We know that our Mumsnet users are the real experts when it comes to laundry so, as always, we began by consulting our forums to see which steam irons parents loved and which they, well, didn't. Expert opinion An ordinary steam iron has its tank attached to the iron, so it holds less water and needs refilling more often than a steam generator iron. Still, a steam iron is smaller, easier to drag around the house to wherever you want, and requires far less storage space. Steam irons are also considerably cheaper than steam generator irons. How much should you spend on an iron?

That's why, when we asked them for their honest recommendations, they told us that a good steam iron should be lightweight, have a large tank capacity and get rid of stubborn creases without you breaking a sweat. A self-cleaning function to reduce limescale build-up would be an added bonus. In short, the best steam irons should be effective, efficient and reasonably priced.That left us with our honest, up-to-date and balanced guide to the top ten best steam irons to meet every need and budget. About the author According to Which?, descaling your iron should happen anywhere between one to three months. However, this can be required every two weeks if you live in a particularly hard water area. We recommend reading the manual for your particular iron, as your model might require specific steps. Generally, the best way is to: Just one touch of those chunky buttons delivers a powerful 210g steam shot, and the iron provides 70g continuous steam. The Russell Hobbs Powersteam Ultra can also be used for vertical steaming - great for blasting out wrinkles from hanging clothes, hanging curtains and furnishing fabrics. Of the 59 products, we discovered that 42 were more expensive and 14 were cheaper than Russell Hobbs 20630 Powersteam Ultra Steam Iron. Prices from Russell Hobbs

Finally, rinse the tank and steam it on empty on an old kitchen towel to ensure no vinegar remains inside. Find out why Russell Hobbs 20630 Powersteam Ultra Steam Iron scored an incredible review score of 8.9 out of 10. We really liked the feel of this iron. It’s substantial in the hand without feeling too heavy, and it has a smooth action from the large soleplate. It also has a solid stand built right in, meaning you can put it down at any point with no fear of it falling over, and the big dial in the middle makes it easy to control the temperature. The cord is a little on the short side and the water tank isn’t as large as some, but this is an excellent iron with some powerful steam. Laura started writing Swears By articles for Mumsnet in 2021 and now has responsibility for laundry content. She writes buyers guides, cleaning articles, including how to care for jumpers and knitwear, and tests products, including the Wilton London laundry range, to help Mumsnetters make informed choices when it comes to parting with their pennies.

What’s the Russell Hobbs Powersteam Ultra like to set up?

We were really impressed with the huge amounts of steam, which was consistent and easily controlled with an on/off button. There are three settings for steam on the iron and a concentrated steam zone at the front of the iron to make it easier to remove creases. It also works as a vertical steamer, although you’ll probably still need to iron the fiddlier parts of a garment flat. The number of steam holes in the soleplate – the more holes, the more even the steam dispersal to get rid of creases Just before we get into the detail of analysing the price of this product, we want to briefly highlight the importance of setting yourself a budget before you spend too much time shopping around for a suitable product. It’s all too often that we get carried away when shopping and find ourselves buying a fantastic product, but probably actually overdelivers on what we need and therefore costs a lot more than we should have spent. So spend a bit of time looking around at the sort of price you can expect to pay for products in the Irons category and use that alongside your own financial situation to set yourself a budget. Automatic shut off feature that turns off the iron when it’s idle for at least 8 minutes on its heel rest or at least 30 seconds on its sides or soleplate