I purchased the Euro-Pro Shark GI490 Iron from Bed Bath and Beyond because I desperately needed to iron a shirt for a formal event. The iron worked well for me right out of the box, but sadly that moment of efficiency didn't last long. On average I use an iron maybe 3 times a month and on my second month of usage the iron started to fall apart. The iron started to leak water for no apparent reason. Then it started to take forever for the iron to heat up. The first time I used the iron it took 5 minutes for it to get hot. Then it started to take longer and longer with each use. Eventually it stopped getting hot altogether and at best it would get lukewarm. Sometimes the iron would just turn off by itself without a reason. This iron is very heavy and that is something I look for in a good iron, but for some reason it doesn't feel well-built when holding. I definitely wouldn't recommend the Euro-Pro Shark GI490 to anyone in the market for iron because it isn't durable and would be a waste of money even for short term use.

kingoftheink

Westchester, IL

This iron is not worth your money. I've had two and the second didn't last at all. It looks all shiny and cute when you get it and even seems to be a good iron, until it all goes wrong. Performance Initially, this iron worked great, had wonderful steam flow and everything. The first one I had did great for a while, then the steam flow petered out till I had to push the steam button constantly, then it started puking water on everything, then it died. The second one died before it even had a chance to do any of those other things. Safety I can't give this a good safety rating because even though it has auto off, the second one I had shorted out on me after only two days of a fair amount of ironing. I would not call that safe at all, it was actually kinda scary. Ease of Cleaning I guess it would be about as good as any if it lasted long enough for me to need to clean it. Ease of Use Great, while it still works. Durability Not durable at all. The outside is durable enough, but the inside, the parts that do the work, do not hold up at all. Design Good on the outside, crummy on the inside. Shark needs to rework their wiring and use some better parts I think.

MyBalletFund

USA

I do not like this Iron. It spills water all over my clothes and it shuts off half way through when I'm ironing and is super frustrating. Maybe if I was ironing something super quick, like a t-shirt it wouldn't be so bad, but typically when I am ironing, I am doing a few things or I'm ironing to sew and need to do large pieces of fabric, so to have it first dump water on what I'm ironing and then to keep shutting off. Well, I really can't stand it. I have an old iron from the 90's that I pull out after I reach a certain frustration level. The only reason I haven't trashed it is because I married its original owner and he seems to not mind...therefore I am stuck with it. ha.

jwillowb

USA

***Quick View: ***I have owned this iron for a while but no longer use it. I gave up on it. It has a super sleek design and looks like it would do a great job but it leaks water all over the place and isn't nearly as effective as it seems by looking at it and reading about it. I got a much less complicated iron and that works just fine for my needs now. ***My Take on the Shark Professional Series Intelligent Electronic Iron, GI490*** This iron looks space age. It is all stainless steel and has electronic controls that display the temperature that I set it on as well as the actual temperature of the iron. It is a steam iron and a steamer as well. It has a stainless steel soleplate and it turns itself off if it is tipped sideways or backwards. That part I do like and feel every iron should have an automatic shut off feature like that. This iron has a long 12 foot pivoting cord so it never tangles and it is very lightweight. Filling it to capacity with water is very simple and it heats up quickly. It has a steam burst button that shoots steam out for a long time and I can (in theory) use the iron vertically to steam clothing or linens. It all sounds so great BUT when I fill the iron with water and it gets hot, the water dribbles out in big droplets and splashes onto whatever I am ironing. The steam feature is even messier with the iron shooting water out almost like a squirt gun. It's insane! Another issue I have with the **Shark Professional Series Intelligent Electronic Iron, GI490** is that sometimes it just shuts off while I am using it. There is no reason for this. It doesn't overheat or anything. It just auto shuts off. When this happens, sometimes it comes back on and sometimes I give up before I can tell if it is going to. After several months of this stuff, I gave up completely. I don't iron often because I have a great steamer and I use [Downy Wrinkle Releaser Spray][1] but I do need to iron some things. When I do, I want the iron to do its job and not spew water all over. This iron has stained a few things and also caused me to be unable to wear what I had planned to wear because it threw up water on what I was ironing. It's really frustrating because it works fine dry. Well, it heats up fine. But not hot enough to do a good job getting out deep wrinkles. That is why I love steam irons. But this one doesn't steam. It spits. ***My Viewpoint*** The **Shark Professional Series Intelligent Electronic Iron, GI490 **looks awesome and has some cool features. it's lightweight and has a techy looking control panel. It does heat up fast and has a nice non-tangle cord. But the constant spewing of water all over as well the now and then shutting down of the iron frustrated me so much that I bought a cheap, simple iron and it works perfectly. I guess high tech isn't always better! ***2 stars.*** [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Downy-Wrinkle-Releaser-All-Scents-review-ba911 Performance When I fill the iron with water and it gets hot, the water dribbles out in big droplets and splashes onto whatever I am ironing. The steam feature is even messier with the iron shooting water out almost like a squirt gun. It's insane! It also shuts off for no reason and doesn't come back on for a long time. Safety This has an automatic shut off feature and a long swivel cord. It appears to be a safe product. Ease of Cleaning Vinegar and water through the iron usually gets any residue off the plate. Ease of Use A complete pain to use. It leaks, dribbles, splashes, turns off for no reason and is generally just too much of a hassle to bother with. Durability This iron seems average as far as durability. It has some gadgets that could break and some buttons that may die after a while but I didn't use it long enough to truly test it. Design It has a super sleek design. This iron looks space age. It is all stainless steel and has electronic controls that display the temperature that I set it on as well as the actual temperature of the iron.

