PureSteam XL Standing Fabric Steamer Review

Table Of Contents

The PureSteam XL is a budget garment steamer. It makes a lot of attractive promises in its description and sounds like a real bargain. Let’s see if it’s worth it…

PureSteam XL Standing Fabric Steamer

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Initial Impressions

The PureSteam XL is made of rather cheap material. I suppose you do get what you pay for. It’s made in China and although the brand isn’t well-known in retail stores, it’s one of the biggest names on Amazon.

Overall Design

The garment steamer has a flimsy support rod made of concentric tubes you extend to full height. It’s made of lightweight aluminum. It can be a struggle to pull it up as it’s rather stiff.

Watch out when trying to attach it to the base—you may have to force it in as the cheap manufacturing (did I mention it’s cheap?) doesn’t allow for size consistency.

The so-called ‘large ½ gallon water tank’ doesn’t actually hold a half gallon of water. It’s more like…15% of a gallon? Maybe someone verbally mistook 15% for 50% along the way.

Attempting to pour an actual half gallon jug of water into it will leave you with most of it all over the floor.

Functionality

The PureSteam XL garment steamer is 5 feet tall. This is taller than most of the other garment steamers on the market, and it’s a good thing. (Still not terrific for people who are 5’8 up, but better than the alternative.)

It comes with a lint brush about 3 inches long, with stiff, scratchy bristles. In comparison, its (more expensive) Rowenta counterpart comes with a soft lint brush that attracts lint and pet fur very well, and fights static.

Note that you shouldn’t really go bottom-to-top when steaming like the manufacturers recommend, because this will get you burned.

Pros

Budget price
Steamer effectiveness is middling. It does the job in getting rid of wrinkles in your clothes (although takes a bit more effort because there isn’t that much steam).
Easy to put together
Lightweight

Cons

Low-quality materials. The hose can be easy to yank out by mistake—which would be bad because you’d get boiling water everywhere. The hose also spits water every now and then. The stand is rather lightweight, too, so it kind of spins around too easily and isn’t very stable.
Misleading (i.e. false) product descriptions: 1/2 gallon water tank? More like 20 ounces. Up to 60 minutes of continuous steaming? It maxes out at 15 minutes
As mentioned above, the steam can be rather sparse, and there’s no button to boost it for problem areas. Additionally, the steam slows or sputters if you turn the wand horizontally or allow it to point downwards while your hands are occupied with the garment.
There isn’t any way to control the steam—no on/off switch or valve. Keeping in mind you’re going through distilled water here.
Each time you use it, some water remains in the base (not the container) and you have to dump this out.

Final Verdict

The PureSteam XL is just okay. It gets wrinkles out decently, but I’d almost say the effort involved (and the excitement of not knowing when it’s going to spit hot water) seems to be more than it’s worth. Personally, I’d pay more to get a more premium product, so bottom line – only consider this one if money is really tight. (Try our J-2000 review.)