Kitfort KT-945 is a vertical steamer. The device consists of a steamer housing, to which a small steam iron is attached via a steam hose, and telescopic racks designed to accommodate clothes hangers. Typically, vertical steamers are characterized by high steam output and speed. In addition, it is believed that hot steam treatment helps to clean and disinfect things and furniture.

The topic of the convenience of using vertical steamers and their advantage over the classic methods of caring for clothes is often controversial. If steaming slightly wrinkled knitwear or puffy dresses does not raise any questions (in clothing stores you can see how sellers bring clothes hanging on their shoulders into a decent look with the help of a steamer), then caring for heavily wrinkled, just washed and dried or stored for a long time in closet with wardrobe items raises many questions. That is why we will perform all the standard tests for garment care appliances during our practical experiments. We hope that our review will help potential users decide on the need to purchase this device.

Characteristics

Manufacturer	kitfort
Model	KT-945
Type	vertical steamer
Country of Origin	China
Warranty	1 year
Estimated service life	2 years
Declared power	1500-1800W
Control type	mechanical
Installation	floor
Case color	grey/silver
Tank volume	3 l
Steam pressure	1 bar
Steam power	30±5 g/min.
Heating time	1-3 minutes
Accessories	hanger, mini ironing board, protective mitten, lint brush, trouser steamer clip
Steam hose length	1.2 m
Cord length	1.7 m
Iron dimensions	15×5.5 cm
Steamer assembly weight	6.6 kg
Steamer body dimensions (W×H×D)	40×29×30 cm
Steamer dimensions with extended telescopic legs (W×H×D)	40×161×48 cm
Weight of packing	9.0 kg
Packing dimensions (W×H×D)	56×36×39 cm
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Equipment

The Kitfort KT-945 vertical steamer arrived at the iXBT.com test lab in a large carton. The box, made of unpainted cardboard, contains: a schematic image of the device, its name and model number, a slogan that plays on a well-known phraseological unit, a description and technical characteristics of the steamer. The box is not equipped with any device for carrying.

When packaged, the steamer is protected from shock and damage by two molded cardboard inserts. Some accessories are placed in the recesses of these tabs. The other part of the accessories is packed in two small boxes inside the main package. So, the Kitfort KT-945 kit consists of:

• body of the device;
• steam hose with iron;
• two telescopic racks;
• folding hanger;
• pile brush;
• clip for steaming trousers;
• protective glove;
• mini ironing board;
• user manual;
• warranty card;
• collection magnet Kitfort.

Assembling the device into a package is not something that causes significant difficulties, but it will take some time.

At first sight

The body of the steamer without attached accessories looks like a small vacuum cleaner without a handle. The body is equipped with two large wheels.

At the front, you can see the steam power regulator and a pull-out compartment for storing accessories.

A power cord is attached to the back, as well as a drain hole of the tank, closed with a screw cap. In the center of the upper part of the body there is a socket for connecting a steam hose. Racks with a hanger are installed on the sides of it. At the bottom of the recesses for placing the racks, the latches are visible.

On top of the wide part of the body is a water tank made of transparent plastic. The volume of the container is 3 liters. In our opinion, this is more than enough for home use. At the top of the tank there is a handle designed to remove the tank from the body.

At the place of installation of the tank in the body, a recess of a complex shape with a depth of more than 3 cm was made. At its bottom there is a hole for supplying water to the boiler and a narrow cone 3 cm high with a cut top. The upper part of the cone presses on a float built into the center of the tank plug, due to which water flows into the recess and by gravity into the steam generator tank.

Now let’s look at the bottom of the case. Here we see a sticker with technical information about the steamer, ventilation holes, two stand clamps and two legs with rubber pads.

Telescopic racks are three-section. Their maximum height when unfolded is 125 cm. Made of metal, plastic fasteners, latches look reliable. The height of the racks can be adjusted according to the individual needs of the user. They are fixed on the rack body simply: you need to install them in the appropriate holes and lightly press until they click. To remove, press on the latches located on the bottom of the case. One of the racks has power cord holders.

A complex-shaped plastic hanger is put on top of the racks, which is fixed using the same locks as on the racks. The hanger is equipped with a hanger for a steam iron and a reclining horizontal bar. The bar is designed for things that are inconvenient to place on a hanger: towels, scarves, T-shirts, etc. If the bar is not needed, then it can be lifted up. The width of the hanger is adjustable. If you pull its edges in different directions, it expands to a width of 47 cm. Its initial width is 35.5 cm.

The length of the steam supply hose seems to us sufficient for convenient operation of the device. The hose is attached to the corresponding hole in the housing. It is inserted quite simply – you need to pull the latch towards you, insert the steam hose connector all the way into the socket, and then release the latch.

