Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron

Ironing is one of my most hated household chores. It’s tedious, time consuming and I never seem to be able to achieve good results. There are always a few creases that just don’t seem to disappear, no matter how many times I run the iron over them. Add to that my tendency to not pay attention to settings (I’ve ruined a few good clothes) and you start to get the picture.

However, it was recently suggested to me that perhaps I just wasn’t using the right equipment. Perhaps my ancient, bargain-basement iron (whose “steam” function gave up long ago) just wasn’t up to the task. Perhaps a new iron could change my outlook, perhaps it could make me… apathetic, or even… *gasp* like ironing.

When Only The Best Will Do – Philips Azure Elite Steam Iron

“Fair enough,” I thought when the suggestion was made about the quality of my iron. Perhaps my current iron was somewhat to blame for my distain for the task (yes, I know it is a poor workman who blames his tools, but let’s face it – it was a crap tool).

But it couldn’t be all in the iron. Surely the task is unenjoyable no matter how good the tool?

I put that theory to the test. I went looking for the absolute best iron that I could find. The one with the latest technology. The one with ridiculous amounts of steam and non-stick, titanium easy-gliding soleplate and anti-calc functions and… THE GUARANTEE OF NO BURNS.

I had to have the best, and if the best couldn’t take the pain out of ironing then nothing could.

Throughout my research one iron stood head-and-shoulders above the rest – the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron. This champion of irons had everything a guy like me could ask for. It was my shining light, my last hope for a future in which ironing wasn’t a complete pain in the rear.

First Impressions

When I took the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron out of the box, I immediately noticed some differences between it and my old iron. The Azur Elite is large and it had a substantial weight to it – not enough to be cumbersome, but enough to make me feel like I was holding an appliance of substance.

The quality of the Azur Elite was also immediately apparent on the sole plate. The coating is smooth to touch and the abundance of steam holes filled me with confidence.

Ease of Use

The simpler an appliance like an iron is, the better it is. The last thing I want to do as I quickly rush to get ready in the morning is worry about complicated settings. I want to turn the iron on, run it over my clothes and be on my way.

Well hallelujah! The Philips Azur Elite does exactly that! It is the epitome of simplicity. There is exactly one button on the whole iron, which is essentially used to fine-tune the amount of steam produced. It also has a trigger for delivering an extra burst of steam.

“But what about temperature control?” I hear you ask. Here is the best bit, are you ready for it?

THERE IS NO TEMPERATURE CONTROL!

It is a master stroke of iron design – the one single factor that convinced me the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron was the best iron around. The iron controls the temperature for you, and it does this extremely well.

Gone are the days of having to carefully sort laundry into “like” materials (and inevitably leaving a shiny patch on some delicate clothes), then selecting the correct temperature. The Philips Azur Elite uses some kind of electronic wizardry to do it all for you.

You can iron 100% cotton shirts then go straight onto polyester with reckless abandon – believe me, I’ve tried. Somehow (I’m assuming magic) the iron is able to make split second adjustments and give each garment exactly the TLC it needs. It is truly astounding, so much so that I turned to Emma on my first use and declared that Philips should have used the term “unf*ckupable” in their marketing.

They did not. Instead, Philips used classy terms like “guaranteed no burns” and “DynamiQ”. Whatever you want to call it, the effect is amazing. Just turn in on, wait for it to heat up and iron away without any more thought.

Results

All of that magic is all well and good, but the most important question when it comes to an iron is does it remove creases?

My overwhelming experience is yes. Yes it does remove creases. Even better, the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron does it really quickly. I put that down to the abundance of steam that the iron generates. The Philips Azur Elite has a stated steam output of up to 55 g/min. That’s a lot of steam. My observations are that the huge amount of steam really penetrates the fabric during ironing, making creases disappear quickly and resulting in beautifully fresh clothing.

On my trousers, for example, the iron is so effective that it takes the creases out of both sides of a leg in one go. That is outstanding, and it significantly cuts down the amount of time I spend ironing them.

My 100% cotton work shirts have always been a challenge. Sometimes my old iron would fail to remove the most stubborn creases, no matter how many times I went over them. The Philips Azur Elite does a fine job on these shirts. Sometimes it takes a couple of passes to remove every crease, but usually a quick once-over with the iron is enough to be looking respectable as I leave the house.

If I want to be looking absolutely sharp, the Azur Elite has a trick up its sleeve. The steam boost blast (controlled by a trigger on the underside of the handle) delivers a huge blast of steam. It does the job nicely, making my cotton shirts look very sharp.

Steam

I don’t have room in my compact townhouse for one of those huge steam generator irons. I imagine they do a great job, after all, steam is key when it comes to ironing.

With the Philips Azur Elite, I now feel like I’m not missing out on anything. The much more compact design of the Azur Elite (when compared to a steam generator) is still able to produce an abundance of steam, in a much more convenient way. The 55g/min of continuous steam is more than capable of dealing with most clothes easily, while the 240g steam boost is a welcome helper (as described above).

All that steam does mean the Azur Elite is a thirsty beast. That is catered for by a large supply tank, but even so I did find that regular refilling was necessary. That is no problem for me (I’d take the abundance of steam any day), but it does help to have a source of water close by.

Refilling is super easy. The Azur Elite has a decent-sized hole for water and the included measuring cup is well designed to minimise the chance of spills.

One final note on steam. Previous irons of mine have had a tendency to drip water on my clothes while ironing, especially when using lower temperatures. Despite the large amounts of water that the Philips Azur Elite uses, I am yet to see any errant drops on my clothes. In my experience so far, the Azur Elite does an outstanding job of producing great steam without dripping water, no matter what type of fabric I am ironing.

Issues

This is a hard part for me, because it’s fair to say my previous irons set the bar pretty low. The Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron has dominated every other iron that I have ever used in my life, in every way. I cannot think of a single aspect of ironing in which the Azur Elite hasn’t been head-and-shoulders above the others.

The only small issue that I have found is that the cord doesn’t seem to have an easy way of winding and staying in place for storage. Unless I have missed something, it just gets wound around the base, then dangles loosely. That’s no big deal, but I did find it a little annoying, so I took the clip off my old iron and used that. It works a treat!

That is seriously it. That is the only “issue” that I have found with the iron so far. At the core task of ironing clothes, the Philips Azure Elite Steam Iron excels.

You may have noticed earlier in the review that I described the iron as having a substantial weight. Ordinarily this would be an issue for an item that you continually have to lift while using. However, the intelligence of the Philips Azure Elite mitigates this issue. The Azur Elite can be left on its sole plate when switching between garments.

That means there is little lifting required and the whole process is far less fatiguing. The Azur Elite also glides effortlessly over clothes as you iron, again helping to offset any negatives of the weight. For these reasons, I don’t see the weight as an issue at all.

Cost

The Recommended retail price of the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron is $199.00.

Once upon a time I might have baulked at that price. Then I used the Azure Elite and my perspective completely changed.

The Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron might come with a premium price tag, but the features of the iron make it worth every cent. In time savings alone, the investment in the Azur Elite will pay off pretty quickly. Then there is the satisfaction of using such a great product. This incredible iron has actually achieved the impossible – it has allowed me to enjoy ironing.

Disclosure – Philips provided Blog Of Dad with the Azur Elite Steam Iron free of charge, for the purpose of review. The views expressed in this post are entirely my own views, based on my impressions of the Philips Azur Elite Steam Iron. For further information, please visit my disclosure statement.