French style...

Product talk by Nuffnang

Jason was rather glum the other week. It was heartbreaking. I wanted to cheer him up in a way which didn't involve me getting naked...and then I received an email from the Nuffnang Product Talk people saying they would be sending us an iron to test and review.

Perfect! I'll give Jason the iron. What else could a man want? That'll cheer him up.

And it's not an insignificant iron either. It's one of those Tefal steam generator irons which generates, you know, a lot of steam. And it's French. Even more perfect.

As regular readers would know, Jason has a penchant for all things French. French women (that would actually be me as I possess a French passport), Champagne, Peugeot cars (only if they don't break down), and now the 'you beaut' Tefal steam generator iron.

To quote Jason when I showed him a picture of the iron:

"I never imagined there'd be a day when I'd say this, but..... That is pretty cool."

Now this is ironing French style.
Squint and that guy could be Jason with hair, squint harder and that chick could be me trim and taunt.

Poor ol' Jason irons his own work shirts. I used to iron them back in my Betty Draper days, but I saw the light after Son #2 was born. I set out on a path of Constructive Incompetence. Forgetting to iron a sleeve here, burning a hole in the collar there, ironing shirts he no longer favoured...until I was given the sack as Chief Ironer. Take note, my life has been more fulfilling since.

Anyway, the Tefal iron arrived yesterday and did I get the the shock of my life...I hadn't paid attention to the scale of the iron when I looked it up on the website. My frame of reference was our 17 years old iron which is tenuously held together with yellowing masking tape.

This is the old iron. Long past its use-by-date. The shame.

I'll tell you what, this Tefal Pro Express Turbo Iron is one big mofo of a unit (the ghetto talk is seriously the only expression to describe it when you're expecting something more petite). It's the Hummer of the ironing world!

We were sent the Tefal  Pro Express Turbo GV8460 model.
The iron locks into place on the steam generator when it is not in use

So, after reading the instructions I set the Tefal Pro Express up to give it a test run. You basically fill up the tank with tap water, switch it on and get steamy.

For the first time since 2004, I proceeded to iron Jason's work shirts. Not just one, but all of them. I think it was the novelty of the new iron and its impressive steam making capabilities which propelled me to such dizzying heights of domesticity.

Jason's newly-ironed work shirts. He was so happy to see this sight.

The Tefal has a retractable power cord, the iron handle has a trigger which allows you to release steam as you're ironing and it glides effortlessly over clothes. It's as close as you will get to ironing nirvana, if such a place exists. Here is a link to a short (about two minutes) video on how to use it. (It shows you how to vertical steam suits and jackets too.)

Since using the Tefal, I realise just how crappy our old iron was and how inadequate it was for our requirements. It is amazing what you put up with when you don't know what's out there to make life easier.

Don't worry, I'm not about to make a habit out of ironing Jason's shirts full-time, but it will certainly make it a lot easier for Jason to do his own shirts and steam his work suits between wears.

Pre test run, I would never have contemplated buying an iron like this, thinking it was too big and just overkill.

Post test run, I have completely changed my mind. It's a really good product for people who have lots of work or school uniform shirts to iron every week. Like us. Although it is a big outlay initially, it would certainly be worth it.

And remember, it's French. You can Foux Da Fa Fa while you're at it. Repasser!