The lower part of the hose is protected from kinks and damage by an iron spiral that plays the role of a casing. A steam iron is attached to the top of the hose. The body of the iron is plastic, the working part is metal. Along the center are steam outlets. On the sides there are recesses for placing a pile brush.

The 16 cm long handle is very comfortable in the palm of your hand. On its surface from the inside there are recesses for fingers. The plastic of which this part is made is not smooth, so the handle of the iron is easily held in the hand without slipping. The iron is quite light – unfortunately it is not possible to know the exact weight, because it is strongly influenced by the steam hose and its location.

The Kitfort KT-945 steamer kit includes a lint brush, a trouser steamer clip, a heat-resistant glove and a mini ironing board designed to iron and steam shirt collars and other hard-to-reach parts.

In general, a visual inspection did not reveal any comments on the device. Kitfort KT-945 has a standard design for vertical steamers, it is easy to assemble and disassemble. It is made of sufficient quality, at least we were not able to identify shortcomings in the quality of manufacture and assembly of its individual components and parts.

Instruction

All the information necessary for efficient and safe operation is presented in a 20-page A5 brochure made of thick paper.

The information is presented in a logical order. Thanks to diagrams, images and algorithms, they are easy to understand. The chapters on assembly and use as well as maintenance are illustrated with graphic material. The section of tips and tricks will undoubtedly be useful. The chapter “Troubleshooting” is informative, which you will have to refer to if something goes wrong while working with the device.

Control

The control panel is represented on the body by a single steam power switch, which also turns the appliance on and off. The iron has no indicators or controls.

The device is equipped with an adjustable steam supply – from the minimum steam power in position “1” to the maximum in position “4”. The operation indicator lights up when the regulator is in one of the operating positions. When the knob is moved to the leftmost point “Off”, the indicator goes out.

After connecting the device to electricity, switch the regulator to any of the operating positions. The operation indicator lights up blue. When the heating is finished, the automatic steam supply starts. This happens quite quickly: steam begins to flow from the holes of the iron in a minute. Steam formation reaches its maximum power in about the third minute. To turn off the device, turn the regulator to the “Off” position.

In our opinion, the control of the Kitfort KT-945 steamer can be called intuitive – one regulator starts and stops the operation, and also controls the steam power.

Exploitation

Before first use, unpack the device and wipe the case with a damp and then dry cloth. The steamer must be placed on a level, level surface. If the unit is placed at an angle or on an uneven surface, the water from the tank may not get into the boiler, because it is supplied by gravity. After you need to assemble the device. As we already mentioned, the assembly diagram is clearly presented in the instructions. Actually, the procedure is simple – pull out the telescopic racks, insert them into the sockets on the body until they click, fix the hanger on top, attach the steam hose. All locks and latches close and open easily and clearly, in general, there are no difficulties with assembly.

The purpose of the steamer is clear – it is mainly the processing of clothes and fabrics located in a vertical position. In addition to clothes, it can be used to steam and smooth out wrinkles from curtains and drapes. Upholstery of upholstered furniture, mattresses and beds can be treated with steam. The most valuable opportunity that the steamer provides is the care of puffy dresses of complex design, coats, fur coats and sheepskin coats. It is believed that steam not only cleans and disinfects things, but also removes foreign odors, including the musty smell of long-stored things.

The length of both the electric cord and the steam hose seemed sufficient to us. The steam supply hose is easily fixed on the body, does not wrap around the racks and does not crush the steamed pieces of clothing. The iron has a convenient shape and weight, the hand does not get tired of it even during long work.

When steaming, you can use accessories: a mini ironing board, a trouser clip, a lint brush to remove fluff and animal hair from clothes, to clean carpets, upholstery of upholstered furniture. The mini board is especially good at ironing shirts and blouses: it is a must for steaming collars, cuffs and pockets. Protective mittens are recommended to be worn on the hand to prevent burns from hot steam.

If you use hangers, then after steaming one side of the thing, they need to be turned over. In the case of placing clothes on a hanger, when steaming the opposite side, it is enough to stretch the steam hose between the racks to the other side of the appliance. The hanger can change its width, which allows you to conveniently process both small T-shirts and men’s sweaters of large sizes.

Unfortunately, not everyone fits into the accessory storage compartment: the mini ironing board and trouser clip will have to be stored elsewhere.

The steam hose gets hot during operation. It, of course, does not burn, but a certain discomfort occurs when touched.

To remove soluble dirt, it is recommended to put a steam cloth on the steam iron. In this case, the outgoing contaminants will be absorbed into the fabric. An ordinary cotton towel can become such a rag – just wrap the iron around it.

