We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more›
Our top pick, the Sunbeam Power Steam Fabric Steamer, was discontinued and is no longer available. We plan to test a new batch of contenders shortly.
If pulling out the iron feels like a slog or you want to give your hand-washed delicates a professional finish, a wrinkle-busting steamer can polish your look in minutes. And because they smooth without scorching, steamers are better for delicates like silk and wool. We’ve tested 35 models since 2016, and our favorite is the Sunbeam Power Steam Fabric Steamer (now unavailable). Its powerful blasts of steam, comfortable grip, and smart accessories make it the one we grab over and over.
This steamer melted wrinkles without spitting water on our fabrics—rare among the models we tested. It’s also comfortable to hold and has exceptional features, better than those of any other handheld steamer we tried.
May be out of stock
*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.
Like most of the midsize handheld steamers I tested, the Sunbeam Power Steam Fabric Steamer produced ample steam for the job, and it was easier to hold and more thoughtfully designed than the competition. It was also one of the only handheld steamers that didn’t leave wet spots on test fabrics. The Sunbeam weighed just over 4 pounds with a full water tank (other midsize steamers we tested weighed between 2½ and 5 pounds), yet it was the most balanced and comfortable to hold for several minutes. It was the only steamer I tried that had a heat-up metal strip above the steam opening, which helped smooth fabrics (much like an iron would), and it was the only one with a switch to control the force of steam (low or high). Plus, it has a trigger button to switch between a steady flow or short bursts. It also includes a “steam handle,” a snap-on accessory that helped protect my fingers from the scalding steam and let me get up close to tough wrinkles. It has a three-year limited warranty. This steamer was recently discontinued. We’ll be testing alternatives but if you need a midsize steamer right now, we recommend our second favorite model, the Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam.
There are some real clunkers in the world of small travel steamers. But this one is better built and more efficient than others we tried—it even outperformed some of the pricier midsize competitors.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $33.
If you want a steamer on hand to occasionally freshen up a suit or a delicate top or to pack in your suitcase, you probably don’t need anything fancier than the Conair Complete Steam Hand Held Fabric Steamer (GS2). It’s less than half the price of the Sunbeam, and it was more effective at smoothing wrinkles than any other steamer I tried in its price range (most of which were junky). It was also one of the only steamers of this size (often called “portable” or “travel steamers”) I tested in 2019 that didn’t pour water out of the spout when tipped over. It has a relatively small water tank (5 ounces; the portables I tried ranged from 5 to 8 ounces), and it did spit some water when in use, but it left fewer wet spots on clothes than the other portables I tried. If you think you’ll use a steamer regularly, invest in the well-made Sunbeam, but if you just need to smooth a wrinkle now and then—at home or while traveling—the Conair is a solid choice. It has a one-year limited warranty, which is typical for small, inexpensive steamers.
This floor-standing steamer was more pleasant to use than the other big steamers we tried. It has smooth bursts of steam, a comfortable handle, and the biggest water tank of those we tested.
May be out of stock
If you do a lot of steaming, or if you’d rather skip hefting a heavy handheld steamer, the Reliable Vivio 500 GC Professional Garment Steamer is a pleasure to use. It’s nearly 6 feet tall, with a base about the size of a canister vacuum; despite its cumbersome size, it was my favorite steamer to use in testing. The tank holds a gallon of water (the most of any steamer I tried), it heats up quickly, and its steam head was much more comfortable for extended use than the Sunbeam (which could stand in for a gym weight). Be careful rolling the Vivio across the floor when the tank is full—it can splash water. This steamer comes with a three-year limited warranty, which was average for the ones I tested.
This steamer melted wrinkles without spitting water on our fabrics—rare among the models we tested. It’s also comfortable to hold and has exceptional features, better than those of any other handheld steamer we tried.
May be out of stock
*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.
There are some real clunkers in the world of small travel steamers. But this one is better built and more efficient than others we tried—it even outperformed some of the pricier midsize competitors.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $33.
This floor-standing steamer was more pleasant to use than the other big steamers we tried. It has smooth bursts of steam, a comfortable handle, and the biggest water tank of those we tested.
May be out of stock
The majority of my waking life is spent working with textiles, and that means dealing with wrinkles. I’ve written our guides to cotton sheets, flannel sheets, bed blankets, throw blankets, pajamas, robes, bath towels, and duvet covers, among others. In the course of doing the research for those pieces, I have done so much laundry that I must hold the company record by now. I also wrote our guides to irons and ironing boards. For this guide I also built on the research of Camille Perri and Tim Heffernan.
