Tefal Ultimate Pure FV9830 steam iron review: A heavy-duty iron for heafty ironing jobs

The Tefal Ultimate Pure is a big, imposing iron that’s ideal for bigger families and those with larger laundry piles to get through. I found it did an excellent job of powering through creases and producing consistent steam, and as a result, this heavy-duty iron made our best steam irons roundup as the best for tough jobs.

At £130 this isn’t a cheap iron and could even be described as an “investment”. But Tefal is renowned for its excellent quality and this iron certainly gives impressive results. As with all expensive products, it’s worth keeping an eye out for discounts and sales to pick the Tefal up for less.

Tefal Ultimate Pure FV9830 steam iron review: What do you get for the money?

The Tefal Ultimate Pure is considerably heavier than the others I’ve tested, but with this weight comes an iron that makes easy work of large ironing piles. Its imposing physical presence is matched by its vibrant purple and black colour scheme – this isn’t exactly a discreet iron, but in this instance the physical bulk equates to some impressive ironing prowess.

The Tefal has a slightly different design to some steam irons. You have the traditional dial in the middle, complete with a description of settings, which I found easy to use and see. There’s also a spray button on the top of the iron, and underneath, a steam button and a sliding switch to set steam on or off. There’s a large water tank of 350ml; this isn’t the biggest we’ve seen in regular steam irons and I was a little surprised it wasn’t a touch bigger. Still, it’s more than enough to plough through the ironing, but if you want something larger, you’ll need to consider one of the best steam generator irons instead.

Safety wise, the iron has auto shut off and also comes with a big chunky heel that allows it to stand very securely on your ironing board. The iron will auto shut off if it’s lying on its side or soleplate after 30 seconds, or after eight minutes when it’s on its heel. Of all the irons I’ve tested, the Tefal felt the most stable when standing up.

As you’d expect from a premium iron, you’ll get a self-clean feature as well as an anti-calc device. This is somewhat more advanced in the Tefal than in cheaper irons – the 2-in-1 micro calc filter catches even the tiniest of particles, gathering these up to keep impurities away from your clothing. And the iron will also let you know when it’s time to descale. The filter is found at the back of the iron and pulls out, allowing you to wash away all the collected particles and keep the iron going at the top of its abilities. It’s an extremely effective device, though I would still recommend fully cleaning your iron on occasions.

Tefal Ultimate Pure FV9830 steam iron review: What is it like to use?

The Tefal Ultimate Pure comes with a big price tag, but you’re also getting a big, imposing iron that’s ideal for heavy fabrics and tough jobs. I’ve already alluded to how impressed I was by this iron’s crease-busting prowess: steam output was also particularly impressive and extremely consistent, which isn’t always the case with cheaper irons. With a steam shot of 240g/min it made light work of even the heaviest fabrics, such as denim. The iron also heated up reasonably fast for such a big machine, reaching three dots in 33 seconds.

Using a Durillium Airglide soleplate, the iron glides smoothly across fabrics and I didn’t come across any snagging or catching. You can definitely feel the difference in quality here to budget irons, with no need to put as much pressure on the iron to get good results.

The Tefal comes with a 350ml water tank, as mentioned above, which will allow you to get through a decent pile of laundry. As I already mentioned though, it’s not the biggest tank we’ve tested (the Morphy Richards TurboGlide has a 400ml tank), but it’s large enough for most people to not have to refill often.

With a 3m cord, the Tefal gives you plenty of room to roam around. As expected, you also get a vertical steam function that allows you to use the iron on upholstery and curtains. The iron has a soft, comfortable handle that I found particularly pleasing to use while testing, even for extended periods of time.

Tefal Ultimate Pure FV9830 steam iron review: What could be better?

There really is no getting away from the fact that this is a heavy iron. Without water in the tank it weighs 1.63kg and this weight will obviously only go up as you add water. The bonuses of this extra weight are that the iron feels very substantial and you don’t need to apply as much pressure to get through creases, as mentioned above. But the flip side is that, particularly if you have smaller wrists, this iron is going to get too heavy to hold over time. I found it quite hard to use for a longer period of time, my husband, however, didn’t have any trouble.

The anti-calc filter and central dial were a little stiff – I suspect these will loosen up with time. The lower down steam button is also a little awkwardly placed – it’s quite easy to grip this by accident when you’re holding the iron, leading to steam blasting out when you’re not expecting it. Considering how expensive the iron is (and that will, of course, be a considerable downside for many people) I would have expected a slightly better design that makes holding the weight of the iron an easier task.

Tefal Ultimate Pure FV9830 steam iron review: Should you buy it?

If you’ve got the budget for the Tefal you’ll be really pleased with the professional look and finish of this iron. Performance is excellent too and the consistency and power of the steam is highly impressive.

The iron is particularly good on heavier fabrics, which can prove challenging for some cheaper irons, and is ideal for getting through piles of heavy-duty ironing. The anti-calc filter is particularly impressive, meaning this iron would be an excellent choice for those living in hard water areas – it really does catch an impressive amount of particles. However, this is a big and heavy iron with a large price tag, so you’ll need to decide if those factors are enough to put you off.