Things after steaming remain slightly damp, so you need to give them some time to dry. When processing delicate fabrics, you can also wrap the iron with a towel so that the condensation that forms on the surface of the iron is absorbed into it and does not damage the fabric being processed.

In general, in the course of interaction with the device, it seemed to us that the steam jet, even in the maximum flow mode, was not powerful enough. Dry wrinkled items were ironed out only if the hot surface of the iron came into contact with the fabric. When processing only the outgoing steam, the clothes were not smoothed out well.

The steamer can also be used for normal horizontal ironing. When working in this mode, it is desirable to use an ironing board, the underside of which is able to freely pass steam. Do not iron horizontally on wooden surfaces as steam can damage them.

Care

Disconnect the racks and steam hose before cleaning. The body of the steamer can be cleaned with a damp cloth. To avoid stagnation and rotten water, the water tank must be rinsed after each use. Be sure to wipe the area under the tank in the case so that moisture does not accumulate there. The instructions recommend doing this with a damp cloth soaked in a weak solution of vinegar. It is permissible to pour vinegar solution into the recess for 15 minutes. Then you should tilt the case, drain the solution, rinse this place thoroughly and gently under running water. Hard-to-reach places can be washed with a brush.

A separate procedure in the series of care is the removal of scale from the boiler. The procedure is described in detail and step by step in the instructions. Its essence boils down to pouring a descaling solution into the boiler of the steam generator, for example, a mixture of vinegar and water in a 1: 1 ratio, then drain it and rinse the container thoroughly.

Upon completion of testing, we drained the water from the boiler by unscrewing the drain plug. The procedure is simple and labor-intensive; we believe that cleaning the boiler from scale takes place without difficulty.

Our measurements

Energy consumption measurements were made using a wattmeter while the Kitfort KT-945 steamer was running. The power readings during operation depend on the selected steam power:

• “1” – about 720 W;
• “2” – about 915 W;
• “3” – about 1270 W;
• “4” – 1580-1630 W.

The device works almost silently – during steaming, only a quiet hiss of steam coming out of the nozzles is heard. Water enters the boiler by gravity, so the device does not make any sound of a running pump.

practice tests

Jeans

Men’s jeans are made of thick cotton fabric. Thing after washing and drying, not too dry.

We hung hangers with clothespins on the edge of the hanger and secured the jeans. We moved the steam regulator to the fourth position, to the maximum steam supply, and began to steam the jeans. Holding on to the bottom of the leg, they led the iron from top to bottom. The surface of the iron was in contact with the fabric, steam flowed continuously. It was not very convenient to process the bottom of the legs, because I had to bend over. But the area of pockets and belts was easily smoothed out.

In general, we were pleased with the result: the stiff and thick fabric was steamed and well straightened, and we did not have to get an ironing board and iron.

Result: good .

Sweatshirt with print

The sweatshirt is made of thick cotton fabric. The fabric is not very wrinkled, but dried out from long-term storage, creases from folded storage are also clearly visible on it.

Slightly parting the edges of the hanger, they hung the sweatshirt on the steamer.

The thing was steamed without much effort: we slightly pulled the bottom edge of the part and simply moved the iron, in contact with the fabric. When processing the sleeves, their sides were first smoothed out, then the arrows formed at the top and bottom along the seam. There was no need to turn over the item. First we worked the sleeves and the back, then moved on to the front, bypassing the appliance and inserting a steam hose with a flat iron between the posts. In general, there were no difficulties when steaming the sweatshirt. The print was not damaged and did not change its original appearance.

Result: excellent .

The only inconvenient thing is that the fabric needs to be pulled not only down, but also towards itself, because otherwise it comes into contact with the parts of the hanger and racks, which may leave traces on it.

Men’s shirt

The shirt is made of thin cotton fabric. It usually smooths out easily.

In this experiment, we decided to use ordinary hangers, since when placed on a complete hanger, its parts and racks can interfere.

Started ironing from the sleeves. The task turned out to be non-trivial. We admit that you just need to get used to the procedure, but the first experience turned out to be difficult. In the end, they hung the shirt on the steamer hanger – it turned out to be more convenient. The sleeves were pulled back and the surface of the fabric was carefully processed. In conclusion, they took a mini board and ironed the cuffs. Then we moved on to the shelves and back. They pulled the fabric down and passed over it with hot steam and the surface of the ironing. Note: if you keep the iron at a distance from the fabric, that is, treat the shirt only with steam, the fabric is moistened, but it does not straighten well. For a good result, you just need to walk with a hot and steaming iron on the surface of the canvas.

The collar was also smoothed out with the supplied mini ironing board.

Result: good, but laborious .

