Sienna Elite Steam Press

I use this together with a stand so I can sit and iron. Because of severe back problems, I am not able to stand and iron. Enough about that. I do love this fabric press. It does take practice when ironing shirts with collars, etc., or ladies blouses with darts, etc. But, I had it down pretty well after doing 4-5 items. Everything looks so sharp and crisp and I don't even use spray starch. I do have a few burns on the back of my right hand because, when smooting fabrics getting ready to press--at the back of the ironing surface towards the hinging part--I accidentally brush my hand against the top. It would be nice if there was a little more space between the top and bottom back there, but this seems to be an issue on all fabric presses of this type. With practice, I am burning myself less and less. The electronics on it work fine, letting me know when it has reached the needed heat level. The instructions in the little manual are clear and easy to understand. The only down thing I find is the steam function. I had been ironing with a Rowenta iron which had something like 300 steam holes on the bottom. So, when ironing with steam, I was accustomed to getting A LOT of steam when I hit the button. This machine has what is probably a normal amount of holes. So, the amount of steam that comes out isn't great. And, I did have to "prime" it a few times to get it going. I finally decided to just use water and the spray bottle that came with the iron and that worked out much better. I'm able to control the density of the mist, not getting large drops of water in various places. So, since I'm not using the steam function, I am giving it a full 5 stars. If I truly wanted to use the steam funciton, I'd probably drop my rating down to 4 stars. I almost forgot! I love to have nice sharp creases in my slacks--even or especially my jeans. Wow! It does an amazing job on slacks and jeans. Amazing. Hint, I did purchase a package of the protective ironing/pressing bads. They are a mesh so I didn't know if they would really do anything. But they sure do. Somehow, they keep fabric you're pressing from getting shiny--even thick seams which often show seam details, etc. Wool doesn't get shiny and even sweaters that need to be touched up are not harmed. I use a pad almost every time I drop the top of the press (unless I forget) on all fabrics. I haven't had a single problem with any fabric. No scorching, seam marks, etc. When I get done, my jeans, slacks, blouses, etc., all look even better than they did when they were taken to cleaners. I'm saving a ton of money.

Purchased this item on July 2012. Using the press approx 3-4 hours every sunday.Overall this is a very good steam press but, components will fail eventually. Failure 1: Digital display losing segments around July 2013. Contacted Sienna for the part but is was not available. Noticed that RELIABLE has a similar model and got the part from them. Failure 2: Last weekend the temperature would hover between 225 and 325 F approx. After some troubleshooting I found the failing component. The relay which sends current to the heating element was bad (SANYOU SZ-S-112LM); ordered replacements directly from China. In the meanwhile I de-soldered the item from the circuitboard and carefully opened the relay from the top, cleaned the contacts with sandingpaper, added a piece of plastic behind the stationary contact in order to adjust the gap, and re-soldered the relay. The press is now fully operational again. Minor problem: The lower pressing pad consists of a steel mesh which over time will bend inwards resulting in uneven pressing; Periodically I remove it and bend the sagged parts outwards again. More supporting bars will remedy/alleviate this.

Using this press for the first time brought excitement to me. After practicing with an old pants and finishing in a short time and saw how well it was done, I was satisfied and ready to do more. Before I started again, I read through the whole booklet to make sure I followed the directions and procedures the right way, because of the heat and how hot the top had gotten. While I was doing that, my wife was practicing too. I found out it's best to watch a video on how to use a press. It would help a lot to watch how to iron different clothes and materials. This press does a great job. I just ordered a stand for it because I prefer to stand up because I had used a kitchen table and didn' t like getting up to hang the clothes every time I finish a piece. The pressing area is about an average size/length, 25". Later on, I will be getting a longer one 34" to cover the length on my inseam since I am 6'5". I recommend it to anyone but if you are a tall person, get the longer one.

