Author Topic: I bought MY VERY OWN TOBI and hate it! (Read 6973 times)

Allen · « **on:** September 22, 2009, 22:09 »

I'm not sure if you all get the infomercial for the Tobi Steam Cleaner, which derwinkles fabrics with "ease".

Well, I went to my local Walmart today in search for a steam cleaner to dewrinkle my backdrops and found this Tobi there. It was more than some of the cleaners so I thought it must be good.

When I got home I set up my wrinkled backdrop and went took the Tobi out of the box. Putting it together wasn't too bad, but some things I noticed right away was the wand hose was pretty short, and so was the cord. When I took it to the backdrop, it wouldn't reach the top, unless you took it off it's stand which you are supposed to do. So a couple minutes later the top half was totally dewrinkled. It worked really well and I was impressed. I proceeded to do the bottom, but as soon as you bend over, the "water proof" jug spilled on the backdrop. ugh!

So, I needed to wipe up the spill and here I am holding a shoulder strapped Tobi with one arm and a Steaming Hot wand in the other. The off switch is on the back of the Tobi, so I guess you are supposed to be a contortionist to turn it off without burning yourself. You aren't supposed to put the hose down, because condensation will build up and go back into the machine.

I finally did get the whole backdrop dewrinkled, but now it came time to put this contraption away. I quickly realized as I was putting it together that it would not be realistic to take it apart and put it together every time you needed it. You are supposed to do what they say and leave it on their stand and store it in a closet. Oh yeah, I have lots of empty closets in my house. No problem!

So, all in all - Yes the Tobi works, but I find it unstable and potentially dangerous. And who has the room for one of these things? I guess I need to buy and bigger house to accommodate my Tobi. jk

. It's going back to Walmart tomorrow.

Anyways, I was wondering what you guys use to dewrinkled your backdrops. Do the smaller hand held steamers work well?

If you are curious to see what the Tobi looks like, here is a link.
http://shoptvcanada.com/mclient/474/tobisteamer

Graffoto · « **Reply #1 on:** September 22, 2009, 22:54 »

This is one of the reasons that I stick with paper backdrops

lisafx · « **Reply #2 on:** September 23, 2009, 17:02 »

LOL! Great account of Tobi ownership. My husband bought one for me from the infomercial and I don't like mine either. It spits and leaves water spotches. Plus the wand is too narrow and doesn't put out enough steam volume to really do a good job.

Next time I will get a professional steamer. It should be worth the extra $$ to save on aggravation.

Pixart · « **Reply #3 on:** September 23, 2009, 17:11 »

DragonFang, I got one at Sears in Kildonan Mall and it works lovely. Gosh, what did I pay - let's say between 100 and 200. I also noticed that Costco had one last week that looked quite "industrial" at a quick glance - can't remember the price. The product is likely on costco.ca if you want to look it up. If you don't have a Costco membership I could meet you there some day when you are in town. I'll likely have some reason to go to Costco in the near future and I'll try to make a point to look at it next time.

Suljo · « **Reply #4 on:** September 23, 2009, 18:15 »

I really dont understand who can buy some of any kind of crap from adds Ass seen on TV?!?

Pixart · « **Reply #5 on:** September 23, 2009, 18:21 »

Cummon Suljo. You have a ShamWow. Admit it.

Suljo · « **Reply #6 on:** September 23, 2009, 21:38 »

I dont realy understand "joke"
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=ShamWow&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=hr&tab=wi
this only what I realize by googling...ShamWow

elvinstar · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2009, 21:48 »

ShamWow is one of those infomercials that you see all of the time here in the US, so it is an "As seen on TV" product.

Suljo · « **Reply #8 on:** September 23, 2009, 22:03 »

And so what?!?
Is the Microstock forum place for moaning for that crappy products from this... (better I dont name it)?!?
And in Thread general Photography Discussion???

graficallyminded · « **Reply #9 on:** September 23, 2009, 22:12 »

You should've just listened to Vince, and stuck with the SlapChop. C'mon, you know you want one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbWjIKxrrs[/youtube]

The best things he says are:

"You're gonna have an exciting life now."

"You're gonna love my nuts."

"Fettuccini, linguine, martini, bikini."

"It pops open like a buttahfly..."

Pixart · « **Reply #10 on:** September 23, 2009, 22:16 »

A steamer is definitely a requirement with location work and they do belong in the photography category. They are costly and difficult to find. Backdrops are a huge dilema for me, they are horribly wrinkled by the time I arrive at a school for class photos. At home I cannot leave them setup so right now they are folded and when the next client rings I will have to get the steamer out again.

Sorry about the ShamWow joke. It's the most annoying info commercial of all time and the phrase has become part of the popular culture in North America.

Suljo · « **Reply #11 on:** September 23, 2009, 22:19 »

Oh I finally catch it up.
What you can do with iStock reviewer brain in second, buy it now...

Suljo · « **Reply #12 on:** September 23, 2009, 22:24 »

Quote from: Pixart on September 23, 2009, 22:16

A steamer is definitely a requirement with location work and they do belong in the photography category. They are costly and difficult to find. Backdrops are a huge dilema for me, they are horribly wrinkled by the time I arrive at a school for class photos. At home I cannot leave them setup so right now they are folded and when the next client rings I will have to get the steamer out again.

Sorry about the ShamWow joke. It's the most annoying info commercial of all time and the phrase has become part of the popular culture in North America.

This commercials are all around the globe...
If you want tasty drops you can buy glicerine and spray to image which you want to shoot.
Bad thing is that is no edible after that...

borg · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2009, 07:11 »

I think that Tobi belongs to "off topic" area...

Or you are using it for sensor cleaning...

digiology · « **Reply #14 on:** September 24, 2009, 11:13 »

Quote from: borg on September 24, 2009, 07:11

I think that Tobi belongs to "off topic" area...

Or you are using it for sensor cleaning...

no for that you need DiscoFilm...

Anyone remember that stuff being discussed here. I think Leaf has a lifetime supply.
http://www.microstockgroup.com/cameras-lenses/discofilm-an-in-depth-review/

Shamwow sucks and my kids killed the Magic Bullet.

Allen · « **Reply #15 on:** September 24, 2009, 12:12 »

Well, I took the Tobi back no problems. I will have to think about another product to try.

@Pixart - Thanks for the offer, but I don't think I am coming to the city anytime real soon. Costco does have some good prices on some things though.

@Suljo - Sorry for moaning about this crappy product, but since backdrops are a part of photography and removing wrinkles is related I figured this post should go here. However, I don't care if it gets moved to offtopic, so if Leaf figures it should be there, that's fine.

p.s. You guys would really love the store we have in a mall in Winnipeg (Polo Park). It's a store which stocks ONLY As Seen On TV stuff.

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Author Topic: I bought MY VERY OWN TOBI and hate it! (Read 6973 times)

Allen

Graffoto

lisafx

Pixart

Suljo

Pixart

Suljo

elvinstar

Suljo

graficallyminded

Pixart

Suljo

Suljo

borg

digiology

Allen

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