My BFF Oliso (Friday Foto Fun #78)

My best friend while quilting is my Oliso Iron, so when I was contacted to write a review for the iron I was ecstatic!  I was given a brand new Oliso TG1600 Yellow Iron in exchange for my honest opinion about the iron.   The pink one in the photo below is my own personal Oliso.  The TG1600 comes in both pink and yellow.

Some of the backstory with my history with Oliso irons...  the pink iron is not my first Oliso iron.  I have been an Oliso iron owner for about 3 years and my first iron was a yellow, too.  But after about 2 years, one day the iron just didn't power up anymore!  I used my yellow iron every single day, left it on all the time, never emptied the water, never descaled it, and basically treated it horribly.  Tears were shed the day my iron didn't power on anymore, but it took me about 10 minutes before I went online and purchased the pink one.  I couldn't live without it and here's why.

The smart iron feature is the auto lift function and it completely changes the way you iron!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  When you open the Oliso box, you are greeted by the paperwork and the manual of the iron.  The iron comes will a water fill cup for the water reservoir.

The iron also comes in the down position until you apply power to the iron.  The photo below shows the difference between my existing raised pink iron and the new yellow iron.

Once you apply power that's when the magic happens.  The feet will automatically raise the iron as long as the switch in the back is set to ON.

Here's a short video clip to show what happens when you grab the handle of the iron.  Spoiler alert, the iron automatically lowers to the ironing position and when you take your hand off, the iron raises.  You no longer need to put your iron upright.

There are 3 different heat settings for the iron as well as 3 different steam settings.  I typically iron on cotton with the lowest steam setting.  Yes, I put water in my iron and shame on me, I don't ever pour it out when I'm done.  I mean why bother? I iron almost every day!

When I took photos of this part, I realized that this iron looked a little bit different than my original yellow iron.  So I took my original back out (yes, I still find it hard to dispose of my original iron) and took photos with the pink one.  As it turns out, I have 3 different generations of irons.  Oliso is constantly improving the iron to meet their consumers' needs.

You can see how worn (and loved) my original iron is compared to my pink and brand new yellow one.  So back to the operation of the iron.  Once you have the iron turned on, the light will flash green until it's ready to use.  It's red in the powered, but off position.

All of the Oliso irons have a built-in timer off, but the TG1600 is the only one that is made specifically for quilters and sewers with a 30-minute timer.  After you've left the iron on and untouched for 30 minutes, the light will flash red and the iron will stop heating.  Here is an excerpt from the user manual that shows the difference between the models.

Let's talk about some of the common issues that I've personally experienced or heard from others using an Oliso Iron.

1. The iron leaks water! Well...  my iron does leak occasionally.  Typically I have found that I have built up scale in my iron and need to press the steam button to release some of the water scale out the bottom.  It was gross, but it helped my iron stop leaking. The other instances my iron leaked, I overfilled the water in the water tank... whoops.
2. My iron's foot does not raise completely.  After lots of ironing, I have noticed that I need to clean some of the lint from specifically the foot that comes from the front of the iron.  Once lint is stuck on that part, sometimes the foot doesn't go all the way in.  Remember to turn off the iron and wait for it to cool before picking it up to clean the lint.

The biggest tip with this iron is to use a HARD ironing board or to use a pressing board.  The feet go up and down and if it's on a squishy surface, the iron may tip over.  If you need to make your own pressing board, you can follow my tutorial here.

This sheet was also included with my iron and I don't remember it being included before.  Good tips to follow!

So really, is it worth the money?! My opinion, absolutely!  Whenever I travel to sewing events and have to use a different brand, I ALWAYS miss my Oliso.  There is a mini iron that is coming out soon from Oliso, and I'm excited to try it out.  If you are concerned about the longevity of the iron, you can buy an extended warranty with the iron.  The irons come with a standard 1-year warranty, but you have the option to purchase a 3 year and a 5-year warranty.  I personally purchased a 5-year warranty with my pink iron because I wanted that protection in the future just in case!

I also have a special coupon code that is valid on all TG Irons, use PBQ20 for 20% off and free shipping, YAY!  If you already own an iron and it's still under warranty, you can purchase an extended warranty and use 35TEN for 10% off the 3-year and 5-year warranties.   Please note:  If you want to buy an iron and a warranty, you'll need to checkout separately as the PBQ20 doesn't work for the warranties.

If you do decide to purchase an iron, please use/click on my affiliate link/banner below.  I'd really appreciate it as I don't get credit if you only use my code.  If you have any questions about the iron, let me know in the comments and I'll try to address them.

 

What is your BFF while quilting?!