Ironing is one of those chores that most of us want to run for the hills. Invest in a decent iron and at least you’ll make quicker work of what can otherwise seem like the dullest household task going. For the ultimate in speedy ironing, get a steam generator iron. Not only do they produce more steam than standard irons, but they don’t need refilling with water anywhere near as often. But don’t just pick any old model. Your tick list should include a good lime scale filter, comfy handle, easy-to-fill tank, auto shut-off, a hassle-free power cord and thin soleplate that tapers at the nose. Still not sure which brand or model to opt for? We’ve blitzed through mountains of clothes and fabrics of all types to bring you the very best steam generator irons on the market. 1. Philips PerfectCare Aqua, £160, John Lewis If you can’t be bothered faffing about with different temperature settings, you’ll love this eye-catching and super-quiet iron, which has a single setting for all fabrics, even cashmere.

Other plus points include the comfy handle and super-sliding soleplate, which means you’ll get through mountains of ironing in no time. 2. Rowenta Silence Steam, £200, John Lewis This is so quiet that you’ll have no trouble watching the telly or holding a conversation while you iron and there is no need to work up a sweat while you iron either, thanks to the variable steam output, precision tip with steam shot for stubborn creases and impressive lime scale protection system. If you use the eco-mode, you save 25% energy. 3. Hoover Ironspeed SRD4110, £175, amazon Most people associate Hoover with vacuum cleaners, but their multisteam technology means their machines can make light work of your ironing too. In fact, the only downside is the brush attachment, which can lack pressure. That aside, this glides well across every kind of fabric and has an effective anti-scale cartridge. 4. Breville Extreme Steam, £111, amazon Features such as the continuous and variable steam, detachable water tank and easy glide soleplates all combine to make this a stand-out iron, despite the relatively low price tag.

It heats up quickly and is easy to clean, as well as having simple-to-use controls. It can iron vertically too – great if you want to quickly remove creases from clothing on a hanger. 5. Tefal Pro Express Total Xpert GV8975, £200, amazoncarpet cleaning equipment loan No need for an aching arm and creases in your clothes with this incredibly high performing iron that promises easy, speedy ironing and flawlessly smooth fabrics. best carpet stain remover for steam cleanerIt’s the priciest of the models we selected, but it is tough on even the deepest creases and is a breeze to use and clean, as well as to store away.best steam cleaner tile grout 6. Polti Vaporella Forever 1600 Eco, £251, amazonswimming pool sand filter no pressure

This isn’t as steamy as many irons and it’s not the speediest either. But don’t let either put you off as creases are effortlessly smoothed away with this exceptionally comfy-grip iron. It will last you years and it also has one of the toughest soleplates we’ve used. carpet cleaning ad templateIt’s good at preventing and treating lime scale too.best portable steam cleaner australia 7. Hotpoint SG E12 AA0 UK Power Perfection, £152, amazon Hotpoint is a relatively new player in the ironing field, but this retro steam generator is impressive without costing you a fortune. It’s particularly good at preventing lime scale formation and avoiding scratching on things like buttons. It produces a lot of steam and you don’t have to push down hard to get good results. 8. Bosch TDS4571GB Steam Generator, £200, amazon

This retro-looking generator creates a lot of steam at high pressure, penetrating deep into wrinkles and creases, giving you a smooth result with minimum effort, whether you’re ironing heavy jeans or a delicate scarf. There’s a light to tell you if you need to refill the water and it gets hot nice and quickly. 9. Russell Hobbs SmartGlide Pro Steam, £75, amazon Need to iron in a hurry? This heats up within just a minute and a half and you can double your actual ironing speed too, thanks to the five bar pressurised steam, which also penetrates deep, even when it comes to stubborn fabrics. You can refill the water tank at any time and it’s ergonomic to hold. This is tricky as they are all so good. If pushed, we’d go with the Tefal Pro Express Total Xpert GV8975 for its astonishingly high quality performance and durability, with the Philips PerfectCare Aqua coming in at a close second for its sheer ease of use. 10 best cordless vacuum cleaners IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust.