If you own a lot of delicate fabrics, or if you just need to freshen up the occasional piece of clothing or linen, a steamer will be a solid addition to your laundry arsenal, and it might even be a replacement for an iron. Over time, a steamer can also save you money normally spent at the dry cleaner. If you choose to hand-wash your delicate items at home (we have guidelines on what can and can’t skip the dry cleaner), a steamer can smooth out wrinkles and help everything look professionally cleaned and pressed. Steamers generally heat up in a couple of minutes, and the top ones we’ve tested melt away wrinkles with very little effort. They work best—and fastest—on thinner fabrics like silk and polyester, which you probably don’t want to iron anyway for fear of scorching them. Steamers are also a convenient way to smooth wrinkled curtains or drapes—without having to take them down. I tested three basic types of steamers for this guide: midsize handheld models, which look like small dumbbells and are a good choice if you steam semi-regularly; small portable models (shaped like a pitcher), which hold a few ounces of water and are best for light use; and full-size, floor-standing models (similar in size to a vacuum cleaner), which have a rod to hang your garments and the biggest tanks, so you can steam for long stretches without refilling.
Don’t rely on a steamer to create sharp pleats or creases, or to flatten seams. Some I tried came with special tools for that purpose, but they were time-consuming and fiddly, and they made me wonder why I hadn’t just gotten out the iron. In testing I also found that steamers were less effective than irons on stubborn folds and wrinkles, particularly on the hems of heavily creased shirts, jeans, and cotton sheets. If you wash and dry dress shirts—or any button-down shirts—at home, an iron is a better tool for keeping them crisp. A steamer can be helpful if you want to avoid storing a big ironing board in a small apartment, but that’s only realistic if your laundry isn’t that wrinkled. (We recommend options for small-space living in our ironing boards guide.)
I used these criteria to find the best steamers:
Good power: The steamers with the strongest bursts of hot steam flattened wrinkles the fastest. I wanted to be able to steam an outfit in minutes and get out the door.
No water marks: A water stain can ruin a delicate, expensive fabric, and dribbling water can also be a safety hazard with a plugged-in appliance. I looked for steamers that didn’t drip, spit, or leak.
Big water tanks: The bigger the tank, the longer you can use your steamer before having to refill it. I looked at three different size categories and prioritized roomy water tanks for all of them.
Comfortable: Midsize handheld steamers can be especially top-heavy and awkward to hold. Since steaming involves a fair amount of arm lifting, I looked for steamers that were comfortable enough to use for several minutes at a time. I also favored steamers that could be used both vertically and horizontally, for people who are more comfortable using a steamer on a flat surface. And I looked for longer cords, which are helpful if you’re tall or if your outlets aren’t in a convenient spot.
Warranty: Over the years, I’ve learned that irons and steamers can break easily. For one person, a steamer might last for years, and for someone else, the same model might conk out after two months. I considered only models with solid warranties, in case they give up the ghost too soon.
In addition to applying our deep knowledge of steamers (gained from a long history of testing them), I considered opinions from The Strategist and Good Housekeeping, and checked star ratings on Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, and other retailers to compile a list of 28 candidates. I narrowed the list by reading user reviews from those same retailers, checking for things like customer service concerns and for reports of steamers that didn’t last long, and I looked at each steamer’s specifications—warranty, water-tank size, and useful features. I included well-reviewed steamers, favored brands that have proved to be reliable in the past, and also covered household names that are easy to find. In the end, I decided to test 17 steamers in three categories: portable, handheld (aka midsize), and floor-standing.
I tried each steamer with a variety of materials, including cotton sheets, button-down shirts, and silks, noting which models met the above criteria. I used them vertically (on clothes hung from hangers) and horizontally (spread out on an ironing board), and I measured the length of the steamers’ extension cords and the size of their water tanks.
This steamer melted wrinkles without spitting water on our fabrics—rare among the models we tested. It’s also comfortable to hold and has exceptional features, better than those of any other handheld steamer we tried.
May be out of stock
*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.
They say the devil is in the details, but with the Sunbeam Power Steam Fabric Steamer (now unavailable), the details were downright heavenly. The Sunbeam checked every box on our list: It was effective on wrinkles, didn’t leave wet spots on test fabrics, and felt comfortable to hold. And its (relatively) big water tank was the easiest to fill, plus the Sunbeam has a three-year limited warranty. But the smart details—like the metal strip above the steam opening, the snap-on “steam handle,” and the high-low steam switch—pushed the Sunbeam above its competitors to make steaming an enjoyable chore.
