While I learnt to iron from my parents, I must confess that pressing my clothes is not a typical part of my laundry routine. Especially if I’m travelling, the hassle of pulling out the ironing board and trying to work out how to use the iron is something I only reserve for the fanciest of occasions.
I’ve always been curious about how much easier it would be to use a Garment Steamer but I didn’t want to just use a basic model. Instead, I wanted to try and find the best garment steamers. That’s why I was excited to test out the Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer for myself and see just how much it could help me look after my outfits better, even when I’m out of the house.
Garment Steamer vs Iron: Which is Better?
The obvious first question to ask is if using the Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer is better compared to just using your standard iron.
I found that the Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer is much more convenient and simpler to use than a traditional iron, especially when on the go.
Forget about pulling out a heavy ironing board, trying to find space for it somewhere in your house and trying to figure out to make the clunky thing work. With a garment steamer, all you need is somewhere to hang a piece of clothing up like a shower rail or clothes rack.
While the Philips 5000 Series Garment Steamer is extremely convenient when used vertically, it can also be used horizontally for ultimate flexibility. It also has a pointed tip and metal plate perfect for de-wrinkling hard-to-reach areas so you can achieve iron-like results without the hassle.
Instead of waiting minutes for your iron to heat up, the Philips 5000 Series is ready to go in as little as 35 seconds so you can get your garments looking their best faster than you could with an iron.
The Philips 5000 Series can also do more than just have your clothes looking their best, they can also give you extra confidence that the outfit you’re putting on is perfectly clean and fresh. Unlike most irons, the Handheld Garment Steamer can also refresh your clothes by killing 99.9% of bacteria*1 on your garments.
Is the Philips 5000 Series Garment Steamer good for travelling?
Imagine this, you’re staying in a hotel room halfway across the world and want to make your nicest pair of pants look their best before an important event. So, you reach for the iron that came with the hotel room.
There are no instructions, the ironing board barely fits in the room, and you just have to make it work – guessing exactly how much water you need, what settings are best for the fabric type, how long it takes to heat up, and so on.
You put the iron to work and, after a frustrating half-hour, the pants looks barely better than they did before and you might have even given them an unsightly burn.
I was on my own overseas trip last month and the ultra-portable Philips 5000 Series Garment Steamer would have been a perfect travel companion and helped me avoid that exact scenario.
The Philips 5000 Series is small enough that it can fit easily into your luggage, with all the accessories safely stowed away in the 2-in-1 GlovePouch.
Hotel irons might not always be maintained or cleaned properly, leading to potential calcium build-up that can stain your clothing. Taking the Garment Steamer with you means you don’t have to take your chances with a hotel room iron, you can have the security of knowing exactly how to best look after your clothes with top-of-the-line Philips technology.
How to use a Handheld Garment Steamer?
To test out the Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer for myself, I tried it out on one of my favourite shirts. A treasured op-shop find, it’s made of a delicate fabric that seems to wrinkle just from looking at it. It has no chance if it’s been folded away in a packed suitcase for a trip.
The first step was filling up the detachable 120ml water tank. The tank is super simple to fill, refill, and empty, locking into place easily for less spills as you set up.
From there, it was as easy as plugging in the Handheld Steamer and choosing between the two available settings. I opted for the standard energy-saving Eco setting but the Max setting, with a stronger steam rate, is perfect for tougher wrinkles and fabrics like cotton.
After the water heated up, all I had to do was run the steamer head over the shirt a few times and watch the magic happen.
The adjustable head made it easy to find the perfect angle and the pointed tip was made for getting into tricky corners and maintaining folds and collars that would have been near-impossible with a bigger, clunkier iron.
I was concerned about the risk of burning my favourite shirt but the Philips 5000 Series is built with a SmartFlow steam plate to protect your most delicate clothes. From silks to denim, as long the fabric is ironable, the steam plate means you can steam without worrying about damaging your outfit.
I used the GlovePouch to protect my hand as I used the Handheld Steamer, so I could position the shirt however I wanted without worrying about my skin getting steamed too!
After a few minutes, my shirt looked better than ever! Tough wrinkles and creases had been removed and the entire shirt looked refreshed and ready to go.
Where to buy the Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer?
Want to buy the Philips 5000 Series for yourself? You can shop this convenient Handheld Garment Steamer online or at your local Harvey Norman store. Learn more about how it can help make refreshing your clothes even easier by coming in and chatting with the friendly, expert staff who are always happy to help!
Terms for this Philips 5000 Series Handheld Garment Steamer Review
*1. Tested with bacteria/yeast test strains: Escherichia coli (8099), Staphylococcus aureus. ATCC 6538, Candida albicans ATCC 10231 ^Tested with test mites species: Dermatophagoides farinae (male & femail adult mites and nymphs).