[4 of 4 customers found this review helpful]

LifeStyles As Seen on TVTobi™ Professional SteamerWatch Video Review

Great Timesaver

"The steamer does just what I wanted, stores in my walk-in closet and is ready in 30 seconds to quickly press, freshen, or neaten a crease before I head out the door. There is a definite learning curve in using it, but once you master pulling the fabric taut and moving the steam head at about 4" per second, it takes only 5 minutes to steam a dress shirt leaving crisp pleats in the back. For collars and cuffs, I lay the shirt on a clean folded towel and it's done in seconds. It is compact enough to keep right in the closet where I need it, and is ready faster than I could set up an ironing board and heat the iron. Its disadvantages are that the pole and base are light and easily swing or sway. It doesn't keep the job from getting done, but does make you chase it around a bit sometimes. It would be much easier if I could find a shirt frame or if there was a way to clip both the top and bottom of a pair of slacks. You do actually run out of hose before reaching the end of longer pants when you pull them out from the pole as instructed.

I also had trouble getting it to work on hanging curtains because the head is only about the size of your palm and you must hold the fabric taut the entire time you steam for it to remove wrinkles. This is tough to do because the electric cord is too short to allow you to step back far enough from the wall (my outlet is right next to the window). With a grounded extension cord it should work, but I am 5'9" and it's very awkward to hold the entire curtain and move across in 5" sections. Again, I may try holding the bottom of the curtain with clip on weights or something else.

Since I hate ironing, don't have room to keep an ironing board set up all of the time, my husband and I both wear dress shirts and slacks, and I have an active toddler, I am very happy with the convenience of this product and the price is worth it for that. I was hoping to be able to use it on bed sheets and table cloths as well, but it doesn't appear that it will replace the iron for me on those items. It will also not replace pressing for those who are dedicated to the crisp crackle of an ironed or starched shirt. However, for keeping a busy family looking and feeling neat and fresh as they head out the door, the Tobi steamer does its job."