Two companies now sell a steamer that grips the fabric for you. This is the lighter one, the dearer one, and the one that will not tell you how long it runs.
By Scooter M., enthusiast, crease control · Published
Buy the Rowenta AeroSteam Twist if you want a suction steamer you can hold for a whole session: 2.4 pounds against 3.1. The 3.1 belongs to the BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam, the heaviest handheld on this site and the only other machine here that grips the fabric for you. It is also the only suction machine here that publishes its suction force (3,300 Pa) and the only one with a steam-only mode, so the fan can be switched off for delicates. Buy the BLACK+DECKER instead if the spec sheet is what you are buying: it publishes more power, more steam output, a 200 ml tank and a two-year warranty for less money. Rowenta publishes no tank capacity for this machine at all — its Capacity field reads 5 quarts, which is impossible — so it is scored here on three figures rather than four.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which steamer we rank first — the ranking comes from published specifications and the arithmetic on our method page. We have not tested these units. Full disclosure.
Suction steamers are now a category of two
Until this year the suction steamer was a curiosity. The BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam arrived on this site in October as the only machine in the registry that supplied its own fabric tension, and the page said as much. Rowenta's AeroSteam Twist makes it two, and two is enough to compare — which is the main reason this page exists.
The mechanism is the same in both: a fan pulls the garment onto a heated plate and holds it there while steam does its work, so the tension comes from the machine rather than from the garment hanging under its own weight. That is a real answer to the commonest complaint about handheld steaming, which is that you need a spare hand to pull the cloth tight. It is also, in both machines, paid for in weight and in watts — a fan is mass, and the motor draws power that is not making steam.
The published specification
Rowenta AeroSteam Twist DR9310, read from the live listing
Figure
Published
Note
Power
1,260 W
Below the VacuSteam's 1,400 and the 1,875 W ceiling three handhelds here reach
Suction
3,300 Pa
The only suction figure published by either machine
Tank
Not published
The Capacity field reads 5 quarts (~4.7 L) for a 2.4 lb handheld — see below
Heat-up
35 s
The listing's own bullet says 30 s; the filed field says 35, and we publish the filed figure
Weight
2.4 lb
Nearly a pound lighter than the only other suction steamer here
Figures are read off the product's own Amazon listing and linked back to it. Where a structured field holds something that is not the specification it claims to be, the field is dropped rather than published. We have not handled this machine.
The tank figure does not exist, and that is the real cost
The Capacity field on this listing reads 5 quarts — about 4.7 liters — for a steamer Rowenta's own data says weighs 2.4 pounds. Water alone at that volume would weigh over ten pounds. It is not a specification, so it is dropped with the reason recorded, exactly as the CHI wattage field and the Electrolux heat-up field were.
What makes this worse than the usual bad field is that there is no second source. When the Rowenta IS2461 upright filed a weight in its capacity field, the tank was still recoverable — its title said 50 oz and a bullet said 1.5 liters, and they agreed. Here the title says nothing about capacity and neither do the five feature bullets. Rowenta has simply not published how much water this machine holds, anywhere on the listing.
Against the VacuSteam, which is the comparison that matters
The only two suction steamers on this site
Rowenta AeroSteam Twist
BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam
Power
1,260 W
1,400 W
Weight
2.4 lb
3.1 lb (the heaviest handheld here)
Tank
Not published
200 ml (~9 min at its wattage)
Heat-up
35 s
35 s
Steam output
20 g/min
22 g/min
Suction force
3,300 Pa published
Not published
Modes
3, including steam only
3, including steam only
Warranty
Not published
2 years
Metrics scored
3 of 4
4 of 4
Score
5.0
4.4
Price
The dearer of the two
The cheaper of the two
The 5.0 and the 4.4 are not comparable as a ranking: one is computed over three published figures and the other over four. The Rowenta is not penalized for the tank it did not publish.
Read that table and the split is clean. The Rowenta wins on the figure you feel — nearly a pound less in the hand, on a machine held at arm's length for the length of a session — and on disclosure of the one thing a suction steamer is actually doing. The BLACK+DECKER wins on everything a spec sheet can hold: more watts, more steam per minute, a tank you can plan around, and a warranty.
On price the BLACK+DECKER is clearly ahead, and that reframes the question. The Rowenta is not competing with a cheap handheld; it is competing with a cheaper machine that does the same unusual thing. Unless the weight difference is decisive for you — and over twenty minutes at a rail it might genuinely be — the VacuSteam is the better-documented buy.
