Philips PerfectCare Compact Steam Generator iron GC7808/40 with no burns guaranteed, 280g steam boost, 1.5 L [Energy Class A]

This is the second steam iron I have purchased for my mum. The first one was purchased in 2013, and made a world of difference to the ironing process; it lasted six years. This iron was purchased as a replacement in 2019. At the time it was well over £100, so it is a bargain at the current price (£64.91). It’s a much better iron than the one it replaced.Favourite features:1. You don’t have to worry about fiddling with the temperature as it automatically adjusts to the fabric being ironed. This also makes ironing more efficient.2. There is no danger of burning fabrics. Over the years, I have left the iron sitting on various types of fabric to answer the door, grab the phone, etc. This has never resulted in a burn. It is extremely safe to use.3. The steam function is powerful and makes easy work of ironing out stubborn creases.4. The ‘smart descaling’ feature ensures the iron is cleaned regularly and this in-turn has kept the iron working in ‘as new’ condition. There’s also no need to buy and faff about with descaling cartridges. The iron makes a continuous loud beeping sound when it needs to be ‘descaled’. You then place it in the ‘descaling’ tray and let it do its thing. The entire process takes a few minutes. It’s quick, easy and it really does keep the iron in top condition.

A few years ago I bought another steam generator iron that was slightly cheaper than this one. However, what I didn't know was that I would have to constantly keep buying expensive filters for it to keep running. I bought this Iron to replace my old one after watching a few YouTube reviews.This iron has a large 1.5 litre water tank that is ample for doing a large family's ironing done in one go. It would have been more convenient it the water tank was detachable, like on my old iron, however, this is easy enough to fill using a jug or bottle.There is plenty of steam produced by the iron. The windows were soon steamed up. This didn't happen with my old iron. The iron itself is very light and the whole thing combined is very compact taking up little space. The fact that the iron doesn't have any dials to adjust for different garments makes life a lot easier and quicker to iron. The iron takes approximately 2 mins to get warmed up to be ready to start ironing. There is an eco mode which takes less electricity, however, you compromise with the amount of steam it generates. I like the modern design and the manner in which the iron glides effortlessly. Great results with the ironing. Took out the creases perfectly.Not done the de-calcing yet. I like the fact that the iron will tell me, by bleeping and flashing, when it requires de-calcing. The procedure seems pretty straightforward, requiring you to simply place the iron in the de-calcing tray provided and pressing a button. The iron does the rest by itself taking approximately 5 mins in total. Much easier than having to find filter cartridges and the costs involved.I like the fact that it comes with a 2 year guarantee as well. Hope this review is helpful. The price was £95 when I bought it.

This is my 4th steam generator, it is no better nor no worse of any of my previous brands I’ve had. They all seem to last between 2 to 3 years. This one is nice and compact, good you don’t have to do temperature but I’m not convinced about turbo steam, it tells you to hold the start button for 2 seconds, I seem to turn it off then have to wait 2 mins for it to turn back on!

I was originally considering a more expensive version of this iron with a larger water tank. In the end I chose this one as it was a lot cheaper. I then saw the larger one at Currys and it was enormous so I was very happy with my choice.I absolutely love this iron! I have had it for around eighteen months now and I’m still very happy with it. My favourite feature is that there isn’t a manual temperature setting and the temperature adjusts automatically depending on the type of fabric. This means that I don’t have to worry about burning anything - it simply hasn’t happened yet and I have been ironing delicate fabrics too!The tank is large enough for my needs. I find it a bit tricky to fill it without any spillages but I am naturally quite clumsy so it could be my clumsiness rather than the iron itself!It’s a lot easier to store than my old iron as the steam hose can be wrapped around and slotted into place and there is a velcro strap on the power cord to make it even more tidy.The iron has a self clean option - it starts to beep and flash when the cleaning is required. There is a handy tray included for this purpose which collects all the dirt that comes out.It did stop generating steam after around 6 months however you get 2 year warranty on this product and Philips repaired it within a week for me. They provided me with a free shipping label so the whole experience of returning it to them was very easy. I was very pleased with the service I had received and the iron works fine now.Unfortunately same thing happened 3 more times! Although I really like this iron, the steam hose keeps getting blocked up and the only way to fix it is to replace the hose! The Philips engineer said that this could be due to the water in my area and advised to use destilled water. It is quite expensive to keep on buying it so not sure what I’m going to do.Although I really do like this iron, I’m not sure I would have purchased it had I known that it would have caused me so much unnecessary hassle!

Waste of money, looks gorgeous, but that’s where it ends. Takes forever to heat up, doesn’t get hot enough, and worst of all the steam is very inconsistent. Totally inefficient machine, although it’s so pretty irons are meant to be functional and it’s just rubbish