The bursts of steam from the Sunbeam smoothed out a silk dress in seconds and a rumpled cotton pillowcase in under a minute. Several steamers we’ve considered have multiple holes for the steam to escape, but the Sunbeam has a thin, long slit, which results in a more targeted sheet of steam. It took more wrinkles out of crumpled button-down shirts than any other handheld steamer I tested (although the most stubborn wrinkles, on the sleeves and the bottom hems, still needed an iron). Also, many steamers I tested spit droplets of water along with the steam, leaving wet marks on test fabrics. The Sunbeam didn’t; out of eight handheld steamers I tried in 2019, only the Sunbeam and the Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam left clothes completely dry.
Handheld (aka midsize) steamers can be uncomfortable to use after a few minutes—of the three steamer types we tested, they were the heaviest to hold, and they tended to be awkwardly top-heavy. The Sunbeam is the most comfortable handheld, for both vertical and horizontal use. Its dumbbell shape felt well-balanced, with the weight of the water on the bottom feeling equal to the steam head up top. It weighed about 4 pounds with a full tank (the handhelds I tested ranged from 2½ to 5 pounds). It wasn’t as comfortable to use as the floor-standing Reliable Vivio 500 GC, but it’s about a quarter of the price and far, far easier to store. Its water tank holds a generous 11 ounces, the second biggest of our handheld test group, after the Black+Decker HGS200 (13 ounces). In testing, the Sunbeam smoothed two button-downs, a dress, a pillowcase, a silk top, a T-shirt, and a pair of silk pajamas using less than half of the tank’s water.
The best part of the water tank is its wide, flat shape, one of several details that set the Sunbeam apart. Of the handheld steamers I tried, its tank was the easiest to fill—it sits nicely on a counter so you can fill it with one hand (I used a spouted cup because the tank’s hole is small). A simple twist-and-click movement locks the tank back into the steamer. The Sunbeam also has a metal strip above the steam opening, called the “wrinkle remover bar,” which helps push the steam into the fabric’s fibers (similar to what an iron does). It was the only steamer I tested that had this feature. (The whole steamer head heated up on the Black+Decker HGS312, but it didn’t work as well as the Sunbeam’s bar.) Several handheld steamers came with accessories like lint brushes and crease clips, but the Sunbeam’s were the most useful. My favorite accessory was the steam handle, a snap-on plastic shield that blocked steam from scalding my fingers—it’s a considerate extra that’s unique to the Sunbeam, and I really appreciated it after hours of testing with hot steam. The Sunbeam also gave me more control over the amount of steam than any other handheld or portable steamer I tested. Its high-low switch controls the stream, and a trigger button toggles between a steady flow or short bursts. The high setting was the fastest for smoothing wrinkles, but the low setting was nice because it didn’t scorch my fingers while I was holding the fabric taut.
The Sunbeam is heavy—it was too heavy for one of our editors to use regularly in long-term testing. With a full tank it weighs almost 1½ pounds more than the Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam, the second-best handheld I tried. The Sunbeam wasn’t the heaviest handheld, though—the Black+Decker HGS312 weighs 5 pounds. The Sunbeam’s iron bar, which I loved when steaming vertically, was less effective horizontally. It didn’t glide smoothly across the fabric (which it tended to bunch), making me wonder why I wasn’t just using an iron. Also, the water tank doesn’t have a very big hole, so you might need a cup with a spout to fill it (like I did). This is, however, something that’s pretty common with handheld steamers.
There are some real clunkers in the world of small travel steamers. But this one is better built and more efficient than others we tried—it even outperformed some of the pricier midsize competitors.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $33.
Portable (aka travel-size) steamers are not the most impressive examples of modern engineering—most of them leak, and they’re not that powerful—but the Conair Complete Steam Hand Held Fabric Steamer (GS2) is the best one we’ve found, and it even outperformed some bigger, pricier models. If you need to use a steamer only occasionally, for an outfit or for a trip, the small Conair is effective, affordable, and lightweight.
