Upright steamer for ironing curtains etc - SO EXPENSIVE! Any DIY alternatives?

coffee_king

Hi there
I need an upright steamer similar to below


for ironing the equivalent of hanging curtains on a regular basis (its actually a piece of white muslin cotton thats 3m x 6m thats used as an amateur photographers backdrop).
Upright steamers like the above are so expensive at £70 minimum for something that just basically works like a regular steam iron but works upright. So does anyone have any suggestions of something I can use instead?
Obviously a normal iron wont operate when used upright.
What ever it does I dont want it to get the sheet too wet, nor do I want it to stain the sheet.
I dont want to have to iron the sheet laid down on the carpet either.

Any suggestions from you money saving guys and gals?
Thanks!

MaggieBaking

Would a steam generator iron work? My MIL owns one and I think it does produce steam when being held upright, but best check...

http://direct.tesco.com/buyersguide/steam%20generator%20iron.aspx

coffee_king

MaggieBaking wrote: »

Would a steam generator iron work? My MIL owns one and I think it does produce steam when being held upright, but best check...

http://direct.tesco.com/buyersguide/steam%20generator%20iron.aspx

Can anyone confirm steam generator irons work upright?
Also, what is a MIL please?

lisal0u

A wallpaper stripper might work?! I have a similar dilemma in that I hung curtains that were a bit creased thinking it'd drop out but it hasn't :-s

MIL = mother in law

coffee_king

lisal0u wrote: »

A wallpaper stripper might work?! I have a similar dilemma in that I hung curtains that were a bit creased thinking it'd drop out but it hasn't :-s

I had thought about that, but too much water spits out of them (I used one recently to strip a wall).

MaggieBaking

coffee_king wrote: »

Can anyone confirm steam generator irons work upright?
Also, what is a MIL please?

Sorry, my Mother In Law.

I think they hiss out steam all the time - regardless of the direction of the iron which is the point of them compared to another iron.

tr3mor

You can get little hand held steamers like http://www.amazon.co.uk/HAND-HELD-STEAM-CLEANER-QUEST/dp/B002ASWLFM

coffee_king

tr3mor wrote: »

You can get little hand held steamers like http://www.amazon.co.uk/HAND-HELD-STEAM-CLEANER-QUEST/dp/B002ASWLFM

Lol, thats not a steamer for flattening material, its for cleaning the gunk off things.

coffee_king

I take it you mean something like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rowenta-DR5050G1-DR5050-Garment-Steamer/dp/B001P3NWS8/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1313049407&sr=8-12