Where both suction machines sit against ordinary handhelds
This is the comparison a buyer should make before either of them. Three handhelds on this site publish 1,875 watts, the practical ceiling for a US 15-amp circuit, and the Rowenta XCEL DR2020 does it at 1.4 pounds — a pound lighter than this machine and for a fraction of the price. On raw steam, a suction steamer is a step backwards: you are spending watts on a motor and weight on a fan.
What you get back is tension, and whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on what defeats you about steaming. If it is reaching for a third hand to pull a shirt front flat, suction is a real answer and no amount of wattage substitutes for it. If it is that your steamer runs out of water, or will not touch a cotton shirt, then more power and a bigger tank are the answer and the handheld roundup has them. The buying guide sets out which of the four figures is likely to be yours.
The heat-up disagrees with itself, mildly
Rowenta's second feature bullet says the machine is "ready in just 30 seconds". Its structured Heat Time field says 35 seconds. This site publishes the filed figure, the same call it makes on the Rowenta XCEL, whose title advertises 25 seconds against a filed 40, and on the Steamery Cirrus Icon. Five seconds changes nothing for a buyer; the habit of publishing the filed field rather than the marketing one is what keeps the comparison tables honest.
One claim on this listing that this site will not repeat
The structured Product Benefits field for this item includes "Sanitize". This site does not repeat sanitizing claims for garment steamers and has not repeated them for any other machine here — the Conair GS121 carries a "Kills Bacteria" tag and the SALAV GS18 a sanitizing claim, and both get the same treatment.
Killing or substantially reducing bacteria on fabric requires a specific temperature held at the fabric surface for a specific time, and nothing about a steam head passed over a garment establishes either — even one pressing the cloth against a hot plate. What steam genuinely does is relax fibers and reduce odor, which the dry-cleaning comparison sets out in full. It is worth noting that the Rowenta IS2461 upright claims only to "freshen and de-odorize", which is the accurate framing — the same brand is more careful on one listing than the other.
What comes in the box, and which listing to buy from
A rotating heated ceramic head with what Rowenta calls an XL 7 square inch plate, which is the surface the fan pulls fabric against.
Three modes on a digital LED screen — steam only, steam with soft suction, steam with strong suction. The steam-only mode is the one that matters for delicates, where a fan pressing cloth to a hot plate is the wrong idea.
A self-standing base and an auto-off, both cited on the listing.
A water cup, which is the only included component Rowenta names.
Two listings exist for this model at the same price. Rowenta sells the AeroSteam Twist under two ASINs, both currently in stock at the same figure and both titled for the Fabric-Grip. This page cites and links the one whose listing carries the fuller specification table; there is no difference in the machine.
On the model name: autocomplete suggests an AeroSteam "Deluxe" and an "Elite", and a DR9814. Neither returned a purchasable US listing when this page was written, so this site covers only the DR9310 Twist. If those are European models or future releases, they are not something a US buyer can act on today.
Who should buy it, and who should not
The decision
If you
Verdict
Want suction and will hold it for a long session
Buy it — 2.4 lb against 3.1 is the difference you feel
Want to know how hard the fan actually pulls
Buy it — 3,300 Pa published; its rival publishes nothing
Steam delicates and want the fan switchable
Buy it — the steam-only mode is genuine, though the VacuSteam has one too
Are buying on the published figures
Skip it — the VacuSteam has more power, more output, a real tank figure and a warranty, for less
Need to know the run time before you buy
Skip it — Rowenta publishes no capacity anywhere on the listing
Want a published warranty
Skip it — none stated; BLACK+DECKER publishes two years
The honest summary: suction is a real idea and this is the more comfortable machine to use it with, but it is the worse-documented and dearer of the only two that offer it. If the fan is what you came for, the weight saving is worth having and the published suction figure is worth something too. If you are weighing it against the category generally, a plain high-power handheld makes more steam for less money, and the thing a suction steamer fixes is a technique problem rather than a performance one. We earn a commission either way; the figures above are Rowenta's own, including the one it declined to publish.
The machine at a glance
Ranked on published specifications. Tap a row for the full write-up; the price button goes to Amazon.
#
Product
Best for
Spec score
Price
1
Rowenta AeroSteam Twist DR9310The second suction steamer on this site and the lighter one, bought at the price of a tank figure its own listing will not give you.
Rowenta does not publish tank capacity for this model, so that figure is excluded from the score rather than estimated.
What the numbers mean
The mechanism is the reason to look at this rather than an ordinary handheld. A fan grips the fabric against a heated ceramic plate so the garment is held taut by the machine instead of by its own weight on a hanger, which is the single most common complaint about handheld steaming. Rowenta publishes the suction force — 3,300 Pa — which is more than the BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam discloses about its own fan, and offers three modes: steam only, steam with soft suction, and steam with strong suction.
