How To Clean An Iron: {Tips}

Is your steam iron acting a little sputtery and doing an inconsistent job when ironing?

It’s probably just clogged with mineral and lime deposits, all it takes is a simple cleaning job to get it back to like-new shape.

Here’s how to clean a clogged iron (plus a few more tips & goodies):

How To Clean An Iron

• Fill the water tank half way with household vinegar. Top up with water.
• Turn on the iron to the hottest setting and allow the vinegar/water mix to heat. Let it sit for a couple minutes to get things good and hot.
• Take a clean towel and iron it with high heat–steam on, steaming as you iron. The hot vinegar will work through the mineral buildup. Iron until all the water in the reservoir is gone.
• Fill the iron with water and allow to heat again, this time iron the towel to test the cleaning job. If things are good as new, you’re done and dump the water (this will rinse out the vinegar as well). If not, dump the water and repeat the hot vinegar process above.
• If the steam spray nozzle is clogged, wipe it with a hot, wet cloth then carefully poke through the clog with a thin needle. Make sure the iron is unplugged before you do this. While you’re ironing with the hot vinegar mix, make sure to press the steam button so you get some hot vinegar flowing through the spray nozzle as well.

Regular Maintenance

• Each time you’re done ironing, wipe the warm plate with a damp cloth first soaked in water and vinegar (about a 70/30 mix is fine). This will prevent buildup from happening on the plate (from starch, etc.). One trick is to have a spray bottle with a mix of vinegar and water with your ironing supplies. Just spray this heavily on a clean cloth and iron it to give the plate a good cleaning.
• If you have hard water, use distilled water in your steam iron. This will help prevent the iron from getting clogged so often.
• Before your iron gets to the clogged point, occasionally fill it with vinegar and water then steam iron a clean towel. Will prevent heavy clogging from occurring.

Plastic Melted On Iron

• Simply heat the iron on low until the plastic has softened, yet the iron is not too hot to burn you. Unplug iron and use a soft bristle brush wet in soapy water to scrub the plastic off. If the plastic won’t come off, try gently rubbing in a paste of baking soda and water. You don’t want to scratch the plate, so do this carefully.

Storing The Iron

• One of the best things I have purchased for the laundry room is an iron holder with a spot to hang the ironing board. The iron can be set in when it’s still hot. See this one on Amazon for an example, I picked mine up at Walmart (look in the appliances section)–they’re not expensive at all so if you find a spot for one, I recommend it. If you install it high enough, you have no worries about young children grabbing a hot iron.

Help For Scorch Marks

• See this tip: Quick Tips For Laundry

Some Nice Treats

• Homemade Lavender Water Recipes: Use when ironing, spritz a bit of the lavender water on the items being ironed. Will add a nice lavender scent to the garment.
• Homemade Lavender Starch Recipe: Fresh pressed linens, nicely starched, and lavender fragrance wafting in the air. Nice!

Make Ironing Board Covers

• How To Make An Ironing Board Cover

Laundry Helpers

• Quick Tips For Laundry
• DIY & Homemade Wrinkle Release Tips

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