In testing the Conair not only beat all of the cheap portable steamers, it also was easier to fill and left fewer wet marks on clothes than midsize handhelds from Rowenta and Black+Decker. The Conair didn’t produce as much steam as our main pick from Sunbeam, so it needed more passes over the fabric to flatten wrinkles, and it wasn’t as effective on tough creases—but it’s also less than half the price. The Conair is just right for light jobs and travel, and it’s more comfortable to use than the heavy Sunbeam if you don’t have much to steam. It did leave some water spots when used too close to fabrics. But the Conair was also one of only two small steamers (the discontinued Deneve, our former also great pick, was the other) I tried that can be used horizontally; it dribbled only a few droplets, which was a win compared with others that poured water everywhere.
The Conair (like most of the five portable steamers I tried) looks like a small watering can, and it weighs about 2½ pounds when full—considerably less than the 4-pound Sunbeam. It was the heaviest of the portable steamers I tested, yet it has one of the smallest water tanks. Empty it’s just over 2 pounds, and the tank holds 5 ounces of water. By comparison, the HiLife Steamer weighs 1½ pounds when empty and has an 8-ounce water tank. You can steam two, maybe three, outfits with the Conair before you’ll need to refill. The Conair’s one-year warranty is shorter than those of our other picks, but it’s the same as those of most of the other inexpensive portable steamers we considered. The price and quality of portable steamers indicate to us that these are not meant to last forever.
This floor-standing steamer was more pleasant to use than the other big steamers we tried. It has smooth bursts of steam, a comfortable handle, and the biggest water tank of those we tested.
May be out of stock
If you have a lot of steaming to do (like helping a wedding party get dressed or tackling a mountain of laundry), if you prefer to steam clothes spread out on a table or bed instead of hanging upright, or if you don’t find heavy handheld steamers comfortable to use, the floor-standing Reliable Vivio 500GC Professional Garment Steamer is a solid alternative that left its four competitors in the dust. A flexible hose makes this steamer the most comfortable of our picks to use. It releases a steady, effective flow of steam; it’s smartly designed; and its 1-gallon tank was still steaming long after I ran out of fabric to smooth. It does, however, cost about four times as much as the Sunbeam.
For big jobs, the handheld Sunbeam steamer will build up your biceps but test your patience; the Reliable Vivio, on the other hand, has a lightweight hose (like all floor-standing steamers) that was more flexible than others we tried and easier to glide across fabrics. (It’s like using a vacuum-cleaner hose.) This also made the Reliable the best of our steamer picks for steaming horizontally, if that’s what you prefer. It was as effective as other full-size steamers at smoothing wrinkles (and also similar to the handheld Sunbeam in this regard), but it was the only one that didn’t spit any water.
All floor-standing steamers have an attached pole to hold the steamer head and a garment. The Reliable Vivio comes with its own hanger, which keeps your clothes steadier while you steam than models like the Pure Steam and the Jiffy, neither of which included one. The Reliable’s design sets it apart, but it did require more setup than other floor-standing steamers I tested—I had to get out a screwdriver. Another standing steamer we tried, the Pure Enrichment, also came with a snap-on hanger, but it was harder to move around (an important consideration when you’re trying to steam the front and back of a shirt).
Like those of all floor-standing steamers I tried, the Reliable’s removable tank was easy to fill, with a screw-on cap and a wide opening that fit under a faucet. It held more water (a gallon) than any other steamer we tested, but it still heated up in about two minutes. You don’t have to empty the tank after each use, so once it’s set up, it’s a breeze to wheel out and start using. The Reliable’s wheels were better on hardwood floors than those of any other full-size steamer I tried, but be careful when storing the steamer or moving it around. If the base tips backward, some water will dribble out of the tank. Leaking is a common issue, and the Reliable wasn’t the worst offender during testing. It comes with a three-year limited warranty.
In 2019 testing, the Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam Garment Steamer performed just as well as the Sunbeam, and it was comfortable to use, but it costs a few dollars more, and the water tank is smaller, by 3 ounces. If the Sunbeam is sold out or unavailable, the Turbo ExtremeSteam was the next-best handheld I tried.
The Black+Decker 2-in-1 Steam & Iron Handheld Steamer & Press Plate (HGS312) was the best of the three Black+Decker steamers we tried, and it performed about as well as the Sunbeam and Conair steamers. Like the Sunbeam, the Black+Decker has a heat-up steam head, but in our tests it wasn’t very effective. Other small details, like a tricky-to-use on-off button, prompted us to move it lower on our list.