Against the only other suction machine here it wins on the figure that matters most in the hand. 2.4 pounds against the VacuSteam's 3.1 is a real difference over a session, and the BLACK+DECKER is the heaviest handheld on this site. The Rowenta also adds a rotating head, an LED screen and a self-standing base.
It loses on everything the spec sheet can measure. 1,260 watts is below the VacuSteam's 1,400 and well below the 1,875 W ceiling three handhelds here reach. 20 g/min of steam is below the VacuSteam's 22. It publishes no warranty term where BLACK+DECKER publishes two years, and it costs noticeably more.
The tank is the real gap. The Capacity field on this listing reads 5 quarts — about 4.7 liters — for a 2.4-pound handheld, which cannot be true, so no capacity is published and this unit is scored on three figures rather than four. Nothing in the title or the feature bullets supplies the number either, so unlike some listings here there is no second source to fall back on. On a machine whose whole job is a long one-handed pass down a garment, not knowing how long it runs is a genuine omission.
Good
2.4 lb — nearly a pound lighter than the only other suction steamer here
Publishes its suction force (3,300 Pa), which its rival does not
Three modes including steam-only, so the fan can be switched off for delicates
35-second published heat-up, among the faster figures in the class
Rotating heated ceramic head, LED screen, self-standing base and auto-off
Not good
No published tank capacity at all — the Capacity field reads 5 quarts, which is impossible
Scored on three figures rather than four, which flatters it against fully documented units
1,260 W is below the VacuSteam's 1,400 and far below the 1,875 W units here
20 g/min is the lower of the two published suction-steamer outputs
No published warranty term, where BLACK+DECKER publishes two years
The most expensive suction steamer here, and dearer than most full-power handhelds
Who should not buy it. Skip this if you want the most steam for the money. A suction fan is weight and cost spent on holding fabric, and at 1,260 watts you are paying a premium for less power than a plain 1,875 W handheld delivers for half the price. Skip it too if run time matters to you, because Rowenta will not tell you what the tank holds.
Questions people actually ask
+Is the Rowenta AeroSteam Twist worth it?
It is worth it if you specifically want a suction steamer and intend to hold it for a while, because at 2.4 pounds it is nearly a pound lighter than the only alternative. It is not worth it on the figures: the BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam publishes more power, more steam output, a 200 ml tank and a two-year warranty for less money, and an ordinary 1,875 W handheld makes far more steam for a fraction of the price.
+How does a vacuum or suction steamer work?
A fan pulls the garment against a heated plate and holds it there while steam passes through the fabric, so the tension that normally comes from the garment hanging under its own weight comes from the machine instead. It answers the commonest complaint about handheld steaming — needing a spare hand to pull the cloth tight — at the cost of weight and of watts spent on the motor rather than on steam.
+Rowenta AeroSteam or BLACK+DECKER VacuSteam?
The BLACK+DECKER for most buyers: 1,400 W against 1,260, 22 g/min against 20, a published 200 ml tank, a two-year warranty, and a lower price. The Rowenta for anyone who will feel the weight — 2.4 pounds against 3.1 — or who wants the suction force published, which Rowenta gives as 3,300 Pa and BLACK+DECKER does not state at all.
+How big is the Rowenta AeroSteam Twist water tank?
Rowenta does not publish it. The structured Capacity field reads 5 quarts, roughly 4.7 liters, which is impossible for a 2.4-pound handheld, and neither the title nor any feature bullet gives a figure. This site drops the field rather than estimate it, so the machine is scored on three published figures instead of four and no run time is quoted for it.
+Does the Rowenta AeroSteam sanitize clothes?
Its listing carries a Sanitize benefit tag and this site does not repeat it. Reducing bacteria on fabric needs a specific temperature held at the surface for a specific time, which passing a steam head over a garment does not establish. Steam relaxes fibers and reduces odor. Notably Rowenta's own IS2461 upright claims only to freshen and de-odorize, which is the accurate framing.
+Is the AeroSteam Twist 30 or 35 seconds to heat up?
Its feature bullet says 30 seconds and its structured Heat Time field says 35. This site publishes the filed figure, 35 seconds, the same rule it applies to the Rowenta XCEL whose title and filed field also disagree. Either way it is among the faster figures in the handheld class.
+Is there a bigger AeroSteam model?
Autocomplete suggests an AeroSteam Deluxe, an Elite and a DR9814, but none of them returned a purchasable US listing when this page was written, so this site covers only the DR9310 Twist. Rowenta does list the Twist itself under two separate ASINs at the same price; the machine is the same.