The dress

The dress is made of synthetic fabric that requires gentle care. The skirt has deep pleats. The pattern on the fabric is embossed, with normal ironing, the volume is smoothed out and the canvas begins to look much dimmer and duller. Moreover, the fabric may begin to shine. At first they tried to process the dress on a coat hanger, but it quickly became clear that it would be more convenient to do it on a hanger. Transferred to the device.

The fabric is heavy, so there were no particular problems when the jet of steam entered. Carefully processed the bodice, then moved on to the skirt. The total running time was about 8 minutes. The dress began to look better and fresher than at the beginning. We once again made sure that the steamer is indispensable when caring for puffy dresses or complex cut clothes made from delicate fabrics.

Result: excellent .

Women’s pants

Business style trousers are made of fine fabric. It practically does not wrinkle when worn, as well as after washing, spinning and drying. It is imperative to iron trousers, but the procedure is not burdensome. There is only one unpleasant moment: with a lack of steam or when ironing several layers of material, a specific shine appears on it. So a vertical steamer is great for taking care of this thing.

At the first stage, the trousers were placed frontally on hangers with clips. The clips held on to the belt. Finished the front and back. At the second stage, they hung the trousers upside down, that is, they clamped the legs so that the arrows were at the edges. We fixed a clip for ironing trousers on the iron and processed the arrows. The process is extremely simple: with one hand you press the handle of the clamp, with the other you wind the leg between the iron and the frame. Then you release the handle, thereby the fabric is sandwiched between the hot surface and the frame, and you pull the iron down. The free hand at this time holds the leg.

It took us literally five minutes to process. The fabric smoothed out and did not shine in any of the treated areas.

Result: excellent .

Organza (horizontal ironing)

The piece of fabric was significantly wrinkled, but without hard, coarse wrinkles.

We moved the body of the steamer close to the ironing board, turned it on to the first steaming mode. While the device was heating up, spread the fabric on the surface. It quickly became clear that the power of the first mode is not enough for effective smoothing. We moved the regulator to position “3” and began to work as with a conventional iron.

We did not experience any particular inconvenience. Well, yes, the steam hose is thicker and heavier than the power cord of a conventional iron. However, the hose does not jam the fabric, the iron glides over the surface easily. Organza is smoothed, all wrinkles and jams disappear.

Result: good .

Ironing in the classic way with a vertical steamer is, of course, not as convenient as with a regular iron, but you can do it. Even without obvious difficulties or long-term adaptation.

Carpet cleaning

The instructions mention that the device can be used to clean and disinfect the upholstery of upholstered furniture, mattresses and beds. We decided to test the cleaning properties of the device on a low-pile carpet. The carpet is light, lies in the children’s room, so there are a few spots on its surface.

First, they wrapped the iron with a cotton towel and turned on the maximum steam generation power mode. When the steam went in a continuous stream, they began to drive the iron over the surface of the carpet. Very quickly, the fabric that was wrapped around the iron became wet. The carpet was also slightly damp, although its reverse side was dry. The towel soon turned grey, meaning some of the dirt was dissolving and transferring to the fabric, but the steamed areas didn’t seem clean.

After a while, they took off the towel and put a pile brush on the iron. However, we quickly felt that the bristles of the brush are too soft for high-quality removal of debris from the carpet.

Hot pile was only immediately after the passage of ironing. As a result, we were rather dissatisfied with the results of cleaning: a sufficient amount of time was spent on steaming, but the result is not visible – all stains remained in place, the carpet was only slightly damp.

Result: unclear .

findings

The Kitfort KT-945 vertical steamer turned out to be a nice-looking, very easy-to-use and maintain device. Assembly and disassembly are intuitive. The device can generate steam of various power – from a weak to a powerful jet. The iron is light, so that the hand does not get tired even during long work. When making a purchase decision, you should pay attention to the fact that the body of the steamer takes up about the same amount of space as a small vacuum cleaner. The pluses include the presence of accessories that help with steaming and cleaning clothes.

The disadvantages include the lack of a carrying handle. The wheels, of course, help to move the device, but it is not recommended to hold it by the stands, and the hand itself reaches out to grab onto something to move it. Our main remark concerns the main characteristics of the device. Steam generation power 30±5 g/min. seems to us insufficient for quick steaming of overdried or heavily wrinkled things.

In general, it did not seem to us that the Kitfort KT-945 vertical steamer is capable of replacing a banal iron. Yes, the device copes much better with the care of a number of things (fluffy dresses, multi-layered clothes, knitwear), but ironing, for example, women’s blouses or men’s shirts turns into an unnecessarily laborious procedure.

pros

• ease of operation and maintenance
• additional accessories included
• Sufficient for comfortable work the length of the power cord and steam hose
• indispensable when caring for multi-layered items or clothes of a complex cut

Minuses

• low steam output
• no handle to move the device
• taking care of some things is unnecessarily laborious