The Reliable Dash 100GH Hand-Held Garment Steamer (now unavailable) and the Beautural 1200-Watt Steamer for Clothes turned out to be identical steamers in every way except their names. They both smoothed wrinkles on thin silk but struggled with thicker cotton, and they spit some water onto fabrics.
The Rowenta DR8080 Powerful Handheld Garment and Fabric Steamer (now unavailable) is about as heavy as the Sunbeam, but its 6½-ounce water tank is almost half the size. In our tests, it wasn’t as easy to fill, and it leaked.
The Black+Decker Advanced Handheld Steamer (HGS200) was a dud. I had to push the power button several times to get it to work, and it was the slowest steamer to heat up in our testing. It also didn’t produce much steam, and it made strange—even alarming—noises, so I unplugged it after just a few minutes. It did have the largest water tank (13½ ounces) of any handheld we tried, though.
We pulled our former top pick, the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer, after reports of a lawsuit related to claims of severe steam burns. In past years we’ve also tested and dismissed the Jiffy Esteam Travel Steamer, the Steamfast SF-435 Compact Fabric Steamer, and the Shark Press & Refresh Garment Care System (GS500).
The PAX Steamer For Clothes, Travel and Home and the iSteam Steamer for Clothes turned out to be the exact same steamer, just branded differently. There’s no barrier between the water tank and the steam holes in either one, so if you tip them over, the water will pour right out. In fact, with both we found that the slightest bump sloshed water onto our fabric. This makes horizontal steaming impossible and vertical steaming unpleasant, and it felt like a safety hazard.
The Hilife Steamer for Clothes had the same problems as the PAX and the iSteam steamers. It leaked water, couldn’t be used horizontally, and didn’t get very hot.
The Deneve Portable Garment Steamer, our former also-great pick, was discontinued and became unavailable while we were retesting it in 2019. It was still an outstanding performer, if you happen to find one.
In previous years we also tested and dismissed the Conair Travel Smart, the Pure Enrichment PureSteam Portable Fabric Steamer, and the Joy Mangano My Little Steamer Go Mini.
The Pure Enrichment Pure Steam XL Standing Steamer was the least expensive full-size steamer I tried. Although it has some nice details, overall you get what you pay for. It spit on our test fabrics, and it wasn’t as powerful as the Reliable Vivio 500GC. It also had the smallest water tank of the bunch. The clip-on hanger kept garments still, but it was fussy to unclip and turn around to steam the garment’s other side.
Our former floor-standing pick, the J-2000 Jiffy Garment Steamer, has a simple design, and it emitted strong steam, but it was the worst offender in our testing when it came to water leaks from the tank. When I tried to roll the Jiffy’s stiff wheels across the floor, water poured out of the base, covering the cord and plug. I had to halt testing this steamer until it was dry enough to plug in, and it leaked again when I moved it after testing.
The PurSteam Full Size Garment Fabric Steamer was the only other steamer I tried (aside from the Sunbeam) that had a dial to control the force of the steam. This is a nice feature, but the steamer leaked on all of the test fabrics. The hose was also stiff to use, until the steam loosened it up after several minutes.
In previous years we tested and dismissed several steamers which are now unavailable: Rowenta IS6200 Compact Valet and the Rowenta IS6300 Master Valet Full Size Garment Steamer (which are virtually identical to each other), the Steamfast SF-510 Fabric Steamer, the Sunbeam S1500 Classic Garment Steamer and the nearly identical Singer SteamWorks Pro, and the Conair Ultimate Fabric Steamer (GS28).
This article was edited by Jennifer Hunter.
Editors, The Best Clothes Steamers on Amazon, According to Hyperenthusiastic Reviews, The Strategist, May 10, 2019
Sarah Bogden, These Are the 10 Best Garment Steamers to Buy, Good Housekeeping, December 7, 2018
Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.
Our favorite iron is the Maytag M400 Speed Heat Iron and Vertical Steamer. It’s inexpensive, easy to use, and more reliable than most others we’ve tested.
If clothes moths (or their larvae) are chomping through your best sweaters and jackets, don’t freak out. Here’s how to get rid of them.
by Christina Williams and Wirecutter Staff
These 100 useful things were the most-purchased Wirecutter picks in August 2021.
by Christina Williams and Wirecutter Staff
These 100 useful things were the most-purchased Wirecutter picks in November 2021.
Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing to save people time, energy and money when making buying decisions. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time). Subscribe now for unlimited access.
© 2022 Wirecutter, Inc., A New York Times Company