On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testingAwarded by Chennai Port Trust Best Performer as Steamer Agent in 2015 Awarded by Chennai Port Trust Awarded by EXIM Scope Winner of the Best Steamer Agent & Dry Bulk Operator Award for 2015 at EXIM Scope Winner of the Best Steamer Agent & Dry Bulk Operator Award for 2014 at EXIM Scope Winner of the Best Steamer Agent & Dry Bulk Operator Award for 2013 at EXIM Scope Winner of the Best Steamer Agent & Dry Bulk Operator Award for 2012 at EXIM Scope Winner of the Best Steamer Agent & Dry Bulk Operator Award for 2011 at EXIM ScopeWe thought we put together all the best multi-cookers under one article for direct comparison. These are among the best multi-cookers in the market.If you are new to the idea of a multi-cooker, you will be blown away by the number of features on any one of these.

While no two multi-cookers are built the same, these are some of the common features that they share:pressure cooker (on premium models)saute/browning,slow cooker,rice cooker,porridge maker,steam,keep warm,Most multi-cookers have big capacity of up to 6 Litres, large enough to prepare food for the whole family. The more advanced models have pressure cooker function, multiple recipes and cooking programmes. These are the pot based version that come complete with on board computer allowing you to simply put in the ingredients, punch a few buttons and let it do its thing.Another useful function, especially for the busy household is the ability to set a delay start time of up to 24 hours, and to keep your food warm for up to 10 hours after cooking, so that you can come back to a ready cooked and warm meal. You can even set how long you would like your food to cook in pressure cooker mode or slow cooker mode.At the other end of the spectrum is your basic multi-cooker. At a fraction of the price of the pot version, these are wide but shallow electric pan still capable of holding huge volume of food.

Typically, the pan based variety comes with a see through clear glass lid with steam vent and variable temperature controls.While the pan shaped multi-cooker lets you saute, steam, fry, fondue, slow cook, boil, grill, bake, roast and steam, they lack the electronic cooking programmes and timer functions. That meant you will have to physically be there to turn on, control the temperature and cook your meal. When using the slow cooker function, you just have to set your own alarm and remember to turn it off manually.We start with the pot based multi functional cooker followed by the pan based cooker. Here is a quick list:Pot-based – Programmable Cooking Modes and TimerBONUS: KitchenAid Multi-Cooker with Stir TowerPan-based – Cheaper with Manual Temperature ControlsWith a 6 Litre stainless steel cooking pot, the Instant Pot has a large enough volume to cater to most mid-sized families, but it is really the timer that comes in to it’s own.With the juggling of modern life, the ability to delay cooking time for up to 24 hours or keep your food warm for up to 10 hours, allows working mum’s the option of having a meal freshly cooked waiting as soon as one gets home in the afternoon or evening;

or the treat of having warm porridge in the morning.There’s also a range of presets that will allow you to simply bung in the ingredients and walk away for it to do it’s magic.Here is the other Instant Pot, one up from the IP-LUX60 is the IP-DUO60 which has 7 instead of 6 cooking functions with the last one as we mentioned earlier, the yogurt maker. It also has more cooking programmes than compared to the IP-LUX60, 14 versus 10.Here is a quick comparison table between the Instant Pot Lux and Instant Pot DuoThe Philips Multi-cooker allows you to cook healthy homemade meals every day at the touch of a button. Use one of its 10 automatic preset programs to cook anything from yogurt to quinoa to ribs. The Multi-cooker uses a ceramic pot, smart heating technology and temperature control for optimal results every time. Philips uses a unique heating technology that introduces micro movements into the content it is heating removing the need to stir constantly.And then there’s the Tefal Cook4Me Electic Multi Cooker.