First, I never write reveiws but I am so mad about this $350.00 purchase that I don't want anyone else to fall victim to this product. I actually purchased this product last year and was looking for something that had a large plate to press items without having to move the garment once on the press. I came across the Sienna and thought I had found the solution. It was a great size and my linens fit perfectly on the press. The digital temperature settings was a plus and I thought I would be able to cut my pressing time in half. I was wrong. I was using a much smaller press that I had to flip the linens several times in order to press. Anyway, I read and followed the directions as stated. I selected cotton and waited for the press to get to the desired temperature. The steam light comes on and I am ready to press. I start pressing the first item and after two burst of steam the temperature begins to drop immediately. I continue to press and after just three items the temperature is below 300 degrees and once it drops below 300 the press stops steaming and you must wait another 20 minutes or so for the temperature to raise again. I have never heard of such a thing. Why does it let you select the temperature if it can not maintain the temperature setting. I continue to use this press much to my unsatisfactory opinion because I hadn't found a better solution. But then after just a few months the top of the press would not stay open by itself. I had had enough so I contacted Amazon and they replaced the press with no hassle. Kudos to Amazon. Okay so here I am ten months later and my replacement press is doing the same thing. Clearly this press is not all it is cracked up to be and for the price you would expect a better product. And it looks like I am stuck with a product that I spent $350.00 for that doesn't even work as good as my quality old fashioned iron. Even though the product has a 1 year manufacturer warranty on it, Sienna wants me to pay to ship the product back to them in California so they can take a look at it to tell me if they will replace or fix it(which I could be required to pay). Now what kind of warranty is this? I am highly disappointed in Sienna. Bottom line, save your $350.00 and invest in a good iron!!!!!

Once you find out how to arrange the clothes on the board so you don't create wrinkles instead of disappearing them, you can do your ironing very quickly. Just be careful when arranging the clothes because if you lift your hand too much, it is very easy to burn it, I already have three ugly scars in my left hand because of that. The temperature control and the steam release are good I wish there was more space behind the lower board so you could extend garments in a way that allows you to iron more easily their middle section

I really like the presser and it does a really good job on clothing. The water seems to last fairly long, the settings seem to reach the right temp based on the type of fabric, and it goes pretty fast when you ***learn how to lay out the piece of clothing to get the best press***. The cons are the top plate doesn't raise open enough and unless you're careful you burn your wrists & hands when your moving the clothing around. The other con is the that it would be even better at pressing if it was a foot or so longer. The unit works well, but let me repeat, there is a learning curve. You have to spend some time learning how to best lay the piece of clothing out to get the best press. I suggest with shirts; button ALL buttons and lay it flat, start with the body and pull it out as it's pressed, next sleeves, then collar. Trying to press each piece of the shirt separately is a frustrating experience.

This steamer is wonderful and easy to use. I use it for my husband’s dress shirts and pants. It is easy to use and gives you that fresh from the cleaners look. So much easier than ironing everything. I also use it for graduation gowns at work. Helped tremendously to get all the folds and wrinkles out of each gown in a timely fashion compared to hanging them and using a hand steamer or iron on each one like I had in the past. Very thankful I found this product. Not only has it been great for the everyday wrinkles but also when working with my special needs students and our projects. Trying to teach them how to iron everything safely and efficiently was always a task. With this machine I feel more confident sending them to press pieces big and small without support. This press almost instantly adheres fusible fleece and interfacing to cotton fabrics a huge time save on their fundraising products. It has been a great way to teach them job skills and prepare them for work experience off campus. A great product with endless possibilities and uses for home and at school. Glad I made the purchase!

Just purchased online few days ago... along with the stand (recommend not to purchase stand - press feels better on higher table - stand appeared to be a customer return with crumbled sterofoam in bottom of box and broken plastic support on end of shelf arm - assembled... but haven't used it - looks too small - returning). 2nd time using steamer was today. Steamer would heat over 300 degrees slightly (cotton setting) where steam would work... then drop temps around 295. Temps would not stay or go above 304. Along with the no steam complaint, hubby says the steam press puts out a odor like cat spray throughout the rooms (thinking it might be a newness that has to burn off... ??? ) Seeing the temperature didn't go above 304 at the cotton setting, I put the setting up to linen... temps still hovered between 295 and 304. No change in cotton/linen settings... stayed under 305. Steam light goes off if under 300 degrees. If steam would work (only if press stay above 300 degrees)... it'd be a wonderful timesaver. I've been using Rowenta DG5030 steam stations (best & fastest)... and have been looking forward to having the Sienna Empressa in my sewing work area to tackle additional sewing projects. When using the Sienna Empressa today... it started out great... but temperature of press kept dropping below 300... so NO steam. Max temperature reached was 304 degrees... which is 4 degrees above the no steam of 300. If you gave a quick burst of steam and lower the top, raise to rearrange your item, repeat for steam... the temp falls below the 300 mark. In the 50 minutes (should have less than 25 minutes - if steam function would have kept working), I used the press today... most of the time was spent waiting for the press to heat up - so dry pressed 50% of ironing time. Need the steam (and not water bottle sprinkle at this price) for my projects. I did like how press simplified my pressing task of curtain valance panels... however, they would have looked nicer if the steamer function/heat worked correctly. Hoping for exchange for a working steamer. Think I just got a lemon. There's got to be one that works great somewhere! They all couldn't be like this one.