THE Philips Series 3000 handheld garment steamer is compact and extremely portable, making it a great alternative to a travel iron.

And with a budget-friendly price, we have a lot of reasons to recommend it.

For a small device that folds in half for storage or travel, the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer is pretty powerful.

It heated up quickly so there was almost no waiting around, and the steam erased those creases with impressive speed.

After use, there’s minimal maintenance needed so you can just get on with your day.

While we wouldn’t replace our normal iron with it, it does make a great travel alternative and it’s great for those more delicate fabrics.

The Philips Series 3000 garment steamer has a few great features. These include:

We couldn’t believe how easy it was to set up the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer. 

All you need to do is remove the water tank, fill it from the tap, and click it into place.

Then just plug the steamer in, switch it on, wait for 30 seconds and off you go.

There’s a light at the top of the device that switches off when it reaches the right temperature, so you don’t need to time yourself.

If the water runs out halfway through - your device will start gurgling - then you just switch it off, remove the tank, refill it and then reattach it.

Everything you need to know is in the illustrated instruction manual, which is short and simple to understand.

And as you don’t need to faff about with an ironing board - just hang your garment somewhere with plenty of space for your to manoeuvre - we found it took less time to set up than our regular iron.

Once your steamer is ready, it’s pretty straightforward to use.

There’s a steam button on the handle that you simply hold down to release the steam as you pass the device over the fabric.

The instructions that came with the Philips garment steamer offered some handy tips on which direction to pass the steamer to achieve the best results.

Make sure your garment is hanging away from anything that might be easily damaged by the steam though - we hung our items on a door with a thick towel to protect the wood.

During testing, we found there’s usually a little delay between when you press or release the steam button and when the steam starts or stops.

This is worth bearing in mind for safety but it doesn’t really affect its effectiveness as the metal iron plate at the end of the device continues to erase those creases even when you don’t have the steam on.

You’ll also want to handle it with extra care as the device can get much hotter than similar products.

And to set it down between or after use, you’ll need a heat proof area - a stone work surface or a heat proof mat, for example - where you can lie it on its side.

We tested the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer on a range of different fabrics, including cotton, linen and polyester, and we were very impressed with the results.

It worked best on areas that are more difficult to tackle with a proper iron, like the corners near the underarms or the collars, and larger patches of fabric.

The 120ml water tank isn’t the biggest though.

We found it offered just the right amount of steam for one long dress, or a couple of tops, before it needed to be refilled, so it’s ideal for smaller tasks.

And we wouldn’t throw out our regular iron just yet as the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer is not great around hems, especially on tougher fabrics - we found it released some of the deeper creases but didn’t completely flatten them, unlike a regular iron.

After use, you’ll need to switch it off, unplug it and allow it to cool for at least 60 minutes before putting it away.

Maintenance on the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer is pretty minimal.

After each use, you should allow the device to fully cool before wiping down the metal iron plate with a soft cloth.

You’ll also need to remove the water tank to empty it if there’s any water left in it.

Unlike other devices, there is no decalcifying function.

Philips recommends you use half tap water and half distilled or demineralised water if you live in a hard water area, which should prolong the life of your steamer.

They also recommend against using things like vinegar and descaling agents as this could actually damage the device.

We found the Philips Series 3000 garment steamer really easy to use and were impressed by the results.

The fact that it was so straightforward to set up and pack away meant that we’ll actually want to use it again - rather than see it as a chore.

We also found it easier to get great results compared to our regular iron.

While it wouldn’t replace a regular iron, we couldn’t recommend it enough for smaller tasks or for ironing on the go.

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