This 6L ceramic-coated bowl multi-cooker comes with 50 pre-programmed savoury and sweet dishes with a maximum of 6 ingredients. It has a keep warm function for up to 90 minutes after cooking.Slightly different in focus from the InstantPots, the Tefal Multi-cooker’s aim is literally in it’s name Cook4Me. It has to ability to cook a variety of dishes based on the ingredients that you have put in. The number of pre-programmed options also allow it to ‘suggest’ a dish based on the ingredients that you put in.A fairly big 5 Litre multi-cooker with steam, fry, pasta, cook, stew, soup and cake function yet still boast a low power rating at 860Watt is the Redmond M4502E. With the Redmond, you get an LCD display and digital controls as seen on the Instant Pots and Tefal above. The controls let you select from the type of food to cook using one of the 34 programmes. This includes 16 automatic programs and 18 manual control options. Altogether, it is capable of creating dishes ranging from roasted dinners, curries, soups, rices, stewed vegetables, steamed dishes, mulled wine, oatmeal, vegetable dishes, pasta, hot pots, french fries, fried dishes, yoghurt, souffle, meat dishes, fondue and desserts with additional features for dough, bread and cheese.

From the well known maker of durable mixers, here is KitchenAid’s take on the Multi-Cooker. Except, the unit has an optional Stir Tower, and you can see where the idea came from. While optional, you will most likely want the stir unit to complete the cooker and luck has it, most vendors are including this as a bundle.The cooker boast even heat technology with over 10 different cooking programs using a simple 4 step modes. The ceramic coated pot does not have the biggest capacity, only 4-Quart, but this should be sufficient for most.The Stir Tower sits just next to the cooker with its stirring arm mounted and hidden away under the lid. It can be set to operate in 3 different constant speeds or 2 intermittent modes.So these generally are the most common choices for one-pot multi-cookers. Let’s take a look at the pan-based multi-cookers. Where the pot-based multi-cookers, specialised in cooking soup or gravy based dishes and rice or porridge, these pan-based multi-cookers focus on the ability to bake, fry, roast and steam.

The Morphy Richards Intellichef Multicooker is a direct comparison to the JML Go Chef while the VonShef and Andrews James versions are similar.The Morphy Richards Intellichef Multi-cooker is capable of steaming, grilling, frying, slow-cooking, stir-frying, boiling, braising and cooking a fast-stew. It does this by allowing you to control the temperature in the range of 80 – 240 degrees Celsius.The JML GoChef is another multi-cooker that allows you to boil, salute, fry, fondue, slow-cook, steam, bake and roast all in one bowl. It comes with a low rack for roasting, a high rack for steaming and a basket for flash frying.In a slightly different class, you have the Andrew James and the VonShef Multi-cookers. These are the shallower pan-like cookers that seem perfect for paella or risottos and cost only around half of less than those above.They are generally capable of frying, stewing, grilling, baking and for roast dishes.Also available VonShef Medium Round (30cm diameter) Multi Cooker with Glass LidThe only difference between the two VonShef multi cookers is that this baby version of the VonShef multi-cooker is a squarish shape that is just 30cm in diameter.

Depending on what you’d like to achieve with a multi-cooker, it is definitely capable of a wide range of different cooking styles. The pot based multi-cooker appears to complement these shallow ranges and it seems likely that between the two you would be able to do away with the entire hob and oven set-up – although it seems highly unlikely that that would happen.In general, these pan based multi-cookers without the pressure cooker function tends to be cheaper than its pot based counterpart. And, the pot based multi-cooker are smarter with different programmes and timer function.This post is based on the original articles also published here on this blog. You can find them in the following links:Have a look at the range of multi-cookers and let us know – which type would work best for you and why?Pot-based Programmable Cooking Modes and Timer REDMOND Multicooker REDMOND RMC M4502 Blackby Redmond [REDMOND] Pan-based Cheaper with Manual Temperature Controls Morphy Richards 48615 Intellichiefby - [Morphy Richards]