam ironing costs 39p; half an hour where it’s sitting on its heel half the time and you don’t use much steam will cost less.

Do I need to use water?

No. While steam and water sprays can help with stubborn creases, all of the irons here can be used dry. Without water, they’ll weigh less in the hand, too.

Do I need to use distilled water?

No – all these irons are designed to work with tap water. If you’re in a hard-water area, then the iron’s anti-calc filter will collect any limescale in the water you add. Remove it periodically by using the self-clean function so the iron doesn’t deposit white powder on your clothes.

Beyond that, read the instructions that come with your model of choice. Some suggest distilled, deionised or demineralised water as a good alternative to hard water. For example, the water from a dehumidifier is distilled and limescale-free. But other iron manufacturers caution against it.

For more:
The best heated clothes airers
Home organisation hacks for shared households

Caramel Quin is a journalist specialising in consumer technology. She prides herself on real-world testing and plain language. Her pet hates are jargon, pointless products and overcomplicated instruction manuals. Caramel is an engineering graduate who has won awards for communicating hi-tech subjects to normal people. When she’s not testing gadgets, she’s feeding pets (16 beasts at the time of writing) or pottering at the allotment

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