Many of the more upmarket steam irons feature fabric settings, where you simply turn the dial to the selected fabric of the chosen garment and the iron will automatically adjust the settings to the most effective levels.

Another feature is that of vertical steam. This allows hanging items, such as curtains to be ironed without going through the additional hassle of taking them down and having to put them back up again.

Most of the latest irons feature anti scaling mechanisms which prevent lime scale build up and prolong the life of the iron.

Certainly one extra feature to which cannot be overlooked is an automatic shut off device. These operate through sensors which detect when an iron has been left unmoved and shut it down to help prevent damage to any items.