Black & Decker D2030 Digital Advantage Iron with Auto Shut-Off

I've always hated ironing because I've always hated my irons. I've always bought the cheapest models because I never really used them much, not unless I was heading to town and wanted my clothes free of wrinkles. They would tear up eventually and if I couldn't repair them, I would trek back in search of the cheapest model I could find. Once my daughter was born, though...and especially after she started school...ironing became an everyday thing because I wanted her to look nice. I had no clue as to what made a "great iron" but I did want one that I could keep for a while and rely on. I think I perhaps got lucky with the one I chose, because I only bought it because "Oooh look! digital features!", and so far it is the best I have owned.

The Black & Decker D2030 Iron is not the most expensive iron out there but it is the most expensive one I've ever owned retailing at the time for little over $45. This 1500 watt  iron is mostly two tone in color being white and gray. It has a longer cord than my previous irons which honestly seems to get more in the way for me. There are a lot of cool features with this iron though, for example:

LCD Display: This iron features a mini LCD monitor which has a backlight for readability even in a dimly lit room. This will pop up the temp reading and practically anything else that is going on with the iron.

Auto-Off Feature: For the safety of your home, this iron will shut itself off if left idle for 10 minutes. This is great if you are ironing, have to run out, and forget to turn it off. I'm in the habit of unplugging my iron because where I iron is not where I store my iron, so I have to put it away when not in use to get it out of the way.

Neat Dial Settings: Instead of guessing which temp you should set your iron on to iron a certain type of material, the dial on this iron has settings for the type of fabric you are ironing. The settings are: Acetate-Acrylic, Nylon-Silk, Polyester-Rayon, Cotton-Blends, Wools, Cotton, and Linen. This takes away a lot of the guesswork. When the correct temperature is reached and you are ready to iron (which takes hardly no time at all), the iron will emit a singular "Beep", and the word "READY" will show up on the display monitor. This was one of my favorite features because with my other irons, you had to hover your hand over the plate to see if it was warm. If you need to lower the temp setting (by picking a new fabric type), you can do so and it will again let you know when it is on the correct temp setting and can be used again. How cool!

Power Light: The power light is a little light that will turn on to let you know that the iron is on. This is great if you walk away and forget about your iron.

Water Tank & Steam Features: The tank that holds water is really neat in that is has a type of stopper that prevents the water from spilling out if you happen to tip over the iron (I am so guilty of this on occasion). It holds 1 & 1/2 cups which is pretty decent for the steam if you do not always have it on the highest setting. Otherwise, it may take a couple of fill-ups. The steam was a shocker for me because I wasn't expecting it at all. A lot of steam comes out of this iron and it's thick, not the sputtery spitting kind. It bursts out and you can adjust it for 9 settings. (You can even use it for vertical steaming) If you want a bit of mist, it'll do that too. It has made getting the wrinkles out a bit of a cake walk. I haven't bought starch since I bought this iron.

Stainless Steel Sole Plate: It just seems to last longer and doesn't need cleaning as much. The iron does have a self cleaning feature and it will tell you when it requires it by way of the LCD display ("CLEAN"). The cleaning process is fairly easy and the manual will outline the steps, but basically you fill it with a bit of water, let it heat, and then hold the dial to CLEAN. It gets really hot and spitty with the steam when you do this, so be careful!

The iron is not the most attractive I've ever had, but it isn't really too ugly. It is a lot more comfortable to grip because of the way the soft grip handle is made, than my older irons. It's also a bit heavier. It measures close to 5 x 11 & 1/2 x 6 " which isn't so abnormal, but it has to weigh close to 3 pounds. This is great though because it makes ironing denim a lot less of a chore. I don't have to press so much and rather just let it glide and steam the wrinkles out.

While I still do not love ironing, I do love my iron. It's cut my time in half and has lasted for almost 2 years now which is longer than two of my past irons have. It doesn't appear to be slowing down or trying to break but if it does, unless I can fix it, I'm out of luck because it only came with a one year warranty and it would have been nice to get at least a 2 or 3 year. Still, it's been great to me , works like the day I bought it, and I would recommend it to anyone.