Probably, each of us faced such a situation when the iron spoils the thing dear to us. As a rule, such damage is not an isolated case. After that, the irons often begin to “junk” on an ongoing basis and it becomes unbearable to use them, even to the detriment of oneself. So, the situation eventually ends with a trip to the store, where we are faced with a huge selection of this element of household appliances, but we want to purchase, of course, the best and not for a fabulous fee. What kind of iron sole is good among so many choices, which models to give preference to, this article will tell.
What is the most important thing?
If you ask a specialist, he will immediately say that the sole is the main thing in the iron. It is important that it is well heated, smooth, cleaned thoroughly of impurities, not scratched, glided well, and so on. But which sole of the iron is good, we will analyze each separately.
What about aluminum?
The best thermal conductivity among the metals from which the sole for the iron is made is in aluminum. It heats up well and quickly and cools quickly too. In addition, you will appreciate the price of an iron with an aluminum sole. However, he has his own minus. Although aluminum soles can be polished to the point where nothing interferes with the smooth gliding of the iron on the fabric, it is subject to minor mechanical damage.
For example, if you are ironing jeans, on which there are always a lot of all kinds of rivets and metal buttons, then the coating of the iron will certainly be scratched. You will not notice this immediately, but after a year of intensive use, the entire sole will be scratched and, as a result, contaminated with microscopic particles of fabric that will stain new clothes. Of course, you can iron things through some kind of fabric, but this is not too convenient. This all applies to the irons of cheaper models.
Maybe teflon?
Non-stick coating, which is sprayed with inexpensive aluminum soles, has the ability to induce shine, especially if things are woolen. Teflon has some advantages that correct the disadvantages of plain aluminum. For example, nothing will ever stick to it. But nothing protects it from scratches, over time it will peel off.
Benefits of Ceramics
The well-known manufacturer Tefal has developed a coating that is different from many others. This is the so-called glass-ceramic coating, made in a ribbed form, which allows the device to easily glide over the fabric. The developers also claim that an iron with a ceramic sole can cope with even the most difficult to iron fabrics.
Stainless steel sole
The stainless steel undoubtedly has improved characteristics in terms of strength and wear resistance. Therefore, choosing a practical model and deciding which sole is good, you should pay attention to this option. It is convenient to clean, it is also good at sliding, which, as we already understood, is important when choosing a decent iron. But stainless steel is not a panacea. An iron with a stainless steel sole will last you a long time, but it is heavier than its competitors and the process of heating and cooling takes much longer than that of the same aluminum. This will be noticeable if you are in a hurry somewhere and you urgently need to iron your clothes, and the iron does not “rush” to heat up. It is also worth noting that such a device will cost you more, because the cost of stainless steel is much higher than that of aluminum or ceramics.
Titanium iron
An iron with a sole covered with titanium not only sounds powerful, but also costs a lot. But, of course, the iron, whose price is so high, is fully justified. Titanium, as we know, is one of the lightest and most durable metals. This coating of the soleplate is particularly durable. Another wonderful property of titanium spraying is the ease of cleaning. Even if you leave the iron on the fabric, which according to all the laws of the genre should stick to it tightly, it can be easily cleaned. Just let it cool and wipe it with a damp cloth. Only one minus is the titanium coating of the soleplate - it has a low thermal conductivity. Even the thinnest coating layer significantly reduces the temperature of heating the sole. When buying, this is also worth considering.
Puff
Some manufacturers do not stop experimenting with aluminum and try to give it the missing strength, while maintaining its outstanding thermal conductivity. They achieve this by layering one coating on another. For example, manufacturers such as Siemens and Bosch prefer to coat their aluminum sole with a thin layer of stainless steel. They were the first to start coating stainless steel bases with high-strength enamel, which in its properties and strength resembles high-quality granite, which is why this line of irons is called Granit glisse.
Manufacturers are so confident in such a combination that when answering the question about which sole of the iron is good and durable, they openly declare that their supercoating is not scratched, recommending that they clean off especially strong soiling with an iron brush.
Philips and Tefal also offer ceramic coated irons. True, they differ significantly from their competitors in the way they apply the ceramic layer and process it. This is fired ceramics, applied in a thin layer to the aluminum base of the sole. Such a sole has all the qualities necessary for a decent iron. It is well heated, and has sufficient strength, and does not give unwanted shine to the fabric, also allowing ironing even the most capricious synthetics. This was made possible due to the unusual material that developers use. This material is hot enamel, or as it is also called - Durilium.
Special attention is paid to special soles of “Brown”, and what is most pleasant - the price of such an iron is not very high. Despite the special manufacturing technique, they remain in the average cost category. This can not leave indifferent the buyer who wants to purchase quality goods at the best price. The coating of these irons is called sapphire. This does not mean that the company uses powdered sapphires to make high-quality soles of Brown irons. Sapphire in this case is the type of corundum. This mineral is also used as an abrasive. That's because it has incredible strength, which only diamond can argue with.
The low cost of this mineral is due to the fact that it is mined artificially. And the name is just a marketing ploy. At the same time, the irons from the Sapphire series are in no way inferior to the highest quality of the above irons by any criteria and are really very good to use.