Ironing has never been one of my best skills. I lay out the shirt or whatever, straighten the wrinkles carefully, and then iron. And then I inadvertently iron in new wrinkles, which I have to remove. And it goes on and on like that. Nine years ago I gave up ironing for a clothes steamer, and it’s been so easy by comparison that I wonder why I didn’t use it sooner.

In that spirit, check out the Amumu Handheld Clothes Steamer for $40, down from a $220 retail price that, well, I find hard to believe. No matter. Whatever its retail price shenanigans, $40 for a steamer to make your iron obsolete is a decent deal, and an escape from ironing hell.

go steam-powered

The Amumu’s 370ml water tank should be enough to steam two or three heavily wrinkled garments, based on my experience using several clothes steamers. If the clothes you’re steaming aren’t that wrinkly, you could get more uses out of it before having to refill the tank.

Just remember that if you’re buying the US version, which runs on a standard 110-volt electrical system, it’s not going to be compatible in places where a 220-volt system is the standard wired into hotels, homes, and hostels, such as most of Europe.

I once plugged in a steamer into a Cairo hotel outlet, not thinking, and heard it shooting plumes of steaming water halfway across the room within minutes. Don’t be like me. Bring a voltage adapter. And while you’re at it, don’t forget the plug adapter, too.

more clothes steamers worth checking out

I’ve used the Urpower Compact Travel Steamer for eight years. That Cairo hotel room story? That was my Urpower. It’s been a reliable travel tool for me, working with any hiccups, such that for many years I used it at home, too.

The Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam 1875W Clothes Steamer is what I bought to replace the Urpower at home. It’s bigger and heavier, enough so that I still take the Urpower when traveling, but the Conair’s power and larger water tank let me steam several pieces of clothing without running to the sink for refills.

Now this steamer, the Beautural 1000W Travel Steamer, I haven’t used. But it caught my eye because of its Jetsons-esqe looks. That 1000W is fairly powerful for a steamer, just not quite as powerful as the Conair.