Rowenta DG8961 Silence Steam Generator Iron, 2400 W - Blue

Great iron. Have had it now for several months. It is very handy and quick to warm up. It has multiple steam levels which is great for different materials and thickness. I wear Indian suits and this is perfect to iron with. The handy end gets into little nooks easily. It makes quick work out of a horrible chore! Like all steam irons it is bulky, but this was to be expected. The iron itself is very light and glides well. The water component comes out easily for filling up with quick ease, which is handy as this does need to be refilled quite often -last around an hour or so. The cable itself is quite long, and there is a handy side pocket for the cable to be placed back into, which is great if you have little ones with grabby hands! The iron itself is very quiet and can be used without disrupting the TV too much. The only downfall is the power button at the bottom, which makes it difficult to see if its been left on.It collects limescale in the specialized collector and so far I have only had to clean it once. This was around the time the water started to drip and became brown stained. however it was easy to take out and clean.

This iron has been our solid workhorse for the last few years, I understand it's now been  superseded with another great contender . Having used it for a few years I just wanted to address why some are having issues with scale as I found a remedy that totally solved this issue for us.I have been a long time fan of steam generator irons, but living in a hard water area has created a number of issues with the buildup of scale, which tarnishes the steam and creates a cakey coating on the heat plate. I have now found the perfect remedy:I should report, that it worked beautifully for me using the  Polti Kalstop Anti-Scale Phails  . I found an easy method to decant the little 5ml plastic Phials into a small 10ml dropper bottle using these  B00FPPDQHO Blue dropper bottles  . I empty one into a single cute blue bottle that are supplied with a glass dropper.You would need 1ml of concentrate per litre of water according to the instructions in my Polti manual which I also own.My iron holds 2.2 litres. One full and loaded dropper holds approx. .5ml of concentrate (I measured this on my  Heston Precision Scale  .Therefore I use a tad over 4 droppers full and proceed to squeeze it directly into my tank thus subtracting the need to prepare the anti-calc concentrate in a 5 litre water drum as some have said they do.I would rather not have a 5 litre drum of water aa lugging it about and filling the small spring in the iron is inevitably going to create a mess.Quick, easy and now, no scale!

Ironing is now a bit more bearable! Removes creases with ease.

one of the best Stem iron worth for the price, I am fully satisfied with the performance of the steam iron.

Has anyone who has bought this iron experienced water spraying out all the time I’ve only just got it this week and can’t get the water to stop should I return?

It’s a monster ! Must have in every household . It’s time saver!

A great iron

This is our second Steam Generator iron.Our first, the Tefal Pro Express Turbo GV8461 had served us well for about 3 years (we are in a hard water area and we filled it from the kitchen tap). It was easy to use - BUT- noisy. I like to iron while watching telly (while the family is watching). Although the 'pump buzz' wasn't bad, the 'steam hiss' was too loud to be able to allow undisturbed TV watching!The Tefal 'died' last week - we were going to replace it with another Tefal but instead - in our quest for silence - decided on this Rowenta DG8961 Silence Steam Generator Iron. The reviews for the DG8960 were very good so we figured that the DG8961 must be better!First impressions:-The Rowenta and the Tefal units are both about the same size and weight.The Rowenta power cable is about 4 inches longer than the TefalThe Rowenta seems to be better engineered, the iron's temperature wheel is much more precise than the Tefal's slider (which was too easy to knock to a different temperature while ironing).The water reservoir is smaller on the Rowenta ,1.4 litres compared to 1.8 litres for the Tefal. However, you can choose to refill the tank on the Rowenta without removing the tank - removing the tanks, though, is just as easy and quick for both. The water fill hole is slightly larger on the Tefal so I had to take a bit more care filling the Rowenta's tank.The heat-up time seemed to be about the same for both. The 'pump-buzz' was slightly gentler in the Rowenta and it didn't seem to buzz quite as often. The BIG difference was the loudness of the 'steam-hiss' - the Rowenta is MUCH quieter - so undisturbed TV viewing (for both the ironer and the rest of the family) is definitely possible while using this iron!The Rowenta iron itself is slightly smaller and lighter than the Tefal - I was worried that being lighter it might not press as well - but it works perfectly and seems to be a bit less extravagant with the steam. Ironing 'effort' is about the same as the Tefal and Rowenta irons seem to glide equally easily.I've attached a photo of the sole-plates of the two irons side by side - you can see that the Rowenta has many more (and finer) steam holes. The 'dolphin nose' tip of the Rowenta iron does make it easier to get into those fiddly spots.Unlike the Tefal, the Rowenta doesn't have a self-winding cable - just a sort of 'cave' into which the power lead can be stuffed - not such a neat solution but a small price to pay for the silence.In summary this unit is a bit more expensive (£200 (discounted from £249.99) on Amazon (in October 2016) compared to £169.99 for the Tefal - BUT, quiet enough to be able to iron in front of the telly!I'll update this review in 6 months or soI’m sorry - rather more than 6 months have elapsed (too busy ironing!). It is now August 2018 and 2 years on - still filled with hard water from the tap - it is running well and quietly. I do empty the scale collector before each ironing session - you have to do it while it’s cold or you get squirted with hot water!This is certainly the best iron we’ve ever had and i’d Have no hesitation at all in recommending it!Update November 2020 - it’s still going strong! No problems at all. A couple of years ago we bought a dehumidifier and use the water it collects in the iron - this means no scale at all, so I no longer have to empty the scale catcher!