PattyTherre

The heart of , NY

My experience with this iron is different from others it seems. I have a totally different experience. The iron worked fine for the first couple of months but then problems arise. This iron spews water in almost every use. I found out that if you don't use the steam feature, it doesnt spew as much. But what is as iron without its steam feature? One design I do not like is that the temperature change button is located at the top of the handle so I have accidently changed the temp while ironing. The on/off swithc is also right next to your hand so you can easily mistakenly switch it off also. This is a pricier iron but it didn't work well for me. Save yourself the frustration and get something else, a different brand at least.

modenaday

San Francisco, CA

I was very impressed with this iron initially. First, I was impressed by its very sleek look, and frankly, that was probably too much of a factor in my decision to purchase it. It definitely had its merits as well. The stainless steel plate worked really well. There was not the usuall staining you often see on typical irons, and it glided along over my clothes beautifully. Additionally, and this is something I often forget to look for, the cord was plenty long. Often when I iron I'm having to constantly shift, change position, etc., and the cord is never long enough. This one was, however. At first I only had minor criticisms. The temperature/setting selector was kind of difficult to see. As well, you have to toggle through all the options to get to what you want--you don't just slide a switch or turn a dial to select fabric, you just press a button and move through the options in order till you get what you want. Naturally, I would of course hit the button too many times and have to go back around through the options. Also, loading the water is a bit awkward. It's a small hole and frankly you really need to use the cup they give you (and who doesn't lose those?) But, my biggest problem came, when, about 9 months into owning this iron, it suddenly started smoking from the inside. I thought it was going to catch fire. Fortunately, it didn't, but it stopped dead that day. I think 9 months of normal to minimal usage is FAR TOO SHORT a shelf life for an iron.

phlpstm

Saint Louis, MO

I agree with all the good things about this iron. The great steam, the long cord, the value.  However I absolutely hate the fact the fact I am constantly accidently turning off the iron while ironing due to the placement of the fabric selector.

jntmathis

La Pine, OR

Have owned several irons and have never been happy with any of them until now. This is the best on the market. Steam and no drip have made me a happy iron owner. You don't have to worry about it sticking to your clothes or flacking when you use spray starch. Heats up quickly so you can get your ironing done without a wait. Great iron!!!

JohnMichaelWatkins

Auburndale, FL

This iron is priced a little high, but you won't have to buy another iron for a long time.  It does a great job on my clothes.  The steam settings are awesome and it never clogs.  It also has a really long cord.  Great iron.

cavery007

Dunnellon, FL

This iron keeps its promises. It really has an extended and **powerful** steam, which removes wrinkles in no time! Further, the digital temperature indicator shows exactly how hot your iron is. Its large water tank allows you to steam for a long time.

LiamFMFL

Fort Myers, FL