This 2-in-1 Gadget Makes My Least-Favorite Morning Task So Much Easier

I have vivid memories of my grandmother ironing her pants every morning when I was little. A formidable woman who barely clears five feet tall, she would painstakingly re-press crisp pleats into her already-ironed pants before changing into outfit for the day. And while I knew that ironing can be a crucial step to ridding clothing of any errant wrinkles or lines, it is… admittedly something I often skipped.

There were so many steps involved, from setting up the ironing board, to filling the heavy tool with water and waiting for it to heat up, to carefully pressing clothes without scalding the fabric. Add in the fact that many of the clothes I wear each day — and especially since I began working from home almost two years ago — are made from fabric that isn’t inclined to wrinkle, and you might understand why I’m among the growing cohort of people who iron less than ever.

Even so, there’s always that one piece of clothing in the closet that could benefit from a good press. (For me, it was a linen shirt I practically lived in this past summer.) And when Conair sent me a convenient-looking gadget that steams and irons clothing, I was intrigued to try it.

The Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam 2-in-1 steamer is a simple-enough gadget that comes with four attachments that help with everything from pressing pleats to protecting delicate fabric. To use it, you fill the detachable chamber with water, place it back into the front of the machine, and select your desired setting. The default setting is an effective steamer, which got the wrinkles out of a very-crushed dress in about five minutes. But if you adjust the settings, and turn the handheld gadget so that its metal face is points downward, you have a handy iron. (There’s no ironing board that comes with it, but I used my bed in a pinch.)

Because the tool functions as both a steamer and an iron, I found myself reaching for it more often than not. Steaming itself is pretty intuitive, and the steamer heats up quickly enough that it hasn’t been too much of an added step in my day to pass it over a piece of clothing before I get dressed. Truthfully, I haven’t yet had many opportunities where I’ve needed an iron to fix what a steamer couldn’t do — again, I’m living in leggings, given… everything going on these days — but knowing the option is there makes me feel prepared for any event and any fabric.