How do you spell Joy? T-I-T-A-N-I-U-M
Yes, I am waxing rhapsodic about an IRON! And the cherry on the sundae…it is lime green!
I had an iron by Panasonic with the Titanium soleplate for about 3 1/2 years before it died… I think the thermostat went haywire. Alas, calls to Panasonic said they couldn’t repair it…it was “too old.” Talk about a use-and-toss wasteful society! Snarl… anyway, I couldn’t figure out a way to open it up without breaking the plastic housing, meaning even if I could find a handyman and the parts, or figure it out myself, I wouldn’t be able to re-assemble it. Internet searches turned up the iron I wanted… In MALAYSIA! Well, that wouldn’t work…
See, the problem is that MY definition of non-stick is different from most people, and different from iron manufacturers. To the companies that make irons, “non-stick” means doesn’t stick to fabric (well DUH) or to starch or spray sizing. To ME, non-stick means you can get fusible adhesive web (Misty Fuse being my favorite, order here, or Wonder Under in a pinch) on the iron and wipe it off. Other “non-stick” irons just didn’t cut it…only the golden-colored titanium soleplate seemed to make the critical difference. The specifics:
Panasonic NI-S300 TR 1200-Watt Steam Iron with Curved Titanium-Coated Soleplate, white/green
YES… it is TRUE! You can put this iron down on top of fusible web, melt it all over the place onto the iron, then WIPE IT OFF with a paper towel! No gunky mess, no “Iron-Off” brand hot iron cleaner with its seemingly-toxic fumes (that set off the smoke alarms!), no smelly dryer sheets to try to clean the iron, no scratchy salt-on-washcloth to try to clean the stuff off…. just wipe and go!
And where can you get this lime green beauty… AMAZON.com of course! Here’s the link:
LINK TO Fuser’s Joy IRON by Panasonic
I can share this link now that I have mine…and my back-up iron is on order! Yes, I have ordered a second, brand new iron as a back up for when this one dies…that’s how much I love these irons.
The only caveats I would add is that the soleplate can get scratched from pins, and after being dropped several times mine died after 3 1/2 years. For $30, I can live with that. I used to spend that much just on Iron Off or Faultless Hot Iron cleaner, and now I don’t have to breathe those nasty fumes from the cleaning products.
OK, I will now STOP raving about this wonderful iron…..
November 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
SOLD!!!
I need another iron like I need another fat quarter. I DO need an iron that I am not slaving away cleaning every weekend.
Thank you for the tip! Old irons will be donated.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I also have a Panasonic Iron that I love. It might have the same sole plate, as it is sort of goldy-grey. I can’t find any words on it about the sole plate. I guess I didn’t know that the sole plate was so much better than others because it has been so long since I had a different iron.
What I really love about mine is that it heats up quickly, so even though it is auto-off, that isn’t a pain, and I LOVE that the water tank comes off, giving it a sort of free-arm effect for ironing in sleeves, etc. Not that I iron clothes, but….the possibility is there. But I can take off the water tank if I want to assure no water spotting of fabric.
I’ve never seen this iron in a store since I bought mine.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I love my titanium Panasonic. I have had it for quire a while and I do lots of fusing with few to know problems.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Oh so timely! My iron just plopped some nasty brown goop all over the piece I’m working on. It’s 15 years old too old to repair. I’s now time to shop! I can’t wait to wax poetic about my new iron.
November 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Sarah,
Thanks for posting about this. I need a new iron and was wondering what would work!!! Now I know and it’s in my shopping cart at Amazon!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Holy cow. This is fabulous! I’ve scheduled a link to this post to go live on my blog later this morning. I hope it brings you a few extra clicks.
Denise
http://needlework.craftgossip.com
November 11th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
[…] fusible web! That’s right. Sarah says you can melt fusible all over it and just wipe it off. Get all the details, including ordering information, from Sarah’s […]
November 14th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I have a similar iron and can’t imagine fusing without it. And I do a lot of fusing. Thanks for sharing.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:03 am
For those who use this iron for fusing…do you use any parchment paper or other protective materials when fusing? Just curious.