Smart Home

Winter Is When You Really Need to Kill Sweat Odor! Save Big on Dry Cleaning with the ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher

Hi, I’m Hide — tech journalist and part-time house-husband. It folds down this compact, and the price is surprisingly friendly too.

Three cycles, plus a quiet mode
Three cycles, plus a quiet mode
Press the logo to remove the water tank — enough water for about two cycles
Press the logo to remove the water tank — enough water for about two cycles
As the name suggests, the ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher sanitizes and deodorizes your clothes without sending them to the cleaners. It even dries and de-wrinkles them with high-speed warm air.

The appeal is that it’s much more affordable than the LG Styler, which does similar things. Winter is actually when sweat odor bothers you most. I tested how well it works.

Where to buy: ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher

Official site: ESTILO Japan

For my articles, I sometimes receive products on loan or as samples from companies, within the bounds of Yahoo! News’ rules. However, if a product doesn’t meet my standards for writing about it after actually using it, or if its downsides significantly outweigh its good points, I return it and don’t write about it. I don’t receive any payment from companies.

Way easier to own than an LG Styler

We’ve used an LG Styler for about five years, but it’s expensive and needs a fair bit of depth to install, so it’s not easy to bring home.
We’ve used an LG Styler for about five years, but it’s expensive and needs a fair bit of depth to install, so it’s not easy to bring home.
I picked my appliances first and renovated around them, so it fits perfectly — but in a rental, it takes up a lot of space.
I picked my appliances first and renovated around them, so it fits perfectly — but in a rental, it takes up a lot of space.
The ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher, on the other hand, is mostly fabric except for part of the unit, so you can fold it up and store it when not in use.
The ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher, on the other hand, is mostly fabric except for part of the unit, so you can fold it up and store it when not in use.
It’s light enough for a woman to carry with one hand, so tucking it into a closet when you’re not using it is easy.

It’s also about a quarter of the LG Styler’s price. That makes it usable everywhere from rentals to houses.

Jet warm air and ion deodorizing

The LG Styler sanitizes with steam and drying, and uses scent sheets for deodorizing. The ESTILO Steam Ion Refresher lifts odor molecules with steam and then neutralizes them with ions, so it’s great at deodorizing.

It de-wrinkles nicely too, probably thanks to the strong warm air during drying. I used to leave wrinkle removal to the washer and never noticed, but smoothing wrinkles without washing is handy.

On top of steam, it generates negative ions, so for sanitizing and deodorizing it feels more thought-through than the LG Styler. It also reduces static, which helps in dry winters, and it’s good against pollen too.

For pants, the included hanger (more on that below) pulls them nice and straight. There’s no pants press like the LG Styler, but this was plenty to get the wrinkles out.

The vertical tension rod is a must for tight spaces!

A horizontal tension rod comes included, but what turned out super handy was the optional vertical tension rod (¥3,980 incl. tax).

With this rod, you can set it up even in the roughly 25 cm space at the entrance to our powder room. Fold the unit and store it elsewhere normally, and it’s out of the way.
With this rod, you can set it up even in the roughly 25 cm space at the entrance to our powder room. Fold the unit and store it elsewhere normally, and it’s out of the way.
It comes with an L-shaped power cable, so it’s fine even with no space behind it.
It comes with an L-shaped power cable, so it’s fine even with no space behind it.
A horizontal rod tends to stand out, but with a vertical one, a little creativity in placement keeps things looking clean. Recommended.
A horizontal rod tends to stand out, but with a vertical one, a little creativity in placement keeps things looking clean. Recommended.
## The downside: capacity, which matters for bigger families

There are two hooks inside, so you can refresh two items at once. The included hangers are two for tops and two for pants, but in practice you’ll usually put in a top and pants.

That means it fits one person’s outfit at a time, which could be a downside. But needing to refresh more than two items at once is rare, so taking turns should be fine.

Depending on the cycle, it can finish in as little as 24 minutes, so it’s handy on rushed mornings too.
Depending on the cycle, it can finish in as little as 24 minutes, so it’s handy on rushed mornings too.
## Affordable and genuinely practical
Before using it, I was skeptical — “Can it really de-wrinkle and deodorize?” — but I was surprised by how well it works.
Before using it, I was skeptical — “Can it really de-wrinkle and deodorize?” — but I was surprised by how well it works.
Until now, if you wanted steam care, the LG Styler was the only choice, so I think it’s great that there’s now an alternative.

I was very satisfied, but I did catch myself wishing, “If it ran on a battery, I could use it inside the closet…” That might be hard for safety reasons, but I’m hoping for it in the next generation.

Still, being able to sanitize and deodorize easily without running to the cleaners is great. With prices going up, using appliances like this to save money makes a lot of sense.

This story was originally published (in Japanese) on Yahoo! News Japan Expert.

Related

You might also like