Instagram's Viral Clothing Steamer Sounds Too Good To Be True (So We Tried It)

As a stay-at-home mom, my days are usually filled to the brim with household chores. Most of them I don't mind doing — I get in the zone when I wash dishes or pick up my kids' toys by hand. I go on grocery runs and cook meals for the family. I actually look forward to folding laundry because it's also when I get to catch up on my TV shows and audiobooks. However, if there's one task that daunts me, it's ironing clothes. I'm not great at it. I find it tedious. In fact, I don't do it at all and just wear wrinkled clothing with no shame. 

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When I saw the Jack & Rose Travel Steamer on Instagram and TikTok, though, I felt a glimmer of hope. It looked so much simpler to use than an actual iron, and the people online comparing it to other portable steamers seemed to prefer its overall performance. Maybe I don't have to represent wrinkled garments that hard. It would be nice to look a bit more presentable.

To see if the Jack & Rose Travel Steamer would be something I could use in my daily life as well as during my travels, I ordered a unit off Amazon — the purple version currently priced at $65.99, with an option to use a $16 discount coupon — and looked forward to putting it to the test.

The steamer itself doesn't come with a lot of accessories, which is good for me because this product aims to address a problem that requires simplicity and ease of use, in my opinion. Apart from the tool itself, you get a heat-resistant plate to place the head on, a nice storage bag, and an instruction manual. There's also a nifty cue card containing ironing tips that would benefit a first-time user. It provides detailed instructions with illustrations per step as well as a list of common garment materials and how to best iron or steam them.

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The garment steamer is dubbed as a portable product. Depending on how you define "portable," this may or may not work for you. At first glance, it's not exactly a small tool, at over 10 inches long. It also requires you to plug in the device into a power outlet to use it. Having said that, the steamer is pretty easy to grip with one hand. It also is suitable for use in most regions of the world, as it has a listed 100-240V voltage requirement. In addition, it feels quite sturdy. Its metal body seems more durable than some of the plastic steamer counterparts that you can get for a cheaper price. It has a 7-foot long power cord, which gives you more flexibility.

As someone who's never used a handheld clothing steamer before (I've operated a traditional clothing iron before for unavoidable semi-formal wear emergencies, usually against my will) I felt nervous about using the Jack & Rose portable steamer. However, after obsessively looking at the literature that came in the box — which were pretty straightforward and easy to understand — and watching some videos of the gadget in use, I finally took the plunge and quickly found my initial hesitance to be unwarranted.

The 150-milliliter water tank was easy to detach, fill up, and reattach to the main device. It took around 15 seconds after powering it on for the steamer to warm up and be ready for use. During this time, the display flashed a few times. Once the display panel was completely lit up, I hit the mode key to pick between three options: Low (which produces 14 grams/minute of steam), High (22 grams/minute of steam), and Dry (no steam). For the initial test, I chose Low.

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It immediately emitted steam after I picked a mode. According to the ironing advice card, it's best to let the steamer go for a few seconds pointed away from clothing before aiming it at the garment. It also goes without saying that the heating element will be very hot, so don't touch it; have the heat-resistant plate ready in case you need to put down the tool for a while to reposition the clothing being ironed.

As previously stated, I was worried about nothing. It was actually pretty easy to operate and quite fun to use. It only took a couple of swipes for surface wrinkles to disappear. Based on the two shirts I tested the steamer on, it took about five minutes or so on the Low setting to completely rid the garments of unsightly creases, maybe sooner when it's on High.

In terms of size, the steamer should be small enough to fit in a travel bag. Based on testing, the device doesn't really take up a lot of space. You should be able to place it in a standard size piece of luggage. In general, certain personal electronic devices are permitted on an airplane. Since the Jack & Rose garment steamer doesn't have a lithium-ion battery, it doesn't have to be packed in your carry-on bag. You may want to do so anyway in case you're traveling light. To be a 100% certain, I asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and this is the response I got, courtesy of @AskTSA, the agency's official account on Twitter/X:

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As far as traveling with the steamer goes, it should be okay to use in most countries. As previously mentioned, the machine supports a 100-240V voltage range. Prior to travel, make sure what socket style your destination uses so you can bring an adapter as one of your must-have travel gadgets if needed.

There are a couple of things that are pretty important to note. Given the nature of the device, it's highly imperative that you give the steamer ample time to cool back down to room temperature before putting it away. If you have to leave it, make sure the heating element is safely placed on top of the heat-resistant plate and that it's fully unplugged. Before packing it, empty the water tank and get it completely dry.

Jam Kotenko/SlashGear

In general, the Jack & Rose steamer is quite popular online. To date, it has a 4.4-star rating on Amazon, with over 3,000 units sold in the previous month. Most of the reviews convey the same satisfaction I have for the gizmo. Having said that, some of the naysayers claim their device easily broke, which many found annoying considering the above-average price. The cue card that came in the box promises a two-year warranty, so provided that you purchased the steamer from an authorized seller, you should be able to get a refund or a replacement unit if applicable.

I've truly enjoyed my time testing the Jack & Rose travel steamer. I found myself going through my closet for pieces to smoothen out and have gotten great results. It seems to be okay to use on most fabrics, but bear in mind that some might be better off being ironed for a shorter time, and perhaps using quick motions rather than prolonged back-and-forth movement to avoid potential shrinkage. Some videos online showed that it can be used as a regular clothing iron replacement, so if you have an ironing board handy, you can use the steamer as a dry ironing tool. The option to use the device with or without steam is so convenient.

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Although my initial testing of the device didn't showcase certain features, the fact that the steamer is guaranteed to automatically shut off when it hasn't been in use for 10 minutes puts my mind at ease. It's also rigged to power off when there's no water left in the tank to prevent accidental damage.

In my opinion, the Jack & Rose clothing steamer is worth it, if only for the ease of operation and overall comfort it afforded me that I usually had trouble getting from a normal clothing iron. I bought it at a discount for $50 on Amazon and from what I can gather, it may often go on sale for a lower price given its popularity. I am currently packing for a one-month trip overseas, and you can rest assured that I am taking this clothing steamer with me. I'm very excited to be out in the world, with my outfits completely wrinkle-free.