Steaming instead of Ironing. A good idea?

I am getting sick and tired of ironing. I suck at it and it just takes me too damn long. When I take my clothes to The Mens Wearhouse to get the wrinkles out they steam them. Then I read up on dry cleaners and I understand that they steam clothes too. So I think maybe steaming might be popular because it’s quick. But are there any drawbacks, like maybe the clothes don’t get a chance to dry so they get mildewy? Steaming doesn’t damage the clothes right? Naturally I won’t be steaming dirty clothes so I’m not worried about that. I have been taking my shirts to the dry cleaners and I know all they do is launder and STEAM them so why can’t I do the same? It might take me a bit more effort, but since I can’t find a decent reasonably priced dry cleaner near me I figure laundering and steaming might be easier for me, and cheaper.

So do any of you use a garment steamer? Any really sucky ones? Any really good steamers? I remember a few years ago one small one being advertised on TV. There are tons of these on Ebay for around $30. Are they any good? Be pretty nice for traveling. Or should I just shell out the $100 (on Ebay) for a larger model? I don’t want to spend a lot of time steaming. The idea is to get the laundry done lickedy split so I’d be willing to spend a couple of bucks more for a steamer thats faster. How much do real professional garment steamers run?

I’d appreciate any advise, thoughts or opionions. And models that you would recommend.

Steaming takes out the wrinkles, but does not make the creases in your pants/slacks. Go for the professional type that will give you ample steam. Look here: http://www.suitvalet.com/noname2.html

I used to work in a clothing store, and we spent hours steaming clothes. First, steaming relaxes wrinkles, it doesn’t truly remove them. However, this is generally quite good enough for most clothes. Second, there seems to be much less danger of burning or melting the clothes, even things with paint and other weird inclusions. Third, steaming is generally a heck of a lot quicker than ironing.

We always hung the garments up on a hanger and steamed away. I actually found it rather soothing when the weather was cool. When the weather was hot, of course, steaming quickly lost any charm it might have had.

I used to have great luck with an fairly old stream press - it relaxed wrinkles and creased my pants nicely. [Mostly permanent press Dockers washed after one day’s wearing - they were almost a uniform for male students and residents in the hospital) Unfortunately it vanished during a move. I ended up getting a wand steamer and touching up with an iron, but I have always rather enjoyed ironing, and am fairly quick at it, so I soon dropped the steaming step entirely.

I’d like to expand the topic a bit to include people’s experiences with tabletop (consumer) steam presses. Do they still make decent ones?