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In this guide
Conair sells this steamer under two names. The listing headline calls it Steam & Press with Turbo; the page title and the specs call it the Turbo ExtremeSteam Handheld Fabric Steamer, model GS38R, and the URL and SKU say GS38L. They are one product in one color, blue, at $71.18, and the L suffix marks the present iteration of the GS38 that Conair has sold for years. The idea behind it is simple: put a heated aluminum plate on the front of a handheld steamer so you can lean on a seam or a collar the way you would with an iron.
The second button is the other half of the pitch. Regular Steam is for delicates and light wrinkles; Turbo is for denim, wool coats and creases that have set. Conair's headline claims are that it runs up to 50 percent hotter, makes 50 percent more steam and works 67 percent faster, and all three figures carry a footnote comparing it with the older Conair GS15RN. That makes them a statement about Conair's own range, not the market, and the review below treats them that way.
Our verdict
A good pick for someone who irons cotton shirts and would like to stop, because the heated aluminum plate lets this steamer press seams in a way a plastic-headed steamer cannot; the payoff is a heavier, corded tool with a 15-minute tank.
- A good fit for
- A person who dresses in cotton and linen, wants creases on trousers and a flat placket, and has a hook or door to hang from near an outlet.
- We would skip it if
- Your wardrobe is knits and synthetics that only need a light refresh, or you want a cordless or dual-voltage steamer for travel.
Reasons to consider it
- Quilted aluminum plate and a Turbo button, so it can press against a garment instead of only wafting steam at it
- 7.3-ounce tank rated for up to 15 minutes, with a 40-second warm-up and a 9-foot cord
- Built-in creaser plus a 3-in-1 head with a fabric-tensioning band, a delicate-fabric spacer and a bristle brush
The compromises
- Every performance claim is relative to Conair's own older GS15RN, not to any competitor
- Corded, single-voltage and heavy for a handheld; Conair's specs list the weight as 3.2 with the wrong unit
- Conair recommends distilled water only, which adds a running cost most people will skip until the boiler scales
What we have not verified: This article draws on Conair's product listing, the GS38R instruction booklet and Conair's return-policy page. Wattage is not published anywhere Conair controls, and steam output, plate temperature and real tank time were not measured.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Turbo ExtremeSteam Handheld Fabric Steamer · GS38L, Blue
A quilted aluminum plate, a Turbo steam button, a built-in creaser and a 9-foot cord give it more pressing ability than a plastic-nosed steamer, and the 7.3-ounce tank covers a few garments per fill.
Before you buy: Corded and US-voltage only, with performance claims measured against Conair's own older model and a spec page with a wrong weight unit.
Price checked September 11, 2026. Retailer prices can change.An aluminum plate is what separates it from a plastic steamer
Most handheld steamers have a plastic or ceramic-coated nose that you hold near the fabric. This one has a quilted aluminum plate, and Conair's line is that it performs like an iron for a pressed look. Physically that means the plate gets hot along with the steam, so a shirt placket or a trouser seam can be pushed flat against the plate as the steam goes through it. The manual is explicit that the head stays hot after use and that attachments should only be swapped once the unit has cooled, which is a reminder of what you are holding.
There are two buttons on the handle. The blue Steam button is the standard output, which the manual recommends for delicate fabrics and a light freshen. The red Turbo button is for heavier cloth and set-in creases, and the two can be pressed together. Conair quotes heat-up at 40 seconds, signalled by a blue READY light that stops blinking, and warns that a new or long-idle unit needs a moment to prime its internal tank and may tap audibly while it heats. The 9-foot cord is generous for a handheld and the unit stands on its base between garments.
Fifteen minutes per fill, and a distilled-water habit to keep up
The tank holds 7.3 ounces and Conair rates it for up to 15 minutes of continuous steam. Read that as a per-fill budget of a couple of shirts, or one heavy coat, before you unplug, release the reservoir with the side switch and refill it. Fifteen minutes is respectable for a handheld; an upright with a gallon tank runs an hour, and a travel steamer with a 4-ounce cup runs seven or eight minutes. The manual instructs you to unplug before filling or emptying and never to run the unit dry.
The line most owners will ignore is the water. Conair recommends distilled water only, on the grounds that minerals in tap water build up in the boiler and can reduce output or block the system. Nothing on the listing mentions a descaling procedure or an anti-calcium cartridge, so the practical choice is a jug of distilled water beside the ironing board or a slow decline in steam. In a hard-water area the second option arrives sooner. Conair also advises a first burst on an old cloth to clear any sediment from manufacturing or shipping.
The creaser and the 3-in-1 head
The top of the unit has a clip-style creaser with printed garment guides. You slide the trouser edge under the clip, press Steam, and draw the unit along the fold; steam issues from a port in the top of the housing to set the crease. The manual adds the caveat that steam keeps coming out of the front slot at the same time, so the free hand stays clear. Sharp creases are the one job a handheld steamer usually cannot do, and this is a genuine, if fiddly, answer to it.
The snap-on 3-in-1 attachment is a silicone band that grips the fabric and pulls it taut so the plate has something to press against, with a channel on top that takes one of two inserts: a bristle brush that opens the weave of heavy cloth so steam gets through, or a spacer that holds the hot plate off delicate fabrics and trims. Only one insert fits at a time. For a linen shirt that means the band alone; for a wool coat, the brush; for a silk blouse, the spacer. Swapping between them is a cool-down job, so plan a session by fabric type.
What $71.18 buys against the $41.52 basic model, and how the coverage works
Conair lists this unit at $71.18 and its plain Handheld Fabric Steamer, the GS23L, at $41.52. The $30 gap buys the aluminum plate, the Turbo button, the creaser and the attachment set; the GS23L is a nozzle and a tank. The split is fair. If your clothes only need a refresh, the cheaper model does it; if they need a pressed look, the plate is the whole point of this one. One thing the higher price does not buy is a power rating: neither the listing nor the manual states the wattage, which is an odd omission for a heat appliance.
Coverage runs 12 months for US and Canadian buyers. Conair will fix or swap a unit with a manufacturing fault, but the mechanism is old-fashioned: you ship the steamer to a service center in New Jersey or Arizona with your receipt and $12 for postage and handling, and without a receipt the 12 months count from the manufacture date instead. For conair.com orders, unused units are refundable at what you paid for 30 days, return shipping is on the customer with a tracked carrier, and orders cannot be canceled once placed. The booklet itself is dated 2016, and the specs section lists the weight as 3.2 inches, so treat the online numbers as approximate.
Skip it if your clothes only need a refresh
Pass on the GS38 if your closet is mostly knits, performance fabrics and blends that shed wrinkles when hung in a steamy bathroom. Those garments never need a plate pressed against them, and the cheaper GS23L at $41.52, or any light plastic-headed handheld, will do the job with less weight in your hand and less to store. The extra features here are for cellulose fibers with memory, cotton and linen above all, and for people who care about a crease.
It also has no business in a suitcase. It is corded, it is a single-voltage US appliance, and Conair lists a dual-voltage travel model for that job. And if you want an iron's results without an iron's effort, temper the expectation: a heated plate on a steamer flattens a placket and sets a crease, but it does not replace a board and a flat sole for a dress shirt front. Buy it as a very good steamer with a pressing trick, not as an iron in disguise.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Conair: Steam & Press with Turbo, GS38L (opens in a new tab)
- Conair: GS38R instruction booklet (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Conair: Return policy (opens in a new tab)
- Conair: Garment steamers category (opens in a new tab)
