October 23, 2016

Shark Professional Iron Review

When my previous iron left brown marks on my quilt top when using a burst of steam, I was done with it!  I immediately left my house late one evening, drove to the closest big box store and picked out a iron.  No online shopping, pouring over reviews or anything, I needed a iron quick!

I came home with the Shark Professional GI435.  The price was right, just under $40.  I unpacked it that night and started using it right away.

Shark Professional Iron GI435 in the auto-off mode

The soleplate is stainless steel with multiple steam holes.

Shark iron with stainless steel soleplate

The front view of the Shark Professional GI435 is shown in this photograph.

Shark professional iron

This is a detail shot showing the water inlet door, steam control, steam burst and spray buttons and electronic temperature control.  I use steam all of the time even while piecing and the burst of steam delivers the just right amount of steam.  I'm not a sprayer and have not used that feature.

Shark professional iron features

The LED display panel showing the power mode and fabric settings is easy to read and I like the way it functions. The first picture above with the red light shows the iron in auto-off mode.  The iron shuts off after 7-9 minutes and the red light blinks to indicate it has shut off.

To restore power to the iron, all you have to do is gently shake or I simply lay it down and stand it up again.

Shark professional iron indicating power on

Once the power is restored, you must still choose your desired fabric setting again by pressing the fabric indicator until you reach the desired setting.  At first I thought that was annoying, but after using the iron daily for a week, it's no big deal.  I can restore power and choose the fabric setting simultaneously in no time.

Power restored by laying iron down after auto-off

And I love that the LED panel blinks letting me know the iron is heating up to the desired temperature.  Once it has reached the desired temperature the light stops blinking.  And if I am pressing a lot, like that new yardage just added to my stash, the light will start blinking to let me know the iron needs to heat back up.  (Yes, I'm a prewasher and can't help it!)

Shark iron with the fabric selector set to the linen/cotton setting

The only drawback I have discovered is the length of the power cord which is 96"(8 ft.).  I am accustomed to walking all the way around my ironing board, so I added a short extension cord to increase the length.

The Shark Professional GI435 has 1550 watts of power.  The tank holds about 12 oz. of water.  The instructions say to clean the exterior of the iron every two weeks with a damp cloth and wipe dry but I did not see how often the self-cleaning feature should be used.

So far, I am very pleased the Shark Professional GI435 iron and will update this post with any new discoveries.  And I will add that this is not a sponsored post.

The quilt in the background on my design wall is Positively Transparent.

Linking to Sunday Stash and Main Crush Monday.


12 comments :

  1. First, I love your iron pictures! Especially with the quilt in the background! There is nothing more frustrating than having brown water leaking on your fabric. It's happened many times with many irons for me! Thank you for sharing your review of this iron. I don't need one yet, but I know it's coming one day! P.S. I prewash too! I love pressing new fabric!

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  2. I hate choosing a new iron and new ones never seem to get as hot as they used to years ago, perhaps that's me or maybe the EU has been making up more rules. What I want to know is how do you manage pre washing with say 3 meters of fabric? If I cut it into more manageable pieces I get wastage. Anyway, if I use pre cuts I can't wash those so I tend not to wash any so they are all the same.

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    1. Kate, when adding large cuts of fabric to my stash I do not prewash until ready to use them. Depending on the project, I will cut off what I need. I just made a backing from 7+ yards and cut it half before washing to make it more manageable. And by prewashing, I mean filling up my top loading washer with just enough water to submerge the fabric, swish around a bit and then drain and spin.

      And I can't help it, I do the same with precuts! But, I buy very few jellyrolls.

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    2. Paige, im a prewasher too! I wash EVERYTHING before it gets put away. To help manage latge cuts, i fold it up and use safety pins to pin at the selvedges. U usually pin the edge opposite the selvedges too. And mine goes thru the front loader with warm water on the quick wash cycle with a tablespoon of powder flakes...AND i dry t too. And like you, precuts are not something i buy. I LOVE that the Bernina shop rips fabric-no fraying! When i get cut yardage, i always rip the edge prior to washing. I do not iron my fabrics though until ready to use. If i make the next meeting, i am going to bring you an iron. I have three of these lovely beasts. 1946 put out by Betty Crocker and General Mills! I think you will like it. Best iron i EVER used.

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  3. Beautiful pictures - as always! Thanks for the review - I'm not yet in the market for a new iron, but it's nice to know that one doesn't have to invest a small fortune to get a pretty good iron.

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  4. I love pressing with steam, too, but recently switched to using a spray bottle. The water in my area is sooo hard, that even my filtered water was clogging up a new iron, so I finally gave up on putting the water in an iron. I hope this iron lasts you a long time!

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  5. I remember my Mum spraying clothes with a bottle of water, it had a top with little holes in it, no spray irons then, a really HEAVY electric one, it is now a door stop!!! Love the look of your new one, and what a super quilt on your wall.

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  6. Lovely photos, Paige! A bright shiny new iron with a lovely quilt as backdrop - perfect! I love that it turns itself off after it hasn't been used for a while! and to weigh in on the discussion - I'm a prewasher too.

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  7. Thanks for the review Paige. One thing I've found very frustrating with the last two irons I purchased (in less than 2 years...) is you can't really see the water in the tank. Drove me crazy -- darn plastic so couldn't see how much was in there. The cord frayed on that one so it is gone. Hubby couldn't repair it.

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  8. My iron has that auto shut off feature after 8 minutes, and I have to say it has saved my butt a few times! :) Thanks for the review of the Shark iron. It looks like there are lots of features for a reasonable price - I'd rather my money be spent on fabric! LOL Thanks for linking to MCM Paige!

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  9. Oh the joys of new toys. :) I remember when I first upgraded my iron from the $10 big box iron. I had it maybe a month and it fell off the ironing board. Thank goodness it was not on, but it hit the wall and I haven't been able to use the steam burst since, although the basic steam still works. Your post reminded me how much I like that burst when pressing. I use steam on almost everything. Dry ironing give me the hibby-